Swedish Households Research Articles

Long-term changes in the characteristics of one-person households in Sweden, 1960-2018

ABSTRACT Today, more people than ever live in one-person households (OPHs). Sweden’s OPH population started to grow in the 1960s, and today the country has one of the highest proportions in the world, reaching almost 40% of all households. However, despite an internationally high share of OPHs, little is known about the long-term changes in the Swedish OPH population’s composition. By utilizing register data covering the entire Swedish population at 5-year intervals the current study elucidate changes in the demographic characteristics and socioeconomic status (SES) of the working-age (30–64) OPH population from 1960 to 2018. Our findings show that there have been substantial changes over time in the associations between gender, civil-status and SES and the probability of living alone. A sharp increase in divorce rates in the 1970s was an important driver in the increased share of OPHs in working-age, especially for men aged 30–45 years. We also found a shift in the trends of associations between SES and the probability of living alone, from a positive to a negative association for women and an increasingly negative association for men. Today, low-SES men and women in Sweden are increasingly selected into OPHs, and the SES patterns across the sexes have converged.

Empowered or enchained? Exploring consumer perspectives on Direct Load Control

Demand Response has become a central focus in policy discussions, attracting heightened attention for its potential key role in fostering enhanced demand flexibility. Direct Load Control (DLC) holds particular promise, requiring reduced consumer involvement compared to strategies relying on manual responses to time-varying pricing. However, the participation rate of residential consumers in DLC programs remains low, emphasizing the need for a more profound understanding of consumers' perspectives on DLC. Drawing from 15 in-depth interviews with Swedish households participating in a program involving direct load control of heat pumps, this study aims to explore the experiences and perceptions of consumers, providing in-depth understanding on factors that may serve as motivators, barriers and enablers for participation. Key findings include: financial benefits and interest in technology were the main motivations for participation; pre-existing knowledge and awareness of energy-related matters shaped consumers’ attitudes to DLC; trust in the service provider was a key enabling factor for participation. The study further suggests that DLC does not inevitably lead to a perceived loss of control among participants, but, if implemented in alignment with their specific conditions, needs and preferences, may also foster a sense of empowerment.

Income and fuel price elasticities of car use on micro panel data

We estimate the income and fuel price elasticities of private car vehicle kilometres travelled (VKT) using fixed effects on registry micro panel data covering all Swedish households from 1999 to 2018. Such registry data, covering all individuals and cars in the country, are unique to Nordic countries and are comprehensive enough to allow fine segmentation of the population by both income groups and several municipality types. To address potential endogeneity arising if employees receive a wage compensation for long commutes, we apply the temporal changes in earned income tax credits as an instrumental variable. We find lower income and price elasticities (in absolute value) in the large cities, and larger elasticities in suburbs, other cities and in rural areas. We also find that the elasticities decrease with income, excluding the lowest income quartile, having the lowest elasticities. Specifically, we show theoretically and empirically that because the income elasticity varies considerably along the income distribution, the resulting income elasticity depends heavily on how the estimator assigns weight to different income groups, unless the specification explicitly allows for variation in the impact of income on VKT. Moreover, the impact of an income increase depends on to whom the income increase accrues to. For a uniform income increase, 0.2 is the preferred income elasticity. Our preferred long-run fuel price elasticity is −0.53. The short-run elasticities are lower. These elasticities apply to the full population and not only to car owners or drivers.

Mind the (reporting) gap—a scoping study comparing measured laundry decisions with self-reported laundry behaviour

PurposeMany environmental assessments of consumer products and household services rely on self-reported data. Life cycle assessments of domestic laundering are no exception. However, potential discrepancies between self-reported behaviour and actual everyday decisions are seldom investigated due to practical challenges in collecting relevant data. This means that environmental impacts relying on such self-reported data are much more uncertain than previously acknowledged.MethodLaundering data was collected at the Chalmers’ HSB Living lab (CHSBLL), a combined multi-family house and research facility in Gothenburg. The collection was both done passively (through the washing machines) as well as actively (through surveys to the tenants). RFID-readers were also installed in the machines and a number of clothing items tagged, allowing for identification. The site-specific data was later supplemented with a large statistical representative study for domestic laundering of Swedish households. This unique data quality allowed the comparison of passively collected data with survey data from tenants in a real-life setup, while validating the results from a national perspective.Result and conclusionsThe results suggest that consumers have trouble remembering personal choices regarding domestic laundering, meaning that self-reported data are more uncertain than previously thought. In general, the participants overestimated the amount of laundry they washed and underestimated their frequency of washing. Additionally, many participants showed an interest in changing to alternative wash programs although this change failed to materialize when they were presented with this option in real-life. The findings have potential consequences for environmental assessments and implicate those previous estimations underestimate emissions per kg laundry washed.

