Swedish level of living survey

SND-ID: EXT 0007

This study is part of the collection REWHARD - RElations, Work and Health across the life-course - A Research Data infrastructure

Overview
Data and documentation

Creator/Principal investigator(s)

Sten Johansson - Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research

Robert Erikson - Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research

Jan O. Jonsson - Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research

Michael Tåhlin - Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research

Description

The first level of living survey started within the framework of a governmental commission set up to study the prevalence and problems of low incomes. Their task was broadly defined, so beside a range of studies on income and income distributions they also commissioned a group of sociologists, headed by Sten Johansson, to study the distribution of welfare in Sweden more generally. The study by Johansson and his colleagues, undertaken in 1968, came to be known as the Level of Living Survey. From the beginning it was not the longitudinal aspect that was the novelty, but rather the fact that a wide spectrum of living conditions was studied with the survey method as such.

The division of level of living into different components, inspired by the work within the UN, resulted in the following list of components included in the Swedish Level of Living Surveys: Health and access to care; Employment and working conditions; Economic resources; Educational resources; Family and social integration; Housing and neighbourhood facilities; Security of life and property; Recreation and culture; Political resources.

The first survey was based on a 0.0001 random sample of the Swedish population aged 15 to 75 years of age. The interviews were made face-to-face according to a structured questionnaire covering all areas listed above. A large number of questions were asked dealing with a variety of aspects within each area.

The 1968 survey was to be repeated in 1974, and the decision was made to stick to the original sample but also include new cohorts of young people and immigrants arriving to Sweden in between the survey periods. Dropped from the sample was those above 75 years of age and those who had either emigrated or died. In 1981 the third Level of Living Survey was conducted with the same sample design and by and large with the same questionnaire. When Johansson left the project in 1982 Robert Erikson became the project leader. Erikson was project leader for the fourth level of living survey, conducted in 1991. During the project period Jan O. Jonsson and Johan Fritzell also were directors of the survey work. The 1991 survey was conducted with basically the same design, except for the fact that the youngest age bracket now became 18 instead of 15. The 1991 survey was enlarged in several respects. An obvious drawback of the panel design in the Level of Living Surveys is the relatively large time-span between each survey. Partly in order to fill in these missing years the 1991 questionnaire includes a work-life history section, and educational and family histories as well, thereby broadening the longitudinal aspects of the study. A second novelty was a specific survey to all individuals previously within the sample but excluded in the 1991 survey, due to the upper age limit. The sample included all persons older than 75 in 1991 who had previously been included in the Level of Living Survey sample and had been interviewed at least once. The interviews included most of the welfare components, with the exception of work related questions and education. Instead, more detailed data on health status and functional abilities was collected, partly by means of simple test performed during the interview. The third major extension was a separate work-place study consisting of interviews with managers at the work-places of all individuals who were employed at a work-place with at least ten employees. Show less..

Language

German

English

Spanish

Finnish

Polish

Research principal, contributors, and funding

Research principal

Stockholm University

Responsible department/unit

Swedish Institute for Social Research

Protection and ethical review

Data contains personal data

Method and time period

Unit of analysis

Individual

Population

1968: Individuals aged 15-75 years. - 1974: Individuals aged 15-75 years; 1) Individuals included in the 1968 survey, under the age of 76 and still living in Sweden, 2) A new addition of young individuals aged 15-20 years, 3) Individuals immigrating to

Time Method

Longitudinal: Panel

Sampling procedure

The first survey was based on a 0.0001 random sample of the Swedish population aged 15 to 75 years of age. The 1968 survey was to be repeated in 1974, and the decision was made to stick to the original sample but also include new cohorts of young people and immigrants arriving to Sweden in between the survey periods. Dropped from the sample was those above 75 years of age and those who had either emigrated or died. In 1981 the third Level of Living Survey was conducted with the same sample design. The 1991 survey was conducted with basically the same design, except for the fact that the youngest age bracket now became 18 instead of 15.

