Jan Szulkin defends his thesis on 16 December
2022-10-24
Jan Szulkin defends his thesis Mobilization or abstention? Economic inequality and labor market experiences as foundations of political behavior on 16 December at 13.15.

The external reviewer is Francesc Amat, Ramon y Cajal Fellow and Deputy Director of the Institutions and Political Economy Research Group, University of Barcelona.
The members of the examining committee are professor Åsa von Schoultz, Department of Government, Helsinki University, professor Lisa Hultman, Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University, and professor Christer Kalrsson, Department of Government, Uppsala University (chair of the public defence).
Most welcome to Brusewitzsalen, Östra Ågatan 19, Uppsala!
Mobilization or abstention? Economic inequality and labor market experiences as foundations of political behavior
The distribution of economic resources has long been a central tenet of politics. In recent decades, Western democracies have experienced rising economic inequality and a structural transformation of the labor market. This dissertation studies how these broad societal changes have affected political mobilization and abstention in Sweden. The empirical analyses use unique Swedish register data and focus on two political aspects that are central to the democratic process: voting and political selection.
Essay I analyzes the relationship between turnout and relative income, defined as the ratio of personal income and average peer income. The study shows that the relationship between relative income and turnout is complicated: both higher individual income and higher peer income boosts turnout. Becoming relatively poorer may therefore increase or decrease turnout depending on why the change in relative economic standing occurs. Additional analyses suggest that the positive peer effect is due to social spillover rather than a mobilization against income inequality. Essay II (co-authored with Anton Brännlund) discusses the association between a growing wealth gap and left-wing voting. The empirical analyses show that electoral precincts that fall behind in the regional wealth development vote more for Left parties, which indicates a political mobilization against wealth inequality. Essay III studies the association between income inequality and the income levels of elected politicians. The analysis shows that higher income inequality is linked to relatively richer politicians, meaning that political representation worsens in places with higher income inequality. This is driven by Right parties, while Left parties show signs of low-income mobilization. Essay IV (co-authored with Olle Folke and Johanna Rickne) focuses on the emergence of new political party families in Western democratic systems. These Green and Radical Right parties arguably mobilize on an authoritarian-libertarian ideological axis of political conflict, in contrast to the traditional left-right axis. The study links these new political forces to structural changes on the labor market concerning education, female labor supply and occupational task structure. The analyses show that new and traditional parties all differ systematically in terms of their politicians’ labor market experiences, in ways that are expected to socialize different ideological preferences.
The thesis contributes to the literature on the political consequences of economic inequality and the literature on political selection. Through detailed analyses of how various aspects of relative economic factors and labor market experiences influence political behavior, it provides novel insights into the socioeconomic dynamics of modern-day politics.
Public Defences
-
Sandra Håkansson defends her thesis on 10 October
Sandra Håkansson defends her thesis Politicians under threat: Gender aspects of violence against pol... -
Jan Szulkin defends his thesis on 16 December
Jan Szulkin defends his thesis Mobilization or abstention? Economic inequality and labor market expe... -
Anton Ahlén defends his thesis on 21 October
Anton Ahlén defends of his thesis Managing migration in modern welfare states – Essays on the develo... -
Maximilian S.T. Wanner defends his thesis on 15 September
Maximilian S.T. Wanner defends his thesis Change and Progress in Disaster Risk Reduction on 15 Septe... -
Pernilla Tunberger defends her thesis on 6 May
Pernilla Tunberger defends her thesis Earning, caring and the quest for sustainable societies: towar... -