Collective cool

Would you share your freezer with your neighbours? Today, most Swedish households have access to a home freezer, but in the middle of the 20th century, collective freezer lockers offered affordable access to modern technology. Geographers have suggested that encouraging collective cooling practices could reduce environmental impact. The aim of this article is to investigate collective freezer lockers as a cultural phenomenon, and thereby getting closer to collective cooling practices, and to discuss the conditions for (re-introducing) collective freezer practices. Through personal narratives and media material, I trace meanings, norms, and discourses that formed part of these practices. The lockers were involved in daily practices of food, managing distances and social relations, and declined when home freezers became depicted as more affordable and rational. I conclude with discussing the possibilities and implications of a potential upscaling or revitalising of the practice of collective freezing.

COOPERATION BETWEEN UKRAINE AND SWEDEN IN THE FIELD OF ENERGY BASED ON THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT CONCEPT

The article is devoted to the issue of further development of cooperation between Ukraine and Sweden in the field of energy and recycling. The authors study and emphasize the difference between the concepts of renewable energy and clean energy. It is noted that renewable energy is obtained from renewable energy sources, which include light, wind, hydropower, geothermal energy, and bioenergy. One of the distinctive feature clean energy is its production with zero carbon dioxide emissions. The disadvantages of nuclear power are characterized. The dynamics of the share of renewable energy in the total energy production of Ukraine and Sweden is analyzed. Based on the results of the comparative analysis, it is determined that in the energy sector of both Sweden and Ukraine, hydropower accounts for the largest share of renewable energy. At the same time, Ukraine's small hydro potential does not allow it to be the main to further increasing the share of renewable energy. It is established that one of the most promising areas of cooperation between Ukraine and Sweden is waste recycling. The analysis made it possible to identify the problem of growing waste generation and increasing the area of landfills in Ukraine, which in turn leads to methane emissions into the atmosphere and a rapid increase in the greenhouse effect. The author emphasizes the particular importance of organizing waste recycling based on Western European standards in the context of Ukraine's movement towards the EU. The full compliance of Sweden's waste management policy with the principles of sustainable development and the principles of the circular economy is determined. The practical experience of a Swedish company in recycling is characterized, which will allow Ukraine to annually convert waste into clean energy. The results of the analysis show that almost 50% of the energy received by Swedish households is provided by recycling. It is noted that the effective implementation of innovations by Swedish companies has allowed the country not only to solve the problem of recycling its own waste, but also to import it from neighboring countries: Norway, Finland, Denmark, and other European countries: Great Britain, Ireland.

Vehicle-to-Grid Optimization Considering Battery Aging

Electric vehicles (EVs) play a substantial role in reducing greenhouse gas emission and support a sustainable future. However, the increase of EV may lead to rising electricity demand and fluctuation. In this paper, the EV is proposed as a means to support the electricity grid via the vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology. To reduce energy demand peaks, charging is planned during off-peak hours. Additionally, the EV battery may be used as a buffer to store energy during off-peak hours, and to supply energy to the grid during peak hours. Furthermore, grid frequency may be regulated by controlling the charging power. Since battery utilization will be increased during V2G operations, battery degradation is included in this study. A case study of Swedish households shows that the V2G is not only contributing to the stability of the grid, but may also help reducing the operating cost of an EV owner, even when battery degradation is considered.