Time period(s) investigated

1968-05-01 – 2000-12-30

Geographic coverage

Geographic spread

Geographic location: Sweden

Topic and keywords

Research area

Economic conditions and indicators, Medication and treatment, Specific diseases, disorders and medical conditions, General health and well-being, Housing, Employment, Working conditions, Social welfare systems/structures, Social conditions and indicators, Leisure, tourism and sport, Diet and nutrition (CESSDA Topic Classification)
Social Sciences, Sociology (The Swedish standard of fields of research 2011)

Keywords

housing, employment, health, social welfare, residential mobility, family environment, wages, housework, political action, unemployment, living conditions, membership, drinking behaviour, travel, trade union membership, medical care, political influence, economic conditions, international travel, income, social security benefits, self-employed, supervisory status, housing facilities, housing economics, medicinal drugs, diseases, dental health, hospitalization, smoking, labour and employment, fringe benefits, farmers, care of dependants, holiday leave, assets, holidays, educational background, inheritance, theft, criminal damage, crime victims, political participation, standard of living, autonomy at work, nationality, employment history, social life, industrial injuries, family members, working conditions, households, leisure time activities, organizations, hours of work, social protest, diet and exercise, assault, exercise (physical activity), cors, nutrition, rewhard

Publications

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Institutet för social forskning (1998) Kodbok för levnadsnivåundersökningen 1991. Stockholm : Swedish institute for social research.

Institutet för social forskning (1992) Instruktions- och övningsformulär. Stockholm : Swedish Institute for Social Research. ISBN: 91-7604-048-8.
ISBN: 91-7604-048-8

Institutet för social forskning (1981) Instruktions- och övningsformulär. Stockholm : Swedish Institute for Social Research.

Vuksanovic, M. (1979) Kodbok för 1974 års levnadsnivåundersökning : dokumentation av ett dataregister för välfärdsforskning. Stockholm : Swedish Institute for Social Research. ISBN: 91-7604-005-4.
ISBN: 91-7604-005-4

Institutet för social forskning (1987) Bilder av välfärden : levnadsförhållanden i Sverige 1968-1981. Stockholm : Swedish Institute for Social Research. ISBN: 91-7540-047-2.
ISBN: 91-7540-047-2

Institutet för social forskning (1984) Variabler och koder för LNU 81. Stockholm : Swedish institute for social research. ISBN: 91-7604-007-0.
ISBN: 91-7604-007-0

Johansson, S. (1973) The level of living survey: A presentation. Acta Sociologica 16:211-219.

Duncan, Greg J., Joshi, Heather & Mayer, Karl Ulrich (2005) An evaluation of the Swedish Level of Living Survey (LNU): a report. Stockholm: Vetenskapsrådet
Libris
ISBN: 91-7307-063-7

Eriksson, R., Fritzell, J., & Jonsson, J. O. (1992) Questionnaire. Stockholm : Swedish institute for social research. ISBN: 91-7604-049-6.
ISBN: 91-7604-049-6

Erikson, R., & Åberg, R. (red.) (1984) Välfärd i förändring. Levnadsvillkor i Sverige 1968-1981. Stockholm: Prisma. ISBN: 91-518-1657-1.
ISBN: 91-518-1657-1

Libris

Erikson, R., & Åberg, R. (eds.) (1987) Welfare in Transition. A Survey on Living Conditions in Sweden 1968-1981. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Fritzell, J., & Lundberg, O. (1993) Ett förlorat eller förlovat årtionde? : välfärdsutvecklingen mellan 1981 och 1991. Stockholm : Swedish Institute for Social Research. ISBN: 91-7604-052-6.
ISBN: 91-7604-052-6

Fritzell, J., & Lundberg, O. (eds.) (1994) Vardagens villkor. Levnadsförhållanden i Sverige under tre decennier. Stockholm: Brombergs förlag. ISBN: 9176086364.
ISBN: 9176086364

Erikson, R. (1993) Descriptions of inequality: The Swedish apporach to welfare research. In M.C. Nussbaum, & A. Sen, (eds.). The quality of life. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

Johansson, S. (1970) Om levnadsnivåundersökningen. Stockholm: Allmänna förlaget.
Libris
ISBN: 91-38-01416-5

Johansson, S. (1979) Mot en teori för social rapportering. Stockholm: Swedish Institute for Social Research. ISBN: 99-0169631-3.
Libris
ISBN: 91-7604-001-1

Erikson, R., & Uusitalo, H. (1987) The Scandinavian approach to welfare research. In R. Erikson, E.J. Hansen, S. Ringen, & H. Uusitalo, (eds.). The Scandinavian model: Welfare states and welfare research. Armonk, New York: M.E. Sharpe.

