. Abstract: Are cultural tastes always socially stratified? We approach this question via a least likely case and context: library borrowing in Denmark. Here, libraries are free, easy to access, and a core public service. We use new registry data on library borrowing for the entire population of Denmark to map the social stratification of library borrowing in unprecedented detail (e.g., overall library use and the taste for highbrow, popular, and award-winning books). We address four dimensions of stratification: wealth, education, income, and occupation. Empirical results document substantial social stratification in library borrowing and literary tastes by wealth and education, but not by income and occupation. These results suggest that the social stratification of cultural tastes is ubiquitous, even in a least likely case (library borrowing) and context (Denmark). We suggest that, while taste always seems to be stratified, the nature of that stratification is contingent on the nature of the wider inequalities within a given context. We address the theoretical implications of our findings for the sociology of taste, including the role of social stratification and contexts in shaping patterns of cultural stratification.
13. Blaabæk, Ea Hoppe. "Preaching to the Choir: Cues of Quality and Cultural Consumer Behavior."
. Abstract: This article studies the impact of quality signals from cultural intermediaries. Who gets to establish what is good taste? And who aligns their cultural behavior? Using population-wide administrative data on library loans in Denmark linked with information on literary awards and reviews, and a difference-in-differences design, I compare loans before and after an award/review, using shortlisted and books yet-to-receive awards/reviews as controls. Quality signals from cultural intermediaries significantly increase loans, especially among individuals with high levels of cultural capital. This challenges the emphasis on the detached aesthetic dispositions of the cultural elite in Bourdieu’s theory on cultural distinction. Second, higher cultural legitimacy does not increase signal impact. This questions the assumption that cultural intermediaries mobilize cultural legitimacy to consecrate cultural products. An equally important function of cultural intermediaries might be to inform and engage receptive audiences. The findings provide new insights into how signals from cultural intermediaries affect (whose) behavior.
Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
. Abstract: Libraries are important to provide reading resources for children, in particular for disadvantaged families. Research shows that access to libraries and reading resources is important to developing children’s (early) reading skills. This paper examines whether a library book giveaway program was effective in increasing parents reading investments in the form of loan of children’s books. Libraries in many Danish municipalities attempt to improve families’ use of children’s libraries by sending out invitations offering families a free book present if they come visit their local library. I test the effectiveness of this intervention using Danish registry data on the universe of public library loans, and information on the staggered treatment of families in 3 municipalities. Results based on a difference-in-differences design suggest that the program did not increase loan of children’s books - neither in families with high or low income, families with/without a college degree, or families with/without established reading practices. In contrast, the program had a small unintended negative effect among advantaged families.
12. Blaabæk, Ea Hoppe. "Nudging loan of children’s books - Quasi-Experimental Evidence from a Library Book Giveaway Program." Public Library Quarterly
11. Blaabæk, Ea Hoppe, Felix Elwert, and Peter Fallesen. "Childhood Traumatic Brain Injury and Crime in Adolescence—Reply". JAMA Pediatrics
. Abstract: In Reply We thank McMillan et al for engaging with our research.1 Analyzing longitudinal data on more than 340 000 Danish individuals, we found that the positive association between first-reported mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) in childhood and juvenile crime is greatly reduced and statistically insignificant after controlling for family-level confounding. This indicates no evidence for a causal effect of childhood mTBI on juvenile crime. McMillan et al caution that our finding should not inform policy due to our narrow focus on childhood mTBI and the risk of mTBI underreporting. We addressed both concerns in our article and add further considerations here.
10. Blaabæk, Ea Hoppe, Daniel Juhász Vigild, Felix Elwert, Peter Fallesen, and Lars H. Andersen. "Mild traumatic brain injury and criminal charges and convictions in mid and late adolescence". JAMA Pediatrics [Covered by Science]
. Abstract: Importance Childhood exposure to mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) is common. Individuals with a childhood history of mTBI experience more frequent criminal justice involvement in mid to late adolescence and adulthood. No study had been conducted to examine whether the link is causal or spurious. Objective To determine whether mTBI in childhood causes criminal justice involvement in mid to late adolescence. Design, Setting, and Participants This cohort study used population-based data for all children born between 1995 and 2000 in Denmark, with data linked to emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations before age 10 years and all criminal charges and convictions from ages 15 to 20 years. The exposure group contained all individuals diagnosed with mTBI before age 10 years without other intracranial or extracranial injuries; the comparison group was individuals not diagnosed with mTBI or intracranial or extracranial injuries. Sibling and twin fixed-effects models were used to evaluate the association after controlling for family-level confounding. Data were analyzed from May 2021 to July 2024. Exposures Mild TBI before age 10 years without other intracranial or extracranial injuries before or at the time of diagnosis. Main Outcomes and Measures Associations between mTBI before age 10 years and criminal charges and convictions from ages 15 to 20 for the entire study population and separately by sex at birth, controlling for additional covariates. Results The final analytic sample consisted of 343 027 individuals, 13 514 in the exposure group and 329 513 in the comparison group. Of the total sample, 166 455 (49%) were female and 176 572 were male (51%). A total of 326 191 participants (95%) had at least 1 parent with Danish citizenship, and 79 386 mothers (23%) held a college degree. There was a positive association between mTBI and criminal charges (odds ratio [OR], 1.26; 95% CI, 1.19-1.34) and convictions (OR, 1.24; 95% CI, 1.16-1.33). When controlling for family-level confounding, the associations became statistically insignificant and, in most models, greatly reduced. Results were robust across multiple model specifications. Conclusions and Relevance This study found that although mTBI in childhood was predictive of adolescent criminal justice involvement, there was no evidence that mTBI caused criminal charges or convictions.