Pantry Memories

In recent years, references to “old-fashioned pantries” and “classic root cellars” have regularly popped up in real estate ads across Sweden as a potential selling point for people seeking new homes. The use of the words “classic” and “old-fashioned” indicates a shift in the thinking about traditional food storage spaces. In this article, we explore the recontextualization and emotionalization of traditional food storage spaces in Swedish society. We base our analysis on an open-ended questionnaire on food storage, preservation, and household preparedness directed to Swedish households. We investigate how our respondents have recounted and shaped embodied memories in the act of writing about past food storage: the different spaces, times, people, practices, emotions, and objects. Viewing these acts of remembering and writing about past food storage as emotional practices has led to an understanding of how emotional experience in the past is reinterpreted in the present. Seeing these acts as emotional practices illustrates the relational nature of emotions, where longing for past food storage spaces is one way to reflexively deal with contemporary issues by managing everyday life. Finally, we argue that reflexive nostalgia helps to create and interpret emotions – making past and present food storage meaningful.

Energy poverty in Sweden: Using flexibility capital to describe household vulnerability to rising energy prices

Energy poverty has been kept at bay in Sweden for the past decades owing to several beneficial circumstances. However, geopolitical pressure and an accelerating energy transition are changing the circumstances and exposing vulnerabilities to energy poverty in Sweden particularly connected to electricity price peaks. The circumstantial nature of the exposed risks for energy poverty motivates a conceptualisation of the concept in Sweden through the energy vulnerability framework. Also recognising that flexibility is an important ability to be able to dodge short-term price peaks, this paper combines the energy vulnerability literature with the concept of flexibility capital. Using national survey data from 2021, this study seeks to explore vulnerability to heating-related energy poverty in Swedish single-family housing by analysing factors influencing households' self-perceived ability to pay for heating as well as their self-perceived flexibility capital. Logistic regression models revealed that there are geographic as well as sociodemographic factors influencing the energy vulnerability experienced by Swedish households. Extending the understanding of energy poverty vulnerability beyond mere heating affordability provides a more nuanced understanding of the different types of risks that may emerge among households; for example, low affordability combined with low flexibility capital increases the risk for financial effects of energy poverty, whereas low affordability combined with high flexibility capital increases the risk for energy poverty affecting comfort, convenience and wellbeing. By integrating energy vulnerability with flexibility capital, this paper contributes to a more holistic understanding of challenges connected to a transitioning energy system in general and in the Swedish context in particular.

Just energy transitions? Energy policy and the adoption of clean energy technology by households in Sweden

The Nordic countries, including Sweden, are often considered to be at the forefront of the drive to introduce sustainable energy technology, including at the household level, as part of the transition to sustainable societies. For a transition to become reality, all groups of society have to be part of it, and the social sciences have a role in investigating the conditions for these groups to be involved. The extent to which diverse (including marginalised) communities and households are part of this transition and have equitable access to the relevant technologies, including smart technologies, and the degree to which the transition is a shared value and aspiration is still unclear. We want to explore what steps are being taken in Sweden to incorporate these groups in planning and technology access, and to what extent this is supported by a range of entities, from the Swedish Energy Agency to grassroots organizations, with a particular focus on social, gender and migrant perspectives. Our preliminary evaluation of Swedish energy policy documents indicates that, while social justice and gender considerations are acknowledged, little funding is actually allocated towards social science covering these areas. Moreover, there is no mention of ethnic equality or the inclusion of migrant communities in the documents that we reviewed. With this Perspective we highlight the need for further research to develop a more nuanced understanding of the different narratives embedded in household sustainable energy usage and decision-making around the adoption of sustainable energy technologies at the household level.

Demand for plant-based milk and effects of a carbon tax on fresh milk consumption in Sweden

A hypothetical carbon tax on the carbon footprint of fresh milk products from animals (cow’s milk) and plant-based substitutes (rice milk, oat milk, soy milk, almond milk) was applied to estimated price and income elasticities for Swedish household expenditure on these products. Overall aims were to (i) to estimate fresh milk consumption patterns in Swedish households and (ii) simulate the direct distributed effects of a carbon tax on fresh milk. The results indicated that fresh milk consumption in Swedish households is affected mainly by price and income, rather than by sociodemographic characteristics of the household. The estimates revealed a substitutional relationship between plant-based milk on one hand and low-fat and standard milk on the other, while there was a complementary relationship between plant-based and reduced-fat milk. The effects of a carbon tax were simulated based on damage cost and price. The results indicated that introduction of a carbon tax would decrease the carbon footprint of dairy fresh milk, but would increase the carbon footprint of plant-based milk because of the institutional and complementary relationship between the different categories of fresh milk. Thus levying a carbon tax on fresh dairy milk, rather than on plant-based milk, would be more likely to promote climate-friendly fresh milk consumption.

