Lina Aldén (former Andersson)

• PhD in Economics
• Professor (Associate) at Linnaeus University

This paper studies the intergenerational transmissions of self-employment abilities among immigrants in Sweden. The results show that second-generation immigrants are over-represented in self-employment compared to natives. Male immigrants from countries neighbouring to Sweden and natives alike seem to use both mothers and fathers as role models in...

This paper presents the first field experiment on sexual orientation discrimination in the hiring process in the Swedish labor market. Job applications were sent to about 4,000 employers in 10 different occupations in Sweden. Gender and sexual orientation were randomly assigned to applications. The results show that sexual orientation discrimi-nati...

We present earnings differentials between homosexuals and heterosexuals. In line with previous research, we find that gay males earn less than heterosexual males, and that lesbians earn more than heterosexual females. However, when combining the individuals into households, our results are strikingly different: very small earnings differentials bet...

We study if there is an association between culture on gender roles and the gender gap in choice of major. For this purpose, we use the epidemiological approach and sibling comparisons. We find that the gender gap in STEM is smaller for individuals who originate in countries where women are more likely, relative to men, to major in STEM. We observe...

We study immigrant-native differences in long-term self-employment in Sweden combining population-wide register data and a unique survey targeting a large representative sample of the total population of long-term self-employment. Using the registers, we analyze the evolution of labor and capital incomes during the first 10 years following self-emp...

We use a randomized field experiment in Sweden to investigate how self-employment experience is valued in the labour market. Our results show that self-employment experience negatively impacts the likelihood of receiving a positive response from employers. For male applicants, this holds regardless of ethnic background, and independently of whether...

We present results from a unique nationwide survey conducted in Sweden on sexual orientation and job satisfaction. Our results show that gay men are more likely to be very satisfied with their job than heterosexual men, both in general and with different aspects of the job. In contrast, lesbians appear less satisfied with their job in general and w...

According to the Jack-of-all-Trades theory, people with a balanced set of skills are more suitable for self-employment than are those without. In this paper we test this theory using Swedish military enlistment data. This data enables us to construct a measure of balance in abilities that, in comparison to measures used in previous research, is les...

We present results from a unique combination of survey and register data regarding access to financial capital conducted among immigrants who are self-employed in private firms in Sweden's retail, trade, and service sectors. This study is the first to examine discrimination against self-employed immigrants in the credit market of a developed econom...

The expansion of legal rights to same-sex couples is afoot in a number of Western countries. The effects of this rollout are not only important in their own right but can also provide a window on the institution of marriage and the rights bundled therein. In this article, using Swedish longitudinal register data covering 1994-2007, we study the imp...

This paper presents results from a study of sexual prejudice and differentials in labor market outcomes due to sexual orientation. It uses data from a nationwide Swedish survey on public attitudes toward homosexuals, conducted in 1999, and combines them with register data for 2007, which include information about sexual orientation, employment stat...

We study tipping behavior in residential mobility of the native population in Sweden between 1990 and 2007. Using regression discontinuity methods, we find that the native population growth in a neighborhood discontinuously drops once the share of non-European immigrants exceeds the identified tipping point. Native tipping behavior can be ascribed...

An experimental study of perceptions about gay, lesbian, and heterosexual domestic violence in Sweden. Undergraduate students (N = 1009) read one of eight fictitious scenarios of domestic violence in married couple relationships, where sexual orientation, sex of victim and batterer, and severity of violence were varied. Perceptions of seriousness o...

This article presents the first field experiment on sexual orientation discrimination in the hiring process in the Swedish labor market. Job applications were sent to about 4000 employers in 10 different occupations in Sweden. Gender and sexual orientation were randomly assigned to applications. The results show that sexual orientation discriminati...

This article presents the findings of the first field experiment on age discrimination in the Swedish labour market. Pairs of matched applications, one from a fictitious 31-year-old male applicant and one from a fictitious 46-year-old male applicant, were sent to employers with job openings for restaurant workers and sales assistants. Employers' re...

In this paper we explore annual earnings as well as full-time monthly earnings differentials resulting from sexual orientation. We observe that gay males are at an earnings disadvantage compared to male heterosexuals regardless of which earnings measure we use. This earnings disadvantage is found to be larger when we compare gay and heterosexual ma...

Purpose Self‐employment has been stressed as a way for immigrants to enter and improve their situation in the labour market. However, research shows that some people who become self‐employed revert to wage employment or unemployment. The purpose of the paper is to study the labour market consequences of temporary self‐employment on paid employment...

The proportion of immigrants from countries in the Middle East living in Sweden has increased since the 1970s, and it is a well-known fact that immigrants from the Middle East suffer from low earnings and high rates of unemployment on the Swedish labour market. There are often great hopes that self-employment will enable immigrants to improve their...

This paper presents a study of differences in occupational rank between gay and heterosexual males as well as between lesbian and heterosexual females. We estimate different specifications of an ordered probit model on register data from Sweden. Our data consist of married heterosexual men and women and homosexual men and women living in civil unio...

We explore the effect of an in-work benefit on the labour supply of single immigrant women in Sweden. Using a simulation approach, we find that, on average, the in-work benefit has no effect on the labour supply of these women. However, women with low incomes increase their labour supply, a response that is the strongest among non-European and East...

We investigate the importance of ethnic origin and local labour markets conditions for self-employment propensities in Sweden. In line with previous research we find differences in the self-employment rate between different immigrant groups as well as between different immigrant cohorts. We use a multilevel regression approach in order to quantify...

RAPPORT 2011:25 Institutet för arbetsmarknadspolitisk utvärdering (IFAU) är ett forskningsinsti-tut under Arbetsmarknadsdepartementet med säte i Uppsala. IFAU ska främja, stödja och genomföra vetenskapliga utvärderingar. Uppdraget omfattar: effek-ter av arbetsmarknadspolitik, arbetsmarknadens funktionssätt, arbetsmarknads-effekter av åtgärder inom...

This paper presents the first study of intergenerational transmissions in immigrant self-employment across three generations. Based on a Swedish data set, the results show that having a self-employed father, as well as having a self-employed grandfather, has a positive effect on self-employment propensities for male third-generation immigrants. For...

We investigate how increasing the information about applicants affects discrimination in the rental housing market. We let four fictitious applicants, two with typical Arab/Muslim names and two with typical Swedish names, use application letters containing different amounts of information to apply for apartments over the Internet in Sweden. The Ara...

This paper presents an analysis of self-employment matching among dual-earner couples in Sweden. The results show that self-employment propensities are positively correlated across partners. Self-employment propensities are significantly higher for both males and females whose spouses are self-employed. The existence of ‘positive assortative mati...

This paper presents the first field experiment regarding ethnic discrimination in the market place of small business transfers. We let two fictitious prospective buyers, one with a typical Swedish name and one with a typical Arab/Muslim name, respond to advertisements of small business transfers on the Internet in Sweden. We then recorded the numbe...

This paper presents a field experiment, conducted over the Internet, studying possible discrimination against lesbians in the rental housing market in Sweden. We let two fictitious couples, one heterosexual and one lesbian, apply for vacant rental apartments advertised by landlords on the Internet. We then investigated whether there were difference...