Morten Blekesaune

• Blekesaune, Morten (2025). Does the language of instruction in schools affect educational attainments? An empirical analysis of Norwegian students. International Journal of Educational Development. ISSN 0738-0593. 119. doi: 10.1016/j.ijedudev.2025.103438. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Norwegian has two written forms: Bokmål, which resembles the oral language in the cities, and Nynorsk, which resembles the oral language in rural areas of Western Norway. This study exploits this linguistic situation to test a hypothesis that discrepancies between non-standard oral language and standardised written language have negative effects on the educational attainment of young people. It compares the level of education completed at age 27 for a full population of 30,322 individuals who received their instruction in schools in either Bokmål or Nynorsk in rural municipalities of Southern Norway, while controlling for other factors. The findings show an educational disadvantage among students from rural areas with Bokmål instruction compared to similar Nynorsk areas. The study discusses possible socio-linguistic explanations for these findings and argues that language policies are important because they indirectly affect access to higher education.

• Blekesaune, Morten & Skirbekk, Vegard Fykse (2025). Is Religiosity Related to the Risk of Technology-Induced Job Loss? Nordic Journal of Religion and Society. ISSN 0809-7291. 38(2), p. 59–74. doi: 10.18261/njrs.38.2.1. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This study tests a hypothesis that religious individuals are less likely than non-religious individuals to work in occupations associated with a risk of technology-induced job loss due to a general tendency towards risk aversion as well as lower prioritization given to material rewards. It combines data on religiosity from a Norwegian large-scale health survey (HUNT4, 2017‒2019) with assessments of the risks of technology-induced job loss, as indicated by a Routine Task Intensity (RTI) index collected from the O*NET Database, at the level of 358 occupations. Our findings show that religious individuals are less likely to work in occupations at risk of technology-induced job loss. Additionally, religious individuals tend to have lower incomes from work even at similar levels of education. The gap in occupational risks between religious and non-religious individuals is larger among men than women, and it holds across various types of religious activity, age groups, and levels of education.

• Blekesaune, Morten & Skirbekk, Vegard Fykse (2025). Frail parents and adult children’s life-satisfaction: a longitudinal analysis of Norwegian data. European Journal of Ageing. ISSN 1613-9372. 22. doi: 10.1007/s10433-025-00883-9. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Earlier research has found that adult children’s caregiving for older parents is associated with a decline in life satisfaction. However, other research indicates that emotional stress in adult children might be related to the declining health and frailty of their older parents rather than caregiving per se. Hence, there is a possibility that the first set of findings (declining life satisfaction when giving care) reflects factors not specified in statistical models rather than the care provided by adult children. This study tests this possibility by investigating changes in life satisfaction among 3,094 adult children from panel data in Norway that includes multiple indicators of health and care needs in older parents, together with data on who is providing care. Declining life satisfaction was observed among daughters but not among sons, and these changes were driven by the frailty and care needs of their parents rather than caregiving per se. The findings indicate that it is not caregiving that affects life satisfaction but the circumstances leading to caregiving. In these situations, adult daughters may struggle with sources of distress beyond providing support and care. Further research should investigate these relationships in countries with different distributions of care between families and public care institutions.

• Skirbekk, Vegard Fykse; Blekesaune, Morten & Sunde, Hans Fredrik (2025). Personality and fertility dynamics in Norway across four decades – Findings from the HUNT survey. Personality and Individual Differences. ISSN 0191-8869. 233. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2024.112862. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In recent years, Western countries have seen unprecedented fertility declines; increasing childlessness, lower fertility levels and a shift in the timing of fertility to increasingly older ages. The reasons behind these changes in reproductive patterns have been insufficiently understood. In an era emphasizing individual autonomy and personal choice in family planning, personality traits could play a significant role in shaping family formation and fertility patterns. To explore this we use personality measures from the Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT) combined with birth records from the Norwegian Population Registry (N = 27,585). We investigated how extraversion and neuroticism related to three measures of fertility (age of a first child, number of children and childlessness) across four decades. Our study finds that extraversion was associated with an earlier age at first birth and a greater number of children ever born. Neuroticism was associated with an earlier age at first birth but fewer children ever born. Associations were generally stronger for men. Extraversion showed no clear time trends, whereas neuroticism has generally become more strongly associated with fertility in younger cohorts.