Rural Migration in Premodern Europe: Sweden, 1613–1618

Abstract Although most people in the past lived in agrarian communities, premodern rural migration has long been a neglected subject within the field of migration history. The aim of this study is to enhance our knowledge of rural household migration in premodern Europe. It is based on the Älvsborg lösen taxation records, in which household migration data was registered for the Swedish population during a five-year period at the beginning of the seventeenth century. The study focuses on rural household migration rates, distances and destinations. It shows that 5 per cent of rural households in Sweden moved annually, with about two-thirds of these being ‘local’ migrants, which is consistent with what has previously been reported for other European regions. Migration was consequentially not only part of the life-course of most individuals, but also of great importance for the rural economy and societies in premodern Europe.

Direct and Behavioral Effects of Income Tax Changes. Simulations with the Swedish Model MICROHUS

A dynamic microsimulation model of the Swedish household sector is used to evaluate the direct and indirect (behavioural) effects on the income distribution of the 1991 Swedish tax reform. The direct effect is a relatively high increase in income inequali

Online food shopping reinvented: developing digitally enabled coping strategies in times of crisis

ABSTRACT The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly impacted consumer food shopping. This paper aims to conceptualise, illustrate and explain how and why online grocery shopping has changed during the pandemic. Taking a shopping-as-practice approach and drawing on ethnographic interviews with 31 Swedish households, we analyse how online grocery shopping was performed during the pandemic. Our findings show that online grocery shopping was reinvented during the pandemic, it was no longer only a convenient mode of shopping, but became also a way to cope with the crisis brought about by Covid-19. This change, however, was demanding as developing and routinizing a new mode of shopping practice required substantial work on the part of consumers. Consumers had to engage in detailed planning, to learn to shop anew, and to develop temporal sensitivity. By developing this new mode of online grocery shopping consumers were able to cope, both practically and emotionally, with the challenges brought on by the restrictions. This study provides insights into consumers’ capacities to manage a food crisis, showing that this capacity depends on both retailers’ digital food platforms as well as consumers’ pre-existing shopping competencies and social networks. We conclude by discussing both the managerial and societal implications of these results.

The Cross-Section of Household Preferences

This paper estimates the cross-sectional distribution of Epstein-Zin preference parameters in a large administrative panel of Swedish households. We consider life-cycle model of saving and portfolio choice that incorporates risky labor income, safe and risky financial assets inside and outside retirement accounts, and real estate. We study middle-aged stock-owning households grouped by education, industry of employment, and birth cohort as well as by their accumulated wealth and risky portfolio shares. We find some heterogeneity in risk aversion (a standard deviation of 0.47 around a mean of 5.24 and median of 5.30) and considerable heterogeneity in the time preference rate (standard deviation 6.0% around a mean of 6.2% and median of 4.1%) and elasticity of intertemporal substitution (standard deviation 0.96 around a mean of 0.99 and median of 0.42). Risk aversion and the EIS are almost cross-sectionally uncorrelated, in contrast with the strong negative correlation that we would find if households had power utility with heterogeneous risk aversion. The TPR is weakly negatively correlated with both the other parameters. We estimate lower risk aversion for households with riskier labor income and higher levels of education, and a higher TPR and lower EIS for households who enter our sample with low initial wealth.

Financial Literacy in the Age of Green Investment

Abstract We survey a large sample of Swedish households and connect the responses to administrative data to relate pro-environmental attitudes and values to actual investment decisions. Pro-environment households are not more likely to hold pro-environment portfolios. This results from financial disengagement: they are less likely to own stocks, check pension balances, or make green active retirement planning choices. Green financial engagement is stronger in settings where financial literacy is higher or where informational hurdles are lower. Informational barriers appear to prevent financial market prices and returns from fully reflecting household environmental preferences.

