From “ghettos” to graduation? A register-based cohort study on the long-term impact of Danish “ghetto” areas on educational attainment
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 12067006 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Rolf Lyneborg Lund (0000-0003-1013-8620, Aalborg University), Andreas Lindegaard Jakobsen (0000-0001-5505-1903, Aalborg University, corresponding author), Michelle Voersaa Fisker (0000-0002-7143-6974, Aalborg University), Hanne Louise Jensen (0000-0002-0744-8401, Aalborg University), Anja Jørgensen (0000-0003-3864-2458, Aalborg University) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Pages | 1-20 |
| Publication date | 2025-06-05 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Urban Affairs (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0735-2166 • E-ISSN: 1467-9906 |
| Publisher | Taylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/07352166.2025.2511020 |
| OpenAlex | W4411062965 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 59 |
Since 2010, Danish governments have published an annual list of areas designated as “ghettos,” portrayed as having a uniquely harmful culture—labeled as “parallel societies” due to ethnic and cultural factors rather than socioeconomic disadvantage alone. This study examines whether growing up in these areas affects long-term educational attainment and whether they exert a distinct influence beyond socioeconomic conditions, with previous research highlighting that the social environment in disadvantaged neighborhoods may negatively affect the educational prospects of young people. Three cohorts born between 1988 and 1990 (N = 177,000) were linked to Danish register data to measure “ghetto” exposure during adolescence at ages 15–17 in 2005 and educational attainment in adulthood at age 28–30 in 2018. Inverse probability-weighted regression models were used to estimate the impact of “ghetto” areas, while controlling for neighborhood selection, with models stratified by ethnicity. Living in a “ghetto” area was associated with lower educational attainment for immigrants/descendants, and individuals of Danish origin. However, this association became insignificant after controlling for neighborhood socioeconomic deprivation, suggesting that young people from Danish “ghetto” areas may have lower educational levels later in life, but with no evidence of an independent “ghetto” effect beyond local socioeconomic conditions
Cohort · Danish · Demographic economics · Economic growth · Economics · Educational attainment · Graduation (instrument · Political science · Register (sociolinguistics · Sociology · Term (time · Demography · Engineering · Medicine · Migration and Labor Dynamics · Racial and Ethnic Identity Research · Urban, Neighborhood, and Segregation Studies
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| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 1 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |