Research

My research is organised around several interconnected themes. Below is an overview of my main areas of inquiry.

Social Stratification and Intergenerational Mobility

The core of my research programme examines how social origins shape life outcomes across generations. I study both objective patterns of intergenerational mobility (using register data and large-scale surveys) and subjective mobility – how people perceive their own position relative to their parents. This work investigates the causes and consequences of mobility perceptions for wellbeing, health behaviours, and political attitudes.

Key questions: What drives people to perceive themselves as upwardly or downwardly mobile? How do mobility perceptions differ from actual mobility trajectories? What are the psychological and political consequences of perceived mobility?

Inequality of Opportunity and Health

A growing strand of my research examines how equality of opportunity – or the lack thereof – affects population health outcomes. I use cross-national comparative data to study the relationship between structural inequality and mortality, as well as the pathways through which opportunity perceptions influence health-related quality of life.

Key questions: Does greater equality of opportunity improve population health? How do people’s beliefs about opportunity shape their own health outcomes? What role does perceived social position play in health inequalities?

Disability, Legislation, and Social Outcomes

Working with Norwegian register data and cross-national surveys, I investigate the socioeconomic consequences of disability across the life course. This includes studying income attainment among individuals with early-life disabilities, the effects of anti-discrimination legislation on perceived disability discrimination, and whether welfare state regimes genuinely equalise outcomes for disabled individuals.

Key questions: Does disability legislation reduce perceived discrimination? Do social-democratic welfare states deliver on their promise of equalising outcomes for people with disabilities?

Public Opinion, Welfare Attitudes, and Social Policy

I study how people’s social origins and mobility experiences shape their political preferences and attitudes toward the welfare state. This comparative work draws on data from both Western European democracies and post-socialist transition societies to examine the link between stratification, redistribution preferences, and support for democracy.

Key questions: How do mobility experiences shape welfare state preferences? Does information about inequality of opportunity change people’s perceptions? What explains cross-national variation in public support for redistribution?

Post-Soviet Societies, Collective Memory, and Geopolitics

Drawing on my background and regional expertise, I conduct research on collective memory, national identity, and contemporary perspectives on the Soviet past – particularly regarding Stalin’s legacy. More recently, I have been studying European responses to Russia’s war in Ukraine, including how the war has reshaped perceptions of intergenerational mobility and how Europeans compare Putin and Stalin.

Key questions: How do Europeans perceive the end of war in Ukraine? How does the war reshape social mobility perceptions across the continent? What explains variation in attitudes toward the Soviet past?