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Wage distribution within the Swedish State Railways, 1877–1951: Material and methods

Author

Listed:
  • Hamark, Jesper

    (Department of Economic History, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University)

  • Turner, Russell

    (Department of Economic History, School of Business, Economics and Law, Göteborg University)

Abstract

For nine decades, the Swedish State Railways (SJ) produced wage records containing all its permanent employees. SJ employed more people than any private employer in Sweden, and the records contain individual-level information across hundreds of occupations: full name, yearly wage, occupational status, year and date of birth, occupational status, time of employment at SJ, etc. This paper serves as a background to a project on wage distribution within SJ, with the aim of tracking the development of, on the one hand, occupational or class-based wage inequality and, on the other, gender-based wage inequality. In this paper, we present the source material in detail, discuss its strengths and weaknesses, and describe the methods used to develop and process the wage records into data. Special attention is given to the adoption and application of HISCLASS, the historical, international social class scheme.

Suggested Citation

  • Hamark, Jesper & Turner, Russell, 2021. "Wage distribution within the Swedish State Railways, 1877–1951: Material and methods," Göteborg Papers in Economic History 28, University of Gothenburg, Unit for Economic History.
    • Handle: RePEc:hhs:gunhis:0028
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/2077/69292
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    10. Bohlin, Jan, 2007. "Structural Change in the Swedish economy in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century – The role of import substitution and export demand," Göteborg Papers in Economic History 8, University of Gothenburg, Unit for Economic History.
    11. Gadd, Carl-Johan, 2020. "Jordnaturernas fördelning i Sveriges län år 1700. En rekonstruktion, samt en jämförelse med förhållandena vid 1500-talets mitt," Göteborg Papers in Economic History 27, University of Gothenburg, Unit for Economic History.
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    Cited by:

    1. Hamark, Jesper & Lapidus, John, 2022. "Unions, insurance and changing welfare states: The emergence of obligatory complementary income insurance in Sweden," Göteborg Papers in Economic History 29, University of Gothenburg, Unit for Economic History.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Wage distribution; HISCLASS; relative wages; white-collar wages; gender wage gap; the Swedish State Railways; Statens Järnvägar;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing
    • N83 - Economic History - - Micro-Business History - - - Europe: Pre-1913
    • N84 - Economic History - - Micro-Business History - - - Europe: 1913-

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