Long-term Neighbourhood Effects on Education, Income and Employment among Adolescents in Oslo

Abstract

The study of neighbourhood effects has spread within Europe over the past decade. This article extends previous European research by focusing on Oslo, Norway. The main question relates to individual development among adolescents: does the social composition of the neighbourhood affect the socioeconomic status later in life? The study applies a multilevel approach and utilises longitudinal register-based data. The results reveal small but significant effects of neighbourhood deprivation on educational achievement and, even less pronounced, on income. Some effects on unemployment are also observed, but only in the short run. The strongest associations obtain for concentration of welfare recipients in the neighbourhood, which emphasises the importance of social value and social participation. A crude comparison suggests that neighbourhood effects in Oslo are slightly smaller/larger than similar effects in Swedish/UK cities.