Tåhlin, M. (1990) Politics, dynamics and individualism: The Swedish approach to level of living research. Social Indicators Research, 22.

Bygren, M. (1995) Reliabiliteten i levnadsnivåundersökningen 1991. Stockholm : Swedish Institute for Social Research. ISBN: 91-7604-058-5.
ISBN: 91-7604-058-5

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Level of Living Surveys

Dataset 1

LNU - Registerinformation on income

Associated documentation

Data format / data structure

Numeric

Creator/Principal investigator(s)

Sten Johansson - Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research

Robert Erikson - Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research

Jan O. Jonsson - Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research

Michael Tåhlin - Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research

Dataset 2

LNU - Register information on occupation, social class and education

Associated documentation

Data format / data structure

Numeric

Creator/Principal investigator(s)

Sten Johansson - Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research

Robert Erikson - Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research

Jan O. Jonsson - Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research

Michael Tåhlin - Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research

Dataset 3

LNU68 - Swedish level of living survey 1968

Associated documentation

Data format / data structure

Numeric

Creator/Principal investigator(s)

Sten Johansson - Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research

Robert Erikson - Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research

Jan O. Jonsson - Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research

Michael Tåhlin - Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research

Time period(s) investigated

1968-03 – 1968-11

Data collection

Mode of collection: Face-to-face interview
Time period(s) for data collection: 1968-03–1968-11
Data collector: Statistics Sweden
Source of the data: Population group

Variables

697

Number of individuals/objects

6520

Dataset 4

LNU74 - Swedish level of living survey 1974

Associated documentation

Data format / data structure

Numeric

Creator/Principal investigator(s)

Sten Johansson - Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research

Robert Erikson - Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research

Jan O. Jonsson - Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research

Michael Tåhlin - Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research

Time period(s) investigated

1974-10 – 1974-12

Data collection

Mode of collection: Face-to-face interview
Time period(s) for data collection: 1974-04–1974-12
Data collector: Statistics Sweden
Source of the data: Population group

Variables

722

Number of individuals/objects

6711

Dataset 5

LNU81 - Swedish level of living survey 1981

Associated documentation

Data format / data structure

Numeric

Creator/Principal investigator(s)

Sten Johansson - Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research

Robert Erikson - Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research

Jan O. Jonsson - Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research

Michael Tåhlin - Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research

Time period(s) investigated

1981-04-02 – 1981-12-18

Data collection

Mode of collection: Face-to-face interview
Time period(s) for data collection: 1981-04-02–1981-12-18
Data collector: Statistics Sweden
Source of the data: Population group

Variables

708

Number of individuals/objects

6985

Dataset 6

LNU91 - Swedish level of living survey 1991

Associated documentation

Data format / data structure

Numeric

Creator/Principal investigator(s)

Sten Johansson - Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research

Robert Erikson - Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research

Jan O. Jonsson - Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research

Michael Tåhlin - Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research

Time period(s) investigated

1991-02-25 – 1991-11-12

Data collection

Mode of collection: Face-to-face interview
Time period(s) for data collection: 1991-02-25–1991-11-12
Data collector: Statistics Sweden
Source of the data: Population group

Variables

656

Number of individuals/objects

6773

Dataset 7

LNU00 - Swedish level of living survey 2000

Associated documentation

Data format / data structure

Numeric

Creator/Principal investigator(s)

Sten Johansson - Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research

Robert Erikson - Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research

Jan O. Jonsson - Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research

Michael Tåhlin - Stockholm University, Swedish Institute for Social Research

Time period(s) investigated

2000 – 2000

Data collection

Mode of collection: Face-to-face interview
Time period(s) for data collection: 2000–2000
Data collector: Statistics Sweden
Source of the data: Population group

Variables

834

Number of individuals/objects

5142

Published: 1999-01-01

Last updated: 2020-01-22

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