• Blekesaune, Morten (2023). Velvilje og holdninger til innvandring. In Hestholm, Roger Ivan & Skarpenes, Ove (Ed.), Sosiologisk analyse. Fagbokforlaget. ISSN 9788245045932. p. 221–233. Full text in Research Archive
• Blekesaune, Morten & Skirbekk, Vegard Fykse (2022). Does forming a nuclear family increase religiosity? Longitudinal evidence from the British Household Panel Survey. European Sociological Review. ISSN 0266-7215. 39(4), p. 663–675. doi: 10.1093/esr/jcac060. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This study investigates how far the nuclear family—in terms of entering cohabitation and marriage and having a first and second child—affects religious salience, religious attendance, and activity in religious organizations. Previous research has shown that religious individuals are more likely to marry, and have higher fertility, than non-religious individuals. Less is known about how far the nuclear family also affects religiosity. This study presents longitudinal evidence on how religious factors change within the life-course of individuals after entering cohabitation or marriage and after having a first or second child in up to 14 waves of the British Household Panel Survey collected between 1991 and 2009. The comparison between longitudinal and cross-sectional results indicates how far religious factors affect family formation processes. All religious factors investigated (salience, attendance, activity) increased when people became parents, as well as when they married, but not when they started to cohabit. Most of these effects are long-lasting and they hold across age, gender and cohort groups.

• Hansen, Thomas & Blekesaune, Morten (2022). The age and well-being “paradox”: a longitudinal and multidimensional reconsideration. European Journal of Ageing. ISSN 1613-9372. 19, p. 1277–1286. doi: 10.1007/s10433-022-00709-y. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This paper explores qualifcations to the much-discussed paradox that although aging is associated with multiple physical and social losses, subjective well-being (SWB) is stable or increasing in later life. We explore age-related changes in cognitive, afective, and eudaimonic dimensions in three waves of data spanning up to 15 years from the Norwegian NorLAG study (N=4,944, age 40−95). We employ fxed-efect models to examine the nature and predictors of aging efects on SWB. Results indicate a general pattern of stability well into older age, but negative changes in advanced age across well-being measures. Declines in SWB are less pronounced and with a later onset for the cognitive compared with the other measures. Loss of health, a partner, and friends are robust predictors of declining SWB. Women report both more negative afect and engagement than men, and these diferences increase with age. In conclusion, while increasing SWB from midlife to the mid-70 s attests to the adaptive behaviors and coping resources of young-old adults, the signifcant downturns in SWB in advanced age point to limits to psychological adjustment when health-related and social threats and constraints intensify.

• Deeg, Dorly J. H.; Blekesaune, Morten & Wind, Astrid de (2021). Employment trends at older ages: policy impact or secular change? European Journal of Ageing. ISSN 1613-9372. doi: 10.1007/s10433-021-00664-0. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Abstract Observed increases in retirement age are generally attributed to policies to extend working lives (PEW). In a quasi-experimental design, we examine to what extent increases in employment of older workers can be attributed to secular changes in individual characteristics as opposed to PEW. We compare two countries: one with clear PEW (the Netherlands) and one without PEW (Norway). Data come from the Dutch Longitudinal Aging Study Amsterdam and the NORwegian Longitudinal study on Aging and Generations. From each study, two same-age (55–64 years) samples are selected, one recruited in 2002–03, and one recruited after fve (Norway) and ten years (Netherlands). In pooled regression analysis, paid work is the outcome variable, and time of measurement, the main independent variable. Individual characteristics include age, sex, educational level, self-perceived health, functional limitations, sense of mastery, and work status of partner. Employment rose in both countries, faster in the Netherlands than in Norway. Of the rise in employment, individual characteristics explained less in the Netherlands than in Norway. Accounting for these, the interaction country*time was signifcant, indicating an extra rise in employment of 5.2 and 7.5% points for Dutch men and women, net of individual characteristics and unobserved factors that are assumed to be similar in both countries. The extra rise in the Netherlands represents 57% of the total rise for both sexes. Thus, secular change in individual characteristics explains part of the rise in employment in both countries. In the Netherlands, other factors such as PEW may additionally explain the rise in employment.

• Blekesaune, Morten (2021). Does the nuclear family affect social trust? Longitudinal evidence from Germany. European Societies. ISSN 1461-6696. doi: 10.1080/14616696.2021.1974511. Full text in Research Archive
• Blekesaune, Morten & Hansen, Thomas (2021). Human Values and Retirement Experiences: a Longitudinal Analysis of Norwegian Data. Social Indicators Research. ISSN 0303-8300. 157, p. 1001–1019. doi: 10.1007/s11205-021-02687-7. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Motivational factors, such as one’s value system, may affect how people cope with the opportunities and challenges of retirement. This article explores the moderating roles of Schwartz’s four basic values (self-enhancement, self-transcendence, openness to change, and conservation) on the magnitude and duration of retirement effects on life satisfaction between two waves (2007 and 2017) of the Norwegian Life course, Ageing and Generation (NorLAG) study. Fixed-effect regression analyses are run separately for men and women to account for gender differences in the attachments and identities tied to work and non-work domains. Retirement is not a uniform experience, and findings show that retirement experiences are structured by gender and personal values. Holding values with a personal focus (self-enhancement and openness to change) is associated with less beneficial effects of retirement among men but not among women. Men holding these values may struggle to find new and stimulating avenues for experiencing personal success and variety after retirement. Holding values with a social focus (self-transcendence and conservation) is unrelated to retirement effects.