Does the family affluence scale reflect actual parental earned income, level of education and occupational status? A validation study using register data in Sweden

AimTo examine the external validity of the Family Affluence Scale (FAS) among adolescents in Sweden by using register data for parental earned income, level of education and occupational status.MethodsData from the baseline (2015–2019) of the Study of Adolescence Resilience and Stress (STARS), comprising 2283 13-year-olds in the region of Västra Götaland, were used. The FAS III consists of six items: unshared bedroom, car ownership, computer/tablet ownership, dishwasher, number of bathrooms and number of holidays abroad. Register data regarding earned income, educational level and occupational status from Statistics Sweden (2014–2018) were linked to adolescents. In total, survey data were available for 2280 adolescents, and register data were available for 2258 mothers and 2204 fathers.ResultsTotal parental earned income was moderately correlated with adolescents’ scoring on FAS (0.31 < r < 0.48, p < 0.001), depending on examination year. The low FAS group mainly comprised low-income households, and the high FAS group mainly comprised high-income households. Correlations between mothers’ and fathers’ educational level and adolescents’ scoring on FAS were low (r = 0.19 and r = 0.21, respectively, p < 0.001). FAS was higher among adolescents whose parents were working, but the correlation between parents’ occupational status and FAS was low (r = 0.22, p < 0.001).ConclusionsThe FAS can mainly identify low- and high-income households in Sweden. It may be used as an alternative measure of parental earned income in studies using self-reported socioeconomic status among adolescents.

The price elasticity of electricity demand when marginal incentives are very large

Using unique data on Swedish households, we measure the price elasticity of electricity demand for households facing a mandatory non-linear distribution tariff, where households are charged based on their maximum consumption during a month, and where the marginal incentives are very large. We estimate the price elasticity using both 2SLS and bunching estimators, and we find that the price elasticity is smaller than what many previous studies on electricity demand have found.We show that the 2SLS estimates are not robust to changes to the set of controls or to the sample definition, while the bunching estimates suggest that the price elasticity of electricity demand is small in response to the large marginal incentives.Furthermore, we illustrate why charging households based on maximum consumption during a month leads to weak incentives in the end of the month, and discuss alternative tariff designs.

Doing intimate family work through ICTs in the time of networked individualism

ABSTRACT Traditionally, family intimacy has been seen as depending on spatial proximity and physical closeness. However, due to individualization and globalization, many families live apart and/or spend their days away from each other. Moreover, a shift in family communication from household-to-household to person-to-person has occurred in the context of so-called networked individualism. These changes make it imperative to investigate how contemporary families communicate to create and maintain intimacy in and across households. Drawing on the concept of doing intimate family work, this study investigates the small acts performed in everyday life to do family intimacy through ICT in the context of networked individualism. We conducted interviews with 6 multigenerational families – spread across 18 households in Sweden and the US. Results show how responsibilities and practices of family communication become part of doing intimate family work, through personalized technology, with consequences for each individual family member. We explore the various affordances family members realize through actions in order to support family intimacy and how these practices reinforce the importance of the family home as a physical base for cross-household family communication.

Customer expectations of unattended grocery delivery services: mapping forms and determinants

PurposeIn the rapidly growing e-grocery segment, unattended delivery is an emerging practice with the potential to offer a superior delivery experience. The purpose of this study is to contribute to the body of knowledge for unattended grocery delivery services by empirically identifying and describing the forms and determinants of customer expectations.Design/methodology/approachA multiple case study of potential early adopters was conducted to explore customer expectations of unattended grocery delivery services. Empirical data collected from direct observations and semi-structured interviews with ten Swedish households were coded and put through a single-case as well as a cross-case analysis revealing emerging patterns from which propositions were formed.FindingsThe iteration of theory and data in the case study resulted in a conceptual model of service expectations and determinants, containing six propositions. The study reveals a clear pattern that consumers expect to save time, gain flexibility and benefit from the ease of use of the service, while they predict sufficient security. Moreover, consumers’ desire open access features from retailers and service providers, integrated product returns service and nondescript hardware designs. The findings suggest that these service expectations are determined by personal needs, technology literacy and situational factors. The identified personal needs are stress reduction, limiting social interaction and increasing spare time.Research limitations/implicationsTo support further theory development, this study presents six propositions for the types, forms and determinants of customer expectations of unattended grocery delivery.Practical implicationsThis study provides managers with up-to-date insights into customer expectations and offers guidance in designing and developing unattended grocery delivery services.Originality/valueThis study contains the first in-depth analysis of customer expectations of unattended grocery delivery services, which are increasingly used for last mile e-grocery delivery.