The Swedish Model and the Patterns of Labour Market Intergration and Income Developments over the Lifecourse

The main objective of this paper is to identify and analyse the major changes in the gender allocation of time and the timing of transitions over the life course that have occurred in Sweden during the last decade. By using register and time use data and a variant of the family cycle model we compare men’s and women’s employment trajectories over the life course. Our primary aim is to explore the potential links between the extent of labour market integration during different phases in the life course and the design of the prevailing welfare and employment regimes. We examine in particular how the transitions from the educational system to the labour market, union and family formation has evolved during the last decade and the extent to which the modifications in household composition over time affects both male and female labour supply and income developments over the life course. Special focus is placed on the prevailing legal possibilities or institutional barriers to adapt individuals’ labour supply over different life phases. We argue that Sweden displays one of the most integrated and coherent system of time and income management over the life course.