• Blekesaune, Morten (2021). Employment among female immigrants to Europe. Acta Sociologica. ISSN 0001-6993. 64(3), p. 331–345. doi: 10.1177/00016993211003643. Full text in Research Archive
• Blekesaune, Morten & Vangsnes, Øystein A (2020). Språk og standpunktkarakterer i nynorsk- og bokmålskommuner på Vestlandet. Norsklæreren. ISSN 0332-7264. 44(2), p. 56–68. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Standpunktkarakterene i nynorskkommuner på Vestlandet viser en mindre gunstig utvikling i perioden mellom 2009 og 2018 enn i bokmålskommunene i samme region. Artikkelen drøfter mulige årsaker, herunder endringer i medienes språk, der nynorsk i stor grad har blitt fortrengt av bokmål og dialekter, en utvikling som er aller tydeligst i nye digitale medier.

• Blekesaune, Morten (2020). The fertility of female immigrants to Europe from Christian and Muslim countries. Journal of Religion and Demography. ISSN 2589-7411. 7(2), p. 222–237. doi: 10.1163/2589742X-12347109. Full text in Research Archive
• Blekesaune, Morten; Dale-Olsen, Harald; Hellevik, Tale & Pedersen, Axel West (2019). Helsesvikt og arbeidsuførhet. In Bay, Ann-Helén; Hatland, Aksel; Hellevik, Tale & Terum, Lars Inge (Ed.), Trygd i aktiveringens tid. Gyldendal Akademisk. ISSN 9788205502314. p. 176–201. Full text in Research Archive
• Blekesaune, Morten (2019). Can ‘Openness-to-change’ and ‘Conservation’ Values Predict the Diffusion of the Internet into European Homes? Comparative Sociology. ISSN 1569-1322. 18(5-6), p. 735–756. doi: 10.1163/15691330-12341516. Full text in Research Archive
• Vangsnes, Øystein A; Söderlund, Göran & Blekesaune, Morten (2017). The effect of bidialectal literacy on school achievement. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism. ISSN 1367-0050. 20(3), p. 346–361. doi: 10.1080/13670050.2015.1051507. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The Norwegian language has two written standards, Bokmål (majority variety) and Nynorsk (minority variety), and children receive their schooling in one or other of them. Pupils schooled in Nynorsk acquire the Bokmål variety simultaneously through extracurricular exposure and thus develop what may be termed bidialectal literacy. In this study, we correlate, at municipal level, the results from Norwegian standardized national tests in reading, arithmetic, and English from four cohorts of eighth graders (2009–2012), with available statistics on language of instruction and socio-economic status. The finding is that municipalities with Nynorsk pupils have better than average results in national tests once socio-economic factors are taken into consideration. We suggest that this may be seen as an effect of the ‘bilingual advantage’ in cognitive development and that such advantage may arise even in the case of closely related linguistic varieties.

• Angel, Bjørn Øystein & Blekesaune, Morten (2016). Flyttinger i barnevernet En forløpsanalyse av administravtive data. In Trysnes, Irene & Eide, Solveig Botnen (Ed.), Sosionomutdanning på Sørlandet : festskrift ved 25-årsjubileet høsten 2016. Portal forlag. ISSN 9788283141030. p. 48–63. Full text in Research Archive
• Blekesaune, Morten (2016). Is cohabitation as good as marriage for people's subjective well-being? Longitudinal evidence on happiness and life satisfaction in the British Household Panel Survey. Journal of Happiness Studies. ISSN 1389-4978. 19(2), p. 505–520. doi: 10.1007/s10902-016-9834-x. Full text in Research Archive
• Angel, Bjørn Øystein & Blekesaune, Morten (2015). Placement characteristics and stability: a longitudinal analysis of Norwegian children in foster homes. Child & Family Social Work. ISSN 1356-7500. 22(1), p. 236–245. doi: 10.1111/cfs.12223. Full text in Research Archive
• Tøge, Anne Grete & Blekesaune, Morten (2015). Unemployment transitions and self-rated health in Europe: A longitudinal analysis of EU-SILC from 2008 to 2011. Social Science and Medicine. ISSN 0277-9536. 143, p. 171–178. doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.08.040. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The Great Recession of 2008 has led to elevated unemployment in Europe and thereby revitalised the question of causal health effects of unemployment. This article applies fixed effects regression models to longitudinal panel data drawn from the European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions for 28 European countries from 2008 to 2011, in order to investigate changes in self-rated health around the event of becoming unemployed. The results show that the correlation between unemployment and health is partly due to a decrease in self-rated health as people enter unemployment. Such health changes vary by country of domicile, and by individual age; older workers have a steeper decline than younger workers. Health changes after the unemployment spell reveal no indication of adverse health effects of unemployment duration. Overall, this study indicates some adverse health effects of unemployment in Europe – predominantly among older workers.