Maria Nordbrandt Bergström defends her thesis on 14 January
Maria Nordbrandt Bergström defends her thesis Modern Talking: On the Democratic Roles of Cross-Cutti... -
Ariel Young defends his thesis on 5 November
Ariel Young defends his thesis Social-Policy Attitudes and the Great Recession: Changes in Perceptio... -
Lutz Gschwind defends his thesis on 10 September
Lutz Gschwind defends his thesis Migration and social protection in European welfare states: Cui bon... -
Sofia Helander defends her thesis on 6 September
Sofia Helander defends her thesis From Antagonism to Alienation: Redirecting Radical Democracy on 6 ... -
Lauri Peterson defends his thesis on 8 June
Lauri Peterson defends his thesis Investigating the Determinants of International, National and Loca... -
Lars Wikman defends his thesis on 12 May
Lars Wikman defends his thesis Don’t Mention the War: The forging of a domestic foreign policy conse... -
David Ekstam defends his thesis on 29 March
David Ekstam defends his thesis The socialization of intergroup attitudes: The problem of generation... -
Anton Brännlund defends his thesis on 8 march
Anton Brännlund defends his thesis Wealth and the economic vote. How assets and liabilities shape el... -
Anna Ida Rock defends her thesis 5 March
Anna Ida Rock defends her thesis Statebuilding through diaspora recruitment? - The role of capacity,... -
Cecilia Josefsson defends her thesis 20 November
Cecilia Josefsson defends her thesis Adaptive resistance: Power struggles over gender quotas in Urug... -
Kristoffer Jutvik defends his thesis 13 June
Kristoffer Jutvik defends his thesis 13 June Governing Migration – On the Emergence and Effects of P... -
Nadja Grees defends her thesis 10 January
Nadja Grees defends her thesis Changing Swedish sickness insurance – policies institutions and outco... -
Darrel Robinson defends his thesis 11 October
Darrel Robinson defends his thesis Education and Support for Democracy on 11 October at 10:00 in Ost... -
Malin Holm defends her thesis 14 September
Malin Holm defends her thesis The Rise of Online Counterpublics? The Limits of Inclusion in a Digita... -
Michal Smrek defends his thesis 10 May
Michal Smrek defends his thesis Incumbent Renomination: Accountability and Gender Bias on 10 May at ... -
Lena Noreland defends her thesis 5 April
Lena Noreland defends her thesis Laga efter läge. Statsråds föreställningar om styrning i Regeringsk... -
Zohreh Khoban defends her thesis 8 February
Zohreh Khoban defends her thesis Deliberation, against all odds? The critical prospects of mini-publ... -
Johan Wejryd defends his thesis 23 November
Johan Wejryd defends his thesis On consumed democracy: The Expansion of consumer choice and its impl... -
Johanna Pettersson defends her thesis 2 November
Johanna Pettersson defends her thesis What’s in a Line? Making Sovereignty through Border Policy on ... -
Marcus Wangel defends his thesis 5 June
Marcus Wangel defends his thesis Deep Roots and Tangled Branches. Bureaucracy and Collaboration in N... -
Karin Leijon defends her thesis 8 June
Karin Leijon defends her thesis National Courts as Gatekeepers in European Integration on 8 June at ... -
Axel Cronert defends his thesis on 2 February
Axel Cronert defends his thesis "All Interventionists Now? On the Political Economy of Active Labor ... -
Marcus Österman defends his thesis on 15 December
Marcus Österman defends his thesis "Education, Stratification and Reform: Educational Institutions i... -
Charlotta Friedner Parrat defends her thesis on 7 October
Charlotta Friedner Parrat defends her thesis Change, Institutions, and International Organisations: ... -
Frederike Albrecht disputerar 9 juni
Frederike disputerar den 9 juni i Brusewitzsalen kl. 13.15 ... -
Helena Hermansson disputerar 8 juni
Helena Hermansson disputerar 8 juni i Brusewitzsalen kl. 13:15 med avhandlingen "Centralized Disaste... -
Magnus Johnsson disputerar 7 juni
Magnus Johnsson disputerar 7 juni i Brusewitz salen kl. 13.15 med avhandlingen Strategic colonels? T... -
Linda Moberg disputerar 2 juni
Linda Moberg disputerar 2 juni kl. 10.15 i Brusewitz salen, Östra Ågatan 19 med avhandlingen "Market... -
Sara Bondesson disputerar 19 maj
Sara Bondesson disputerar den 19 maj kl. 13.15 i sal 3576, Östra Ågatan 19 med avhandlingen "Vulnera... -
Lina Erikson disputerar 20 maj
Lina Erikson disputerar den 20 maj i sal 3576, Östra Ågatan 19 med avhandlingen "Natural Disasters a... -
Rafael Ahlskog
Rafael Ahlskog disputerar den 24 mars kl. 13.15 i Nya Brusewitz salen, Östra Ågatan 19 med avhandlin...