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Structural state dependence in Swedish social assistance during the 1990s economic crisis
Andrén, Daniela Andrén, Thomas Kahanec, Martin
Andrén, Daniela
Andrén, Thomas
Kahanec, Martin
Title / Series / Name
Applied Economics
Publication Volume
Publication Issue
Pages
Editors
Keywords
country of birth
dynamic discrete-choice model
partnership
Social assistance
structural state dependence
Economics and Econometrics
dynamic discrete-choice model
partnership
Social assistance
structural state dependence
Economics and Econometrics
Files
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14018/28981
Abstract
We examine structural state dependence in social assistance in Sweden using register-based panel data from the 1990s, a period of severe economic stress, and document heterogeneity by partnership composition and migration background, with implications for contemporary integration policy and household economic mobility. Tracking a cohort of individuals who were single in 1990 and estimating dynamic discrete-choice models with unobserved heterogeneity and initial conditions, we find substantial persistence that varies systematically by gender, country of birth and partnership composition. A novel finding is that structural state dependence is highest among Swedish-born single individuals, particularly men. For both Swedish-born and foreign-born men, partnering with a Swedish-born woman is associated with lower structural state dependence, whereas partnering with a foreign-born woman is associated with higher structural state dependence only among foreign-born men. Because eligibility is assessed at the household level, these patterns should be interpreted as reduced-form persistence in household-level receipt that may combine behavioural state dependence with mechanical eligibility changes triggered by partnership formation and reassessment of joint resources.
Topic
Publisher
Place of Publication
Type
Journal article
Date
2026-04-10
Language
ISBN
Identifiers
10.1080/00036846.2026.2648789