• Næss, Siri; Blekesaune, Morten & Jakobsson, Niklas (2015). Marital transitions and life satisfaction: Evidence from longitudinal data from Norway. Acta Sociologica. ISSN 0001-6993. 58(1), p. 63–78. doi: 10.1177/0001699314563841. Full text in Research Archive
• Blekesaune, Morten (2015). Can self-enhancement values predict retirement behavior? An analysis combining survey and register data from Norway. The International Journal of Aging & Human Development. ISSN 0091-4150. 80(2), p. 101–114. doi: 10.1177/0091415015587161. Full text in Research Archive
• Skirbekk, Vegard & Blekesaune, Morten (2014). Personality Traits Increasingly Important for Male Fertility: Evidence from Norway. European Journal of Personality. ISSN 0890-2070. 28(6), p. 521–529. doi: 10.1002/per.1936. Full text in Research Archive
• Øverbye, Einar & Blekesaune, Morten (2013). The transition experience. In Øverbye, Einar & Jensen, Per H (Ed.), Down and out or free at last?. Logos Verlag Berlin. ISSN 9783832535131. p. 75–89. Full text in Research Archive
• Øverbye, Einar & Blekesaune, Morten (2013). Political integration. In Øverbye, Einar & Jensen, Per H (Ed.), Down and out or free at last?. Logos Verlag Berlin. ISSN 9783832535131. p. 67–74. Full text in Research Archive
• Blekesaune, Morten (2013). Economic strain and public support for redistribution: a comparative analysis of 28 European countries. Journal of Social Policy. ISSN 0047-2794. 42(1), p. 57–72. doi: 10.1017/S0047279412000748. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Is public support for redistribution affected by the number of people experiencing economic strain in a country? This question is investigated by comparing twenty-eight countries in the fourth round of the European Social Survey 2008-09 using two-level linear regression models. The results show that individuals reporting economic strain support redistribution more strongly than those who do not experience economic strain. Further, individuals living in countries where many other people report economic strain also support redistribution more strongly than individuals living in countries with less economic strain. The latter correlation is not explained by objective measures of the economic situation such as household income or the income dispersal of the country. The country-level effect of economic strain holds for all income levels. It is largely driven by a tendency to strongly believe in redistribution when living in countries of widespread economic strain. The results indicate that governments would receive more rather than less public support for redistributive policies during periods of economic strain.

• Blekesaune, Morten (2012). Job insecurity and sickness absence: Correlations between attrition and absence in 36 occupational groups. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health. ISSN 1403-4948. 40(7), p. 668–673. doi: 10.1177/1403494812459816. Full text in Research Archive
• Blekesaune, Morten (2012). Kjønnsroller og uførepensjonering. Tidsskrift for samfunnsforskning (TfS). ISSN 0040-716X. 53(1), p. 33–48. Full text in Research Archive
• Blekesaune, Morten & Skirbekk, Vegard (2012). Can personality predict retirement behaviour? A longitudinal analysis combining survey and register data from Norway. European Journal of Ageing. ISSN 1613-9372. 9(3), p. 199–206. doi: 10.1007/s10433-011-0212-6. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This study investigates how far personality can predict the timing and routes of people’s retirement. It uses a large comprehensive Norwegian survey, with larger sample size than earlier related studies, providing estimates of personality based on the five-factor model. The survey data are matched with administrative data, allowing observations of retirement over the 2002–2007 period. The analysis distinguishes between the disability and the nondisability retirements. Retirement is investigated using discrete time, competing risk, logistic regression models amongst individuals aged 50–69. Results indicate that personality predicts disability retirement but not non-disability retirement. Neuroticism increases the risk of disability retirement in women. Agreeableness and extraversion may prevent disability retirement, whereas openness may increase the risk of disability in men. Personality effects are generally consistent across models controlling, or not controlling, for well-known predictors of retirement behaviour including education, income and occupational group. The main exception is that poor health explains the effect of neuroticism on women’s disability retirement.

• Blekesaune, Morten (2012). Kan personlighet predikere sykefravær? Tidsskrift for velferdsforskning. ISSN 0809-2052. 15(1), p. 2–10. Full text in Research Archive
• Blekesaune, Morten (2012). Økonomisk integrasjon av innvandrere i Vest-Europa. Søkelys på arbeidslivet. ISSN 1504-8004. 29(3), p. 242–257. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Denne artikkelen sammenlikner økonomisk integrasjon av innvandrere fra Asia, Afrika og Latin-Amerika som har flyttet til seks vesteuropeiske regioner i European Social Survey (n=2150). Økonomisk integrasjon måles dels som aktivitet i form av arbeid eller utdanning og dels som at arbeid er husholdets viktigste inntektskilde. Analysene korrigerer for demografiske kjennetegn og opprinnelsesland (n=86). Innvandrere i Skandinavia er oftere i arbeid eller under utdanning enn innvandrere i fransktalende og tysktalende deler av Europa, spesielt kvinnelige innvandrere. En lav andel av innvandrerne i Skandinavia har derimot arbeid som husholdets viktigste kilde til livsopphold, spesielt mannlige innvandrere.

