Mapping the Complete Network of Sweden

• In Event: 40221 - Section on Mathematical Sociology Flash Talks
  In Refereed Roundtable (90 minute): Table 6: Mapping the Complete Network of Sweden

Abstract

This research project investigates how interconnected social contexts shape individual outcomes and social inequality using Swedish population register data. Moving beyond traditional approaches that study social contexts (households, schools, workplaces, neighborhoods) in isolation, we map full-population multiplex networks that integrate these domains to understand their combined effects on social processes.

Our project makes four key contributions. First, we develop innovative methodological approaches for constructing realistic social exposure networks that account for context size and exposure duration, improving upon current methods that assume equal exposure among individuals in shared contexts. Second, we analyze macro-level properties of these networks, providing novel measurements of social distance between population groups and revealing how interconnectedness has evolved over time. Third, we examine how individuals' network positions develop throughout their life courses, identifying pathways that either promote social integration or lead to isolation. Fourth, we investigate how network positions influence individual outcomes (educational attainment, income, partnerships, fertility, health behaviors) and contribute to persistent intergroup inequalities.

This work focuses on the multiplex nature of social exposure. Theoretically grounded in classical network concepts (Granovetter's weak ties, homophily, social capital), our approach reveals how these mechanisms operate across multiple interconnected domains simultaneously. As social science has demonstrated, network connections provide access to information, resources, and opportunities, but these advantages are unevenly distributed, potentially exacerbating inequality. By mapping Sweden's population-wide multiplex network structure, we provide unprecedented insights into social distance between groups, segregation patterns across domains, intergenerational transmission of network positions, and how these structures contribute to social outcomes and inequalities.

Authors

• Károly Takács, Hungarian Academy of Sciences

• Carl Nordlund

• Martin Arvidsson

• Petter Holme

• Laura Fürsich, University of Chicago

• Maël Lecoursonnais

• Elis Carlberg Larsson, Linköping Unviersity

• Selcan Mutgan, Linköping University

• Christian Steglich

• Maria Brandén