Who you know: the classed structure of social capital

This article focuses on the social structuring of social capital, understood as resources embedded in social networks. The analysis integrates key theoretical–methodological insights from two distinct approaches concerned with social capital and inequality: the position-generator approach associated with Nan Lin and the spatial approach associated with Pierre Bourdieu. Empirically, we exploit the possibilities of survey data containing detailed information about the social ties of a representative sample of the Norwegian adult population (N = 4007). By means of Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA), we construct a space of social ties, a spatial representation of systematic similarities and differences between individuals' social ties to a set of 33 occupational positions. In this space, social capital is structured according to two primary dimensions: (i) the level of social ties, in terms of individuals' number of contacts; and (ii), the quality of social ties, in terms of a division between being connected to others in high-status positions and others in low-status positions. By means of Ascending Hierarchical Cluster analysis, five clusters are identified within the space of social ties: a homogenous working-class cluster, a well-connected working-class cluster, a cluster of high-status ties, a homogenous high-status cluster and a low-volume cluster. Moreover, the analysis clearly indicates that the structure of social capital is connected to respondents' class positions, their volumes of cultural and economic capital and their class origin. The analysis thus draws attention to the role of social capital in processes of social closure, regarding both resource monopolization and class formation.publishedVersio

Arbeidsmarkedssituasjon for høyskoleutdannede

Denne rapporten belyser hvordan studenter som fullførte en høgskoleutdanning i 2007 har tilpasset seg arbeidsmarkedet de fire første årene etter fullført utdanning (2008 – 2011). Målet er å si noe om arbeidsmarkedsstatus og om de jobber innenfor utdanningens kjerneområde eller har annet arbeid. Studien omfatter 15 profesjonsutdanninger og syv høgskoler/universiteter. Det fokuseres særlig på studentersomharutdannetsegtilsykepleiere,allmennlærere,førskolelærere,sosionomer, barnevernspedagoger, fysioterapeuter, bygningsingeniører og journalister. Studentene har fullført utdanningen enten ved Høgskolen i Bergen; Høgskolen i Bodø; Høgskolen i Lillehammer; Høgskolen i Oslo; Universitetet i Stavanger; Høgskolen i Sør-Trøndelag eller Høgskolen i Volda

Putting a Face to Institutions: Professionals and Generalized Trust

The central role institutions play in the development of generalized trust is well established by previous research. Yet, the role of the professionals employed in these institutions has received considerably less attention. This paper explores whether confidence in welfare state professionals is important in maintaining a high level of generalized trust in the Norwegian context. It is hypothesized that professionals may influence people’s generalized trust both via their formal role as gatekeepers and in informal settings as part of social networks. The results are based on novel cross-sectional data, and indicate that confidence in welfare professionals is correlated with generalized trust, while the presence of welfare professionals in a social network is not significantly associated with generalized trust. The relationship between confidence in professionals and generalized trust indicates that alongside good institutions, good service provision is important in maintaining a high level of generalized trust

Hvordan vurderer norske forbrukere utvalgte markeder? Hovedresultater fra Markets Monitoring Survey runde 1 og 2.

Sett under ett har norske forbrukere et noe høyere nivå av tillit til markedene sammenlignet med forbrukere i EU27. Andelene av forbrukere i Norge som opplever problemer er - for de fleste markedene – på omtrent samme nivå som i EU27 og i de øvrige nordiske landene. Andelene som synes det er vanskelige å sammenligne varer og tjenester er derimot betydelig høyere i Norge enn i EU27. Halvparten, eller flere, av forbrukerne som har besvart MMS runde 1 eller 2, synes det er vanskelig å sammenligne internettjenester, mobiltelefontjenester, TV-abonnementer, produkter for barn, ulike typer bankkontoer, lån, kredit og kredittkort, forsikringstjenester for hjem og kjøretøy, elektrisitetstjenester, kosmetiske produkter og posttjenester

Voting for Money, Whips for Free

Polarization in the European Parliament has mainly been attributed to the ideological dimension. The economic implications of bills have been only studied in relation to the Council. However, after the ratification of the Lisbon treaty such questions have become paramount for the Parliament. The aim of this thesis is to investigate whether legislative unity is lower for bills that would affect the budget in a way that, if passed, would change the status quo allocation of resources. I propose that the impact of such budgetary implications is dependent on the initial level of polarization within the European Parliament. In the absence of other polarizing factors, such as defections or splits within the party of the rapporteur, budgetary implications are likely to decrease legislative unity. Nonetheless, the negative effect of budgetary implications on legislative unity is mitigated by defections on behalf of the party of the rapporteur. In order to evaluate these propositions empirically I have collected data on final votes in the 7th European Parliament. In contrast to datasets that the previous literature has relied on, this dataset contains information on the budgetary implications of the bills. Estimating a series of tobit regression models, I show that budgetary implications affect the level of cohesion in the European Parliament, but this effect is conditional upon the level of initial polarization as captured by defection from the party of the rapporteur. This finding is relatively robust, thus shedding new light on voting patterns in the European Parliament. Yet, some shortcomings remain, namely the differentiation at a theoretical level between partisan and national interests, the small magnitude of the coefficients and a potential endogenity problem. These caveats notwithstanding, it can be concluded that the behaviour of legislators is affected by economic concerns, even if to a certain extent such concerns are masked by ideological variables. It is likely that there is lower legislative unity when bills aim to alter the existing budgetary status quo. Yet, conversely, when both defection by the party of the rapporteur and budgetary implications are observed this effect is alleviated