• Blekesaune, Morten & Veenstra, Marijke (2010). Helsesvikt og pensjoneringsatferd. Tidsskrift for velferdsforskning. ISSN 0809-2052. 13(2), p. 83–94. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Artikkelen analyserer sammenhenger mellom helse og pensjoneringsatferd ved å kombinere survey-data om helse blant yrkesaktive personer fra NoLAG1 fra 2002 med registerdata om pensjonering innen utgangen av samme og fem påfølgende år (2002?2007) blant personer mellom 50 og 70 års alder. Tre helsemål undersøkes: generell subjektiv helse, fysisk funksjon og depresjon. Analysen skiller også mellom uførepensjonering og mer frivillig pensjonering som avtalefestet pensjon (AFP) og alderspensjon. Resultatene viser at alle tre typene helsesvikt predikerer uførepensjonering. Dårlig subjektiv helse predikerer frivillig pensjonering hos menn. Depresjon og svekket fysisk funksjon predikerer ikke frivillig pensjonering. The article investigates correlations between health and retirement behaviour. It combines survey data about health from the first wave of the Norwegian Study of Life Course, Ageing and Generation (Nor-LAG 2002) with register data about granted retirement pensions by the end of six consecutive years (2002?2007) among individuals currently aged 50 to 69. Three measures of self-rated health are investigated: subjective «global» health (general health status), physical functioning and depression (depressive symptoms). The analysis also distinguishes between disability retirements versus retirement of a more voluntary type. Results indicate that all three types of health problems can predict disability retirement. Poor subjective health predicts voluntary retirement in men. Depression and poor physical functioning cannot predict voluntary retirement.

• Blekesaune, Morten (2010). Uførhet. In Bay, Ann-Helén; Hatland, Aksel; Hellevik, Tale & Koren, Charlotte (Ed.), De norske trygdene : framvekst, forvaltning og fordeling. Gyldendal Akademisk. ISSN 9788205403901. p. 251–271. Full text in Research Archive
• Blekesaune, Morten (2010). Sykdom og sykefravær. In Bay, Ann-Helén; Hatland, Aksel; Hellevik, Tale & Koren, Charlotte (Ed.), De norske trygdene : framvekst, forvaltning og fordeling. Gyldendal Akademisk. ISSN 9788205403901. p. 221–249. Full text in Research Archive
• Blekesaune, Morten; Hellevik, Tale & Pedersen, Axel West (2010). Uførhet. In Bay, Ann-Helén; Hatland, Aksel; Hellevik, Tale & Koren, Charlotte (Ed.), De norske trygdene : framvekst, forvaltning og fordeling. Gyldendal Akademisk. ISSN 9788205403901. p. 251–269. Full text in Research Archive
• Blekesaune, Morten & Dale-Olsen, Harald (2010). Sykdom og sykefravær. In Bay, Ann-Helén; Hatland, Aksel; Hellevik, Tale & Koren, Charlotte (Ed.), De norske trygdene : framvekst, forvaltning og fordeling. Gyldendal Akademisk. ISSN 9788205403901. p. 221–250. Full text in Research Archive
• Berthoud, Richard; Blekesaune, Morten & Hancock, Ruth (2009). Ageing, income and living standards: evidence from the British Household Panel Survey. Ageing & Society. ISSN 0144-686X. 29, p. 1105–1122. doi: 10.1017/S0144686X09008605. Full text in Research Archive
• Blekesaune, Morten (2008). Partnership Transitions and Mental Distress: Investigating Temporal Order. Journal of Marriage and Family. ISSN 0022-2445. doi: 10.1111/j.1741-3737.2008.00533.x. Full text in Research Archive
• Blekesaune, Morten (2007). Economic conditions and public attitudes to welfare policies. European Sociological Review. ISSN 0266-7215. 23. doi: 10.1093/esr/jcm012. Full text in Research Archive
• Blekesaune, Morten & Øverbye, Einar (2006). Uførepensjonister i arbeid. In Hammer, Torild & Øverbye, Einar (Ed.), Inkluderende arbeidsliv? Erfaringer og strategier. Gyldendal Akademisk. ISSN 9788205337404. p. 163–172. Full text in Research Archive
• Blekesaune, Morten & Pedersen, Axel West (2006). Sykefravær: innfallsporten til permanent trygding? In Hammer, Torild & Øverbye, Einar (Ed.), Inkluderende arbeidsliv? Erfaringer og strategier. Gyldendal Akademisk. ISSN 9788205337404. p. 142–162. Full text in Research Archive
• Blekesaune, Morten (2005). Working conditions and time use. Acta Sociologica. ISSN 0001-6993. 48(4), p. 308–320. Full text in Research Archive
• Blekesaune, Morten & Barrett, Anne E. (2005). Marital dissolution and work disability: A longitudinal study of administrative data. European Sociological Review. ISSN 0266-7215. 21(3), p. 259–271. Full text in Research Archive
• Blekesaune, Morten (2005). Hvordan påvirker AFP uførepensjoneringen? Tidsskrift for velferdsforskning. ISSN 0809-2052. 8(3), p. 135–145. Full text in Research Archive
• Blekesaune, Morten & Solem, Per Erik (2005). Working conditions and early retirement: a prospective study of retirement behavior. Research on Aging. ISSN 0164-0275. 27(3), p. 3–30. Full text in Research Archive
• Blekesaune, Morten & Quadagno, Jill (2003). Public attitudes toward welfare state policies: A comparative analysis of 24 nations. European Sociological Review. ISSN 0266-7215. doi: 10.1093/esr/19.5.415. Full text in Research Archive

