This dissertation examines kinship loss, its impact on socioeconomic trajectories, and kinship composition in Sweden through three empirical studies. Chapter 2 sheds light on the labour market implications of sibling bereavement, documenting an 8% reduction in survivors' gross earnings. This finding highlights the importance of siblings as a resource that affects labour market outcomes.
Chapter 3 examines the timing of retirement, a pressing concern in the context of an aging population. The study contributes by incorporating kin loss, a previously neglected event, into retirement models. The chapter reveals the extent to which the death of a family member accelerates retirement, highlighting the profound influence of family ties and gendered relationship dynamics on important life course decisions.
Chapter 4 analyses the kinship networks of migrants, primarily from the Global South, and highlights the unique challenges posed by their often geographically dispersed and transnational family ties. Using sophisticated microsimulation forecasting techniques, I find a "double burden" for future elderly migrants, characterised by economic vulnerability and a lack of informal caregiving support. This chapter compares the availability of family support and economic resources between native and migrant elders, highlighting the uneven distribution of kin.
Marcus Immonen Hagley is a PhD Researcher at the Department of Political and Social Sciences at the European University Institute (EUI). His research concerns kinship, loss, inequality, and mortality studies. In his recent working paper, he investigated how kinship composition and income in old age between migrants and natives. Before his PhD studies at the EUI, Marcus was a part of the European Doctoral School of Demography (EDSD). In July 2024, he will be joining the University of Vienna for a research project on the consequences of late fertility.