9. Jæger, Mads Meier, Stine Møllegaard, and Ea Hoppe Blaabæk. 2024. "Literary tastes are as heritable as other human phenotypes: Evidence from twins’ library borrowing". PLOS ONE
. Abstract: Social science research argues that differences in individuals’ literary and cultural tastes originate in social environments. Yet, it might be that these differences are partly associated with genetic differences between individuals. To address this possibility, we use nation-scale registry data on library borrowing among Danish twins (N = 67,900) to assess the heritability of literary tastes. We measure literary tastes via borrowing of books of different genres (e.g., crime and biographical novels) and formats (physical, digital, and audio) and decompose the total variance in literary tastes into components attributable to shared genes (heritability), shared environments (social environment shared by siblings), and unique environments (social environments not shared by siblings). We find that genetic differences account for 45–70 percent of the total variance in literary tastes, shared environments account for almost none of the variance, and unique environments account for a moderate share. These results suggest that literary tastes are approximately as heritable as other human phenotypes (e.g., physical traits, cognition, and health). Moreover, heritability is higher for socioeconomically disadvantaged groups than for advantaged groups. Overall, our results suggest that research should consider the role of genetic differences in accounting for individual differences in literary and broader cultural tastes.
8. Blaabæk, Ea Hoppe, Lars Højsgaard Andersen, and Peter Fallesen. 2024. "From unequal injuries to unequal learning? Socioeconomic gradients in childhood concussions and the impact on children's academic performance". Social Science & Medicine
7. Blaabæk, Ea Hoppe, and Mads Meier Jæger. 2023. "No substitute for the real thing? Physical and digital cultural participation in Denmark during the COVID-19 pandemic". Acta Sociologica
. Abstract: In this research note, we analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cultural participation. We use rich survey data from Denmark to construct pooled time-series cross-sectional data for each month of the years 2019–2021 and report three findings. First, participation in physical cultural activities (e.g. attending a concert or a museum) plummeted during two lockdowns and did not return to its pre-pandemic level by the end of 2021. Second, participation in digital activities (e.g. reading a digital book or following a museum on social media) did not change much during the pandemic. Overall, we find little evidence of substitution from physical to digital cultural participation during the COVID-19 lockdown in Denmark. Third, socioeconomic gradients in cultural participation decreased during the pandemic for physical cultural participation, but did not change for digital cultural participation. We end by discussing what we can learn from our results about how social disruptions affect patterns of cultural participation and inequality.
6. Blaabæk, Ea Hoppe. 2022. ”Stratification in parents’ selection of developmentally appropriate books for children: register-based evidence from Danish public libraries”. European Societies
5. Blaabæk, Ea Hoppe. 2022. ”Cultural Inputs and Accumulating Inequality in Children’s Reading: A Dynamic Approach.” European Sociological Review
4. Jæger, Mads Meier, and Ea Hoppe Blaabæk. 2021. ”Local Historical Context and Multigenerational Socioeconomic Attainment.” Research in Social Stratification and Mobility
3. Jæger, Mads Meier, and Ea Hoppe Blaabæk. 2020. ”Inequality in Learning Opportunities during Covid-19: Evidence from Library Takeout.” Research in Social Stratification and Mobility
2. Blaabæk, Ea Hoppe. 2020. ”Reading when the sun does not shine: The effect of reading on children's academic performance.” Research in Social Stratification and Mobility
. Abstract: Does reading affect children’s academic performance? Drawing on Scholarly Culture Theory, I hypothesize that children’s reading outside of school fosters skills that enhance their academic performance. The main inferential challenge is that children who read more are likely to have other characteristics that enhance their skills, thereby complicating causal interpretation. To address this challenge, I use cross-time variation in the amount of sunshine that children are exposed to as a natural experiment that affects whether they read, but that I argue has no direct effect on their academic performance. I hypothesize that sunshine affects whether children read or not more in families with more scholarly culture (books and newspaper in the home) and higher socioeconomic status (SES) because these children have the necessary skills, means and motivations to take up reading when the sun shines less. Empirical results based on analyses of time-diary data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics – Child Development Supplement show that (1) children who were exposed to more sunshine were less likely to read and (2) reading has a positive effect on reading, but not math, test scores.