View all works in NVA

• Blekesaune, Morten (2026). – Det kan høres lite ut, men i en klasse på 30 elever vil det bety at fem av disse ikke tar to år ekstra utdanning som de ellers kunne tatt. Det tilsvarer en mastergrad. [Internet]. Forskning.no. doi: https:/www.forskning.no/partner-politikk-skole-og-utdanning/det-kan-hores-lite-ut-men-i-en-klasse-pa-30-elever-vil-det-bety-at-fem-av-disse-ikke-tar-to-ar-ekstra-utdanning-som-de-ellers-kunne-tatt-det-tilsvarer-en-mastergrad/2610866. Full text in Research Archive
• Vangsnes, Øystein A; Söderlund, Göran & Blekesaune, Morten (2016). The effect of bidialectal literacy on school achievement. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The Norwegian language has two written standards, Bokmål (majority variety) and Nynorsk (minority variety), and children receive their schooling in one or other of them. Pupils schooled in Nynorsk acquire the Bokmål variety simultaneously through extracurricular exposure and thus develop what may be termed bidialectal literacy. In this study, we correlate, at municipal level, the results from Norwegian standardized national tests in reading, arithmetic, and English from four cohorts of eighth graders (2009–2012), with available statistics on language of instruction and socio-economic status. The finding is that municipalities with more than 50% Nynorsk pupils have better than average results in national tests once socio-economic factors are taken into consideration. The question that arises is whether this finding may be seen as a direct effect of the language situation that Nynorsk pupils experience or whether it may follow from some other set of, say socio-cultural, characteristics of the areas where the Nynorsk dominant municipalities are found. In this paper we will address the first possibility in particular, i.e. the idea that the scholastic effect may follow from a cognitive benefit that Nynorsk pupils enjoy due to their simultaneous acquisition of the two different written varieties of Norwegian. Two objections are commonly raised against treating balanced competence in Nynorsk and Bokmål on a par with bilingualism in the more familiar sense: (i) The two varieties are very close, and (ii) the competence relates to written language and is acquired at a time when the language acquisition as such is completed. The first objection appears irrelevant. The closeness is perhaps similar to that of Castillian Spanish and Catalan, perhaps even closer, but in any event they must for any user be kept distinct from each other. The second objection is not so obvious either. On the one hand children who become Nynorsk users will typically be exposed to Bokmål through children’s songs and books (read aloud) even before school age. Furthermore, it is very common that children outside the wider capital area use the Oslo dialect in role playing, and since this dialect functions as a representative of the Bokmål variety, this practice means that these role playing kids develop a dual oral competence in pre-school age. In turn, when entering school this means that the children who meet Nynorsk in school may transpose this into a dual literacy where their own dialect is matched with Nynorsk and the Oslo dialect is matched with Bokmål. The conclusion then is that the situation for the Nynorsk population of children (and later adults) in Norway is more similar to that of more familiar cases of bilingualism, and hence it may very well be that the scholastic effect in this population is a result of bilingual cognitive benefits of the kind reported in the international literature on bilingualism.

• Vangsnes, Øystein A; Söderlund, Göran & Blekesaune, Morten (2015). Nynorskeffekten på nasjonale prøvar. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  http://www.uia.no/konferanser-og-seminarer/mons

