The trial lecture lasts from 10:00-10:45.
The title is: "Continuity and Change in Young Adults’ Labor Market Establishment Patterns in Norway, 1993–2017: A Cross-Cohort Study".
The candidate will defend her thesis at 12:00.
The committee is:
- Professor Anette Eva Fasang, Berlin Social Science Center
- Professor Thomas Lorentzen, University of Bergen
- Associate Professor Mats Eirik Lillehagen, Oslo Metropolitan University
Leader of the public defence is Dean Oddgeir Osland, Oslo Metropolitan University.
Main supervisor is Research Professor Wendy Nilsen, Oslo Metropolitan University.
Co-supervisor is Professor Kjetil A. van der Wel, Oslo Metropolitan University.
Summary
This dissertation examines how young adults’ labor market establishment patterns have developed across cohorts born between 1971 and 1986 in Norway, followed from ages 22 to 31 (1993–2017). Using Norwegian register data, the study analyzes long-term trajectories of work, education, welfare, and family formation to assess how changes align with theoretical expectations about the labor market challenges facing young adults in Norway.
The findings show increasing stability in young adults’ transitions to work, challenging common “youth crisis” narratives. However, group-specific differences are evident: some men, specifically some men of disadvantaged social origins and those with early-career NEET experience, face worsening long-term outcomes, while young mothers still encounter career disadvantages despite clear progress. Overall, the results support a differentiated “welfare buffer” interpretation of the Norwegian institutional context and point to the need for an intersectional understanding of the challenges facing new generations of young adults.