Which doctors do we trust? A vignette experiment of how gender and ethnicity influence trust

Is people’s trust in doctors affected by their ethnicity or gender? It is often assumed that highly skilled migrants are protected from the worst effects of discrimination. Yet, they also report high degrees of discrimination. This study examines whether ethnic and gendered stereotypes influence trust in general practitioners in Norway. The question is investigated using a survey experiment. Respondents receive a brief resume of a general practitioner where the ethnicity and gender of the physician are randomly varied. Thereafter, the study focuses on investigating the interaction between the respondents' and fictive GPs' ethnicity and gender. The results show that while the majority population is indifferent to the ethnicity of the physicians, they prefer females. Non-Western minorities have a bias in favour of Pakistani-named GPs but are indifferent to the GP's gender

En tilleggsundersøkelse av stordriftseffekten i barnefamilier

Notatet undersøker i hvilken grad er det empirisk grunnlag for å konkludere at en stordriftseffekt finnes også i tidligere Forbrukerundersøkelser (2008 og 2009) og for hvilket barn i rekken den eventuelt slår inn. Notatet omfatter tilleggsanalyser til Borgeraas og Bakkeli (2018) og bruker samme analytisk oppsett. Notatet har ikke som formål å konkludere med hvor stor en reduksjon i stordriftseffekten i referansebudsjettet bør være. Analysene presentert i notatet støtter konklusjonene fra Borgeraas og Bakkeli (2018) - nemlig at det finnes en kurvelinear sammenheng mellom samlede utgifter og antall barn og at det basert på tallmaterialet fra Forbrukerundersøkelsen kan være grunnlag for å nedjustere størrelsen på stordriftseffekten

Putting a Face to Institutions: Professionals and Generalized Trust

The central role institutions play in the development of generalized trust is well established by previous research. Yet, the role of the professionals employed in these institutions has received considerably less attention. This paper explores whether confidence in welfare state professionals is important in maintaining a high level of generalized trust in the Norwegian context. It is hypothesized that professionals may influence people’s generalized trust both via their formal role as gatekeepers and in informal settings as part of social networks. The results are based on novel cross-sectional data, and indicate that confidence in welfare professionals is correlated with generalized trust, while the presence of welfare professionals in a social network is not significantly associated with generalized trust. The relationship between confidence in professionals and generalized trust indicates that alongside good institutions, good service provision is important in maintaining a high level of generalized trust

The health of mothers caring for a child with a disability: a longitudinal study

Abstract Background Raising a child with disabilities requires a significant parental investment that is greater than that required by typically developing children. Previous studies have shown that parents caring for a child with a disability experience a range of health problems, particularly the mothers. However, few of these studies have controlled for maternal health prior to birth. Methods This study used a sample from the Norwegian administrative register that comprised all children born between 2009 and 2015. We followed the mothers and their children for 11 years, between 2009 and 2019. The outcome variable was the mothers’ physical and mental health, which was assessed using specific ICD-10 diagnoses recorded in the Norwegian Patient Register (NPR). The data included information on the mothers’ health before and after the birth of their first child, enabling us to control for maternal health prior to birth in our analysis, in addition to socio-demographic characteristics. The analyses of maternal health were performed using multiple logistic regression, and the results are presented on both a relative scale (odds ratio [OR]) and an absolute scale (average marginal effect [AME]), both with 95% confidence intervals. Results Mothers caring for a child with a disability have higher odds of having a diagnosis of a musculoskeletal disorder, depression, anxiety, sleeping disorder or migraines than mothers of children without a disability. The differences between the two groups of mothers decrease after adjusting for the characteristics of the children, mothers and families, but remain significant for musculoskeletal disorder, depression, anxiety and sleeping disorder, although the absolute differences are modest. Conclusion The findings suggest that mothers caring for a child with a disability are more likely to have health problems than mothers of children without a disability after controlling for maternal health prior to birth. Providing more support for mothers of children with a disability might help to improve their health

Hvilken betydning har regulering av yrker for yrkesmobilitet i Norge?

Sammendrag Yrkesregulering har fått økende internasjonal oppmerksomhet, da forsking har vist at lisensierings- og sertifiseringsordninger har betydning for rekruttering til yrket, for kvalitet i yrkesutøvelsen og for lønnsnivået. I denne artikkelen undersøker vi betydningen av lisensiering og sertifisering for yrkesmobilitet i Norge. Vi har kartlagt omfanget av yrkesregulering og tilrettelagt opplysningene i et datasett på yrkesnivå. Ved å koble dette til opplysninger om arbeidsmarkedsdeltakelse fra arbeidsgiver- og arbeidstakerregisteret til NAV, har vi fremskaffet en oversikt over forekomsten av yrkesregulering mellom 2003–2007. Omtrent 20 prosent av arbeidstakerne er underlagt lisensordninger og 12 prosent er underlagt sertifiseringsordninger. Arbeidstakere i lisensierte yrker har lavere mobilitet enn yrkesutøvere i åpne yrker, mens de som er i yrker med sertifiseringsordninger, har noe høyere mobilitet. Nøkkelord: yrkesregulering, lisens, sertifikat, yrkesmobilite