• Söderlund, Göran; Vangsnes, Øystein & Blekesaune, Morten (2014). The effect of bi-dialectal literacy on school achievement in Norway. Full text in Research Archive
• Tøge, Anne Grete & Blekesaune, Morten (2014). Unemployment and self-rated health - investigating temporal order during the 2008 economic crisis. Full text in Research Archive
• Blekesaune, Morten & Veenstra, Marijke (2013). Helse og pensjoneringsatferd. In Daatland, Svein Olav & Slagsvold, Britt (Ed.), Vital aldring og samhold mellom generasjoner. Resultater fra Den norske studien av livsløp, aldring og generasjon - runde 1 og 2. Norsk institutt for forskning om oppvekst, velferd og aldring (NOVA). ISSN 9788278944882. p. 156–166. Full text in Research Archive
• Vangsnes, Øystein; Söderlund, Göran & Blekesaune, Morten (2013). The effect of bidialectal literacy on school achievement. Full text in Research Archive
• Veenstra, Marijke; Dommermuth, Lars; Blekesaune, Morten; Koløen, Kristine; Hansen, Thomas & Herlofson, Katharina [Show all 8 contributors for this article] (2012). The ACCESS Life Course Research Infrastructure – a Norwegian based infrastructure facilitating access to high quality life course data. Full text in Research Archive
• Blekesaune, Morten (2012). Kjønnsroller og uførepensjonering. Full text in Research Archive
• Blekesaune, Morten (2012). Økonomisk integrasjon av innvandrere i Vest-Europa. Full text in Research Archive
• Blekesaune, Morten (2012). Pensjoneringsatferd. Full text in Research Archive
• Blekesaune, Morten (2012). Hvordan undersøke om AFP-ordningen fungerer etter hensikten? Full text in Research Archive
• Angel, Bjørn Øystein & Blekesaune, Morten (2014). Flyttinger i barnevernet - risikofaktorer, erfaringer og forklaringer. Universitetet i Agder. ISSN 9788271177744. Full text in Research Archive
• Angel, Bjørn Øystein & Blekesaune, Morten (2013). Fører forsterkede fosterhjem til færre replasseringer av barn i fosterhjem? En studie av sammenhenger mellom barnevernstiltak og replasseri ng av barn. Universitetet i Agder. ISSN 9788271177508. Full text in Research Archive
• Tøge, Anne Grete & Blekesaune, Morten (2011). Geografisk variasjon i fedres bruk av foreldrepermisjon. Universitetet i Agder. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Dette er en kvantitativ studie av geografisk variasjon i fedres bruk av permisjoner. Fedrekvoten ble innført i 1993, og innebærer at deler av foreldrepermisjonen er forbeholdt far. Cirka 33 prosent av fedrene i Norge benytter ikke permisjon. Årsaken til at fedre ikke benytter permisjon er enten at de ikke har rett på fedrekvote, eller at de av ulike årsaker ikke benytter denne retten. I Norge varierer bruken av fedrepermisjoner i kommunene. I denne analysen undersøker jeg hva som kan forklare denne variasjonen. Analysen baserer seg på populasjonsvektet regresjonsanalyse av aggregerte registerdata fra NAV og kommunedata fra Statistisk Sentralbyrå. Jeg undersøker om ulike faktorer kan forklare variasjon i antall fedrepermisjoner og permisjonenes varighet i kommunene, og om disse forklaringene i så fall er komposisjonelle eller kontekstuelle. Sysselsetting, spesielt blant mødre, er en viktig forklaring på at fedre bruker mer permisjon i noen kommuner enn i andre. Næringsstruktur har også en viss betydning. Færre fedre benytter permisjon i kommuner hvor flere jobber i tjenesteytende næringer. Fedrepermisjonene er korte i kommuner hvor det bor mange innvandrere fra Afrika og Asia, og lange i kommuner hvor mange har høy utdanning. Det er derimot ikke fedre som tar ut permisjon i kommuner med høyt utdanningsnivå. Politiske preferanser og kristen religiøsitet kan også forklare geografisk variasjon i fedres bruk av permisjoner, men når jeg kontrollerer for sysselsetting, næringsstruktur og utdanning forsvinner de fleste sammenhengene. Unntaket er oppslutning om Sosialistisk Venstreparti (SV), som har en negativ sammenheng med fedres bruk av fedrekvote. Samlet er det rettigheter som fremstår som den viktigste forklaringen på geografisk variasjon. I kommuner hvor mange har rett til kvote en høy andel fedre som benytter denne retten. Det er negativ sammenheng mellom antall fedrepermisjoner og permisjonens varighet. Det betyr at i kommuner der mange fedre tar permisjon er permisjonene korte, mens i kommuner der få fedre tar permisjon er permisjonene lange. Antakelig har dette sammenheng med at fedrekvoten er en stimuleringspolitikk som treffer aller best hos dem som deler statens likestillingsideologi.

