Lena Lindahl

Bio: Lena Lindahl is an academic researcher from Stockholm University. The author has contributed to research in topics: Intertemporal choice & Sibling. The author has an hindex of 10, co-authored 31 publications receiving 633 citations.

Adolescent Time Preferences Predict Lifetime Outcomes

Abstract: This study investigates the relationship between time preferences and lifetime social and economic outcomes. We use a Swedish longitudinal data set that links information from a large survey on children's time preferences at age 13 to administrative registers spanning over five decades. Our results indicate a substantial adverse relationship between high discount rates and school performance, health, labour supply and lifetime income. Males and high-ability children gain significantly more from being future oriented. These discrepancies are largest regarding outcomes later in life. We also show that the relationship between time preferences and long-run outcomes operates through early human capital investments.

What More Than Parental Income, Education and Occupation? An Exploration of What Swedish Siblings Get from Their Parents: (Contributions), Article 102

Abstract: Sibling correlations are broader measures of the impact of family and community influences on individual outcomes than intergenerational correlations. Estimates of such correlations in income show that more than half of the family and community influences that siblings share are uncorrelated with parental income. We employ a data set with rich family information to explore what factors in addition to traditional measures of parents' socio-economic status can explain sibling similarity in long-run income. Measures of family structure and social problems account for very little of sibling similarities beyond that already accounted for by income, education and occupation. However, when we add indicators of parental involvement in schoolwork, parenting practices and maternal attitudes, the explanatory power of our variables increases from about one-quarter (using only traditional measures of parents' socio-economic status) to nearly two-thirds.

College choice and subsequent earnings Results using Swedish sibling data

Abstract: College choice and subsequent earnings. Results using Swedish sibling data. This paper investigates the relationship between college choice and annual earnings, using within-family variation in college choice. The results show that earnings vary significantly between students who graduated from different types of colleges and the earnings premium is larger for those who graduated at an old university. Do birth order and family size matter for intergenerational income mobility? Evidence from Sweden. Previous studies of intergenerational income mobility have not considered potential birth- order or family-size effects in the estimated income elasticity. This paper estimates the intergenerational income elasticity by birth-order position and family size. The main finding of this paper is that the elasticity tends to decrease with birth order for a given family size, especially for fathers and sons. A comparison of family and neighborhood effects on grades, test scores, educational attainment and income. Evidence from Sweden. This paper compares sibling and neighborhood correlations in school performance, educational attainment and income as a way to learn whether the neighborhood where a child grows up in might explain parts of the sibling similarities found in previous sibling correlation studies. The results show that living in the same neighborhood does not seem to add much to the sibling similarity. What More Than Parental Income? An exploration of what Swedish siblings get from their parents. In this paper, we explore what factors other that parental income can explain why siblings tend to have such similar outcomes as previous correlation studies show. Our results show that parental involvement and attitudes, especially propensity to plan ahead and willingness to postpone benefits to the future, are particularly important for the sibling similarity.

A comparison of family and neighborhood effects on grades, test scores, educational attainment and income—evidence from Sweden

Abstract: This paper compares sibling and neighborhood correlations in school performance, educational attainment and income as a way to learn whether the neighborhood where a child grows up in might explain parts of the sibling similarities found in previous sibling correlation studies. The data are based on a cohort of nearly 13,000 individuals born in 1953 and their siblings, all of whom grew up in the Stockholm area. The results show that neighborhood correlations are in general very small and in particular they are much smaller than the sibling correlations. Living in the same neighborhood does not seem to add much to the sibling similarities.

Time discounting and criminal behavior

Abstract: One of the most basic predictions of almost any model of crime is that individual time preferences matter. However, empirical evidence on this fundamental property is essentially nonexistent. To our knowledge, this paper provides the first pieces of evidence on the link between time discounting and crime. We use a unique dataset that combines a survey-based measure of time discount rates (at age 13) with detailed longitudinal register data on criminal behavior spanning over 18 y. Our results show that individuals with short time horizons have a significantly higher risk of criminal involvement later in life. The magnitude of the relationship is substantial and corresponds to roughly one-third of the association between intelligence and crime.

Global Evidence on Economic Preferences

Abstract: This paper studies the global variation in economic preferences. For this purpose, we present the Global Preference Survey (GPS), an experimentally validated survey dataset of time preference, risk preference, positive and negative reciprocity, altruism, and trust from 80,000 individuals in 76 countries. The data reveal substantial heterogeneity in preferences across countries, but even larger within-country heterogeneity. Across individuals, preferences vary with age, gender, and cognitive ability, yet these relationships appear partly country specific. At the country level, the data reveal correlations between preferences and bio-geographic and cultural variables such as agricultural suitability, language structure, and religion. Variation in preferences is also correlated with economic outcomes and behaviors. Within countries and subnational regions, preferences are linked to individual savings decisions, labor market choices, and prosocial behaviors. Across countries, preferences vary with aggregate outcomes ranging from per capita income, to entrepreneurial activities, to the frequency of armed conflicts.

Book Review: OECD, Growing Unequal? Income Distribution and Poverty in OECD Countries:

Abstract: Será que a desigualdade de rendimentos aumentou durante os últimos tempos? Quem ganhou e quem perdeu neste processo? Este processo afectou todos os países da OCDE uniformemente? Em que medida é que maiores desigualdades de rendimentos são a consequência de maiores diferenças nos rendimentos dos trabalhadores e até que ponto são afectados por outros factores? Finalmente, como é que a redistribuição governamental através do sistema de benefícios fiscais afecta estas tendências?

Fortunate Sons: New Estimates of Intergenerational Mobility in the United States Using Social Security Earnings Data

Abstract: Previous studies, relying on short-term averages of fathers' earnings, have estimated the intergenerational elasticity (IGE) in earnings to be approximately 0.4. Due to persistent transitory fluctuations, these estimates have been biased down by approximately 30% or more. Using administrative data containing the earnings histories of parents and children, the IGE is estimated to be around 0.6. This suggests that the United States is substantially less mobile than previous research indicated. Estimates of intergenerational mobility are significantly lower for families with little or no wealth, offering empirical support for theoretical models that predict differences due to borrowing constraints.

Do Poor Children Become Poor Adults? Lessons from a Cross-Country Comparison of Generational Earnings Mobility

Abstract: A cross-country comparison of generational earnings mobility is offered, and the reasons for the degree to which the long-run labour market success of children is related to that of their parents is examined. The rich countries differ significantly in the extent to which parental economic status is related to the labour market success of children in adulthood. The strength of these associations should not be interpreted as offering a target or menu for the conduct of policy. A framework for understanding the underlying causal process as well as the conception of equality of opportunity is reviewed as a guide for public policy.

The effect of attending the flagship state university on earnings: a discontinuity-based approach

Abstract: This paper examines the effect of attending the flagship state university on the earnings of 28 to 33 year olds by combining confidential admissions records from a large state university with earnings data collected through the state's unemployment insurance program. To distinguish the effect of attending the flagship state university from the effects of confounding factors correlated with the university's admission decision or the applicant's enrollment decision, I exploit a large discontinuity in the probability of enrollment at the admission cutoff. The results indicate that attending the most selective state university causes earnings to be approximately 20% higher for white men.