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The Reversal of the Gender Gap in Education: Exploring its Consequences for Partnering, Employment and Voting Behaviour

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  • Nordin, Martin

    (Lund University)

  • Stanfors, Maria

    (Lund University)

Abstract

Women have made substantial gains in education and outperform men regarding educational attainment across the OECD, but the consequences of this reversal of the gender gap in education (RGE) have not been well researched. We address the association between the RGE and partnering, employment, and support for a right-wing populist party in Sweden. We explore the differential impacts of women's educational advancements versus men's lagging by using cross-sectional register data and within-areal age variation in RGE. Results show that RGE is negatively associated with partnering and employment prospects among individuals with a low level of education. Results suggest that men's educational disadvantage may contribute to growing support for right-wing populist parties and that shifting gender gaps in education may foster frustration in various areas of life and anti-egalitarian values.

Suggested Citation

  • Nordin, Martin & Stanfors, Maria, 2024. "The Reversal of the Gender Gap in Education: Exploring its Consequences for Partnering, Employment and Voting Behaviour," IZA Discussion Papers 17437, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp17437
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    gender gap in education; partnership; employment; political opinion;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J12 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Marriage; Marital Dissolution; Family Structure
    • I24 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Education - - - Education and Inequality
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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