• Blekesaune, Morten & Pedersen, Axel West (2011). Innsats mot utkastelser - fra lovende forsøk til effektiv rutine? Sluttrapport fra evalueringen av "Samarbeidsprosjektet - færre utkastelser". NOVA - Norsk institutt for forskning om oppvekst, velferd og aldring. ISSN 9788278943953. Full text in Research Archive
• Hovik, Sissel; Stigen, Inger Marie; Blekesaune, Morten & Ståle, Opedal (2010). Evaluering av kvalitetskommuneprogrammet. Sluttrapport. Norsk institutt for by- og regionforskning. ISSN 9788270718320. Full text in Research Archive
• Hovik, Sissel; Stigen, Inger Marie; Blekesaune, Morten & Ståle, Opedal (2009). Evaluering av kvalitetskommuneprogrammet. En undervegsrapport. NIBR-samarbeidsrapport. Norsk institutt for by- og regionforskning. ISSN 9788270717897. Full text in Research Archive
• Blekesaune, Morten (2009). Avgangsalder og pensjoneringsmønster i staten. NOVA. ISSN 9788278942956. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This report presents the results of a study of retirement behaviour among Norwegian state employees aged 50 to 70 years. The purpose of the study is to document any trends in the average age of retirement of state employees from 2001 to 2007, map the specific retirement routes used by state employees, and to analyse variation in the timing and choice of retirement route by gender, education level, and between occupational groups and different branches (services) within the state sector. The study draws on data combined from two sources: a governmental employee register and a register for a occupational pension (superannuation) program for state employees. The employee register provides information about all governmental employees by 1st October each year from 2001 to 2007. The occupational pension register provides information about the take up of pensions from 2001 to May 2008. Retirement behaviour is thus investigated over a succession of 12 month periods (from October one year to October the following year) plus the shorter period from October 2007 to May 2008. The obligatory retirement age for most state employees is fixed at the age of 70, but they have a right to retire and take out old age pensions three years earlier from the age of 67. Some groups of state employees face lower age thresholds at 60, 63 or 65, known as special age limits. The option to voluntarily leave three years earlier than the age limit also applies to these groups. The majority of state employees also have the option to leave from age 62 as part of a negotiated early retirement pension program known as AFP, which is more beneficial to take out, however, from age 65. All groups can be granted a disability pension at any age up to 67, when claimants are forced to take out an ordinary old age pension. The analysis applies three types of statistical methods. Survival curves indicate at which age a theoretical cohort leave state employment and/or take up a pension. Average retirement age indicates the average age of those retiring, in terms of leaving employment and taking up a pension. Also discrete time (proportional odds) models indicate how retirement ages have changed and vary between occupational groups and services. This is an alternative method which provides better statistical control for the age composition of the employees and those retiring. Various types of retirement routes are also investigated using competing risk (multi nominal) discrete time models. By and large, the different statistical methods provide consistent results, with a slight exception when comparing state branches/ services and some individual years. The age distribution of state employees is almost uniform from age 50 to 60. The number of employees drops sharply, however, in the age brackets above 60. This drop reflects that many employees start retiring from their early 60s and (in addition) that cohorts born after Wold War II are much larger than those born up to 1945. Survival curves show that some retire already at age 57, typically men working in the police force and the military services. Most other groups can retire only from age 62. More men than women retire before 62 but more men than women also tend to work after 66. Women retire most typically between 62 and 66 years. Surviving curves also show that people retired later in 2006/2007 than in 2001/2002. In particular, fewer people retired in the age bracket 62-64 in 2006/2007 compared to similar age groups five years before. Also average retirement age among retirees and discrete time models indicate that people retired later over the study period. Average retirement age increased from 61.3 in 2001/2002 to 62.4 in 2006/2007. The retirement age increased more strongly among women than men. In 2001/2002 women retired earlier than men, in 2006/2007 women retired later than men did. The analysis distinguishes between 13occupationalgroupsand 22 governmental services. The largest occupational group is ‘executive officers', people who are responsible for dealing with various types of applications. Universities and higher education is the largest service. Police and military personnel retire earlier than any other occupational group, whereas university/college teachers and researchers retire latest. Among services, it is also the police who retire earliest whereas the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has the oldest retirees. Linear regression models indicate that the very low retirement age among police and military personnel is explained by the high frequency of special age limits which apply to these groups. Retirement age is positively correlated with education level; people with higher education retire later than people with less education. The high retirement age at universities/ colleges is only partially explained, however, by the high education level in this service. Retirement age vary more between occupational groups than between services. This is even more clearly when analysing both factors in a single statistical model. Much of the occupational level variation is explained by special retirement ages, however, which tends to be granted to occupational groups rather than services. Some occupational level variation is also explained by education level. When controlling for special retirement ages and education level, occupational level and service level variations are of similar magnitude. The composition of occupational groups changed over the study period. This compositional change in occupations can help explain why average retirement age increased in the period. This factor can only explain a minor part of the increased retirement age, however, estimated to 24%. Also increased education level could contribute to higher retirement age but this factor appears to work via the changing composition of occupations. Retirement age developed differently within occupational groups and services. Clerks delayed their retirement more strongly than any other occupational group. But this groups was also substantially reduces in numbers, and may not be fully comparable throughout the fire year period. Also executive officers, advisers (in governmental departments), and university/ college teachers and researchers increased their retirement age substantially. Technicians and military personnel were the only occupational groups reducing their retirement age. Retirement age also developed differently between services but these results tend