Marketization and Educational Inequality: The Changing Relationship Between Socioeconomic Background and GPA in Sweden (1998–2020)

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Abstract

Marketization and Educational Inequality: The Changing Relationship Between Socioeconomic Background and GPA in Sweden (1998–2020)

Since the early 1990s, Sweden’s education system has undergone extensive reforms through decentralization, school choice, and the expansion of independent schools (publicly funded for-profit schools). This study examines how these marketization processes have reshaped the link between students’ socioeconomic background—measured by parental education and municipal median income—and Grade 9 GPA over the period 1998 to 2020.

Utilizing registry-based data from the Gothenburg Longitudinal Database (GOLD) and Statistics Sweden, the analysis investigates trends in academic achievement alongside shifts in parental education levels and local economic conditions. A key focus is the role of marketization, operationalized as the share of independent school students in a municipality. Findings reveal that the association between socioeconomic factors and GPA has strengthened over time. Notably, municipalities with higher proportions of independent schools exhibit a more pronounced relationship, suggesting that market-oriented reforms may reinforce existing inequalities rather than mitigate them.

These results indicate that, while improvements in school performance are evident, the benefits are unevenly distributed. Students from higher socioeconomic backgrounds have increasingly capitalized on these reforms, which may contribute to a more stratified education system and, ultimately, labor market outcomes. By examining the intersections between marketization, socioeconomic status, and academic performance, this study contributes to ongoing debates about educational inequality and provides insights for policymakers concerned with the long-term effects of market-oriented reforms in the school sector.

Author

• Tommie Petersson, Uppsala University