. Abstract: Research shows that Covid-19 enhanced inequality in families’ learning environments. We use register data from Denmark to analyze inequality in families’ takeout of digital children’s books from public libraries. Our register data, which include more than 55 million observations of families’ daily library takeout, show that the socioeconomic gradient in library takeout (by parents’ education and income) that existed before the Covid-19 lockdown increased after the lockdown. We also find that the increase in the socioeconomic gradient during Covid-19 was weaker in immigrant than in native families, stronger in families with recent experience in taking out digital materials from the library, and stronger in families with children in the early stages of elementary school. Overall, our results suggest that Covid-19 increased inequality in learning opportunities because better off families were more successful at using libraries during the pandemic than worse off families.
. Abstract: We present an analytical model that outlines different pathways through which local contexts, defined as bounded geographic areas, shape socioeconomic attainment in three generations. Our model broadens the multigenerational research agenda, which has mainly focused on transmission within the family, and offers a framework for analyzing how exogenous shocks to local contexts could be used to test causal hypotheses. We use a descriptive case study of 20th century Wisconsin to illustrate how we can interpret empirical associations between characteristics of local contexts and socioeconomic attainment in three generations within our model. We end by considering how we could extend our model to capture a more complex set of contextual factors and how we could use it to address inferential challenges in multigenerational research.
. Abstract: Previous research shows that children from socioeconomically advantaged families read more than children from less advantaged homes. This article studies how inequality in the amount that children read accumulates across childhood and the extent to which this inequality depends on the cultural inputs parents provide. Additionally, the article studies whether children’s or parents’ cognitive ability moderates the effect of cultural inputs. Based on a Dynamic Panel Data Model and data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979—Children and Young Adults Supplement, I find that the amount that children read depends on both the cultural inputs they currently receive, but also on those inputs received in previous years (which shaped how much they read in previous years). This cross-time accumulation, coupled with a socioeconomic gradient in the levels of cultural inputs parents provide, leads to growing inequality in children’s reading. I do not find that cultural inputs are more effective in encouraging children with higher ability or children of mothers with higher ability to read more.
. Abstract: This paper studies socioeconomic gradients in parents' selection of developmentally appropriate children's books from public libraries. I draw on developmental gradients research to hypothesize that families with high socioeconomic status (SES) select a higher share of books that match children's developmental stage in order to best improve children's learning environments. Based on Danish registry data on all books borrowed from public libraries in 2020, I find that highly educated families are more likely to use libraries and borrow more books, but they do not select a larger share of developmentally appropriate books; in fact, they select a slightly lower share. In contrast, high-income families borrow both a little more books and a little higher share of developmentally appropriate books, than low-income families. The supplementary analyses show that results are robust across families with children of different ages and to account for nonrandom selection into the sample of library users, socioeconomic differences in children's reading skills, and the impact of library lockdowns due to Covid-19. I conclude that stratification in library book selection is more prominent concerning the voraciousness with which highly educated parents provide reading inputs (more books) than how discriminating they are in terms of selecting developmentally appropriate books.
. Abstract: Previous research identifies stark socioeconomic disparities in child injuries, yet research on the repercussions hereof on other aspects of children's lives remains sparse. This paper tests whether social gradients in minor traumatic brain injuries (mTBIs or concussions) contribute to corresponding inequalities in children's academic performance. Previous research on this topic is mostly based on small samples and confounded by non-random selection into experiencing mTBIs. We improve on prior research by using high quality, large N, administrative registry data. Further, we control for selection into having an mTBI via comparing the test score progression of children having an mTBI with children who experience an mTBI in later years (staggered difference-in-differences). Based on Danish ER/hospital records and national test score data, we find that children from families with lower earnings and less education are more likely to experience an mTBI and that having an mTBI negatively correlates with reading test scores. However, comparing present with future mTBI cases, we show that having an mTBI within a year before a test does not negatively affect children's reading scores. Our findings suggest that negative correlations between mTBIs and academic performance more likely reflect socioeconomic gradients in mTBI incidents rather than a direct causal effect. Further, socioeconomic gradients in mTBI incidents do not significantly contribute to corresponding disparities in academic performance.
1. Blaabæk, Ea Hoppe, Mads Meier Jæger, and Joseph Molitoris. 2020. ”Family Size and Educational Attainment: Cousins, Contexts, and Compensation”. European Journal of Population
. Abstract: This paper analyses the effect of family size on children’s educational attainment using a new research design that combines fixed effects and instrumental variable (IV) approaches. We use (a) data on first cousins who belong to the same extended family but to different nuclear families to control for extended family fixed effects and (b) variation in in-married spouses’ number of siblings (a proxy for their fecundity and preferences) as an IV for variation in family size within extended families. We find that family size has a negative causal effect on educational attainment and, moreover, that the negative effect is smaller in families with stronger social ties. Our results suggest that contextual characteristics outside the nuclear family moderate the negative effect of family size on children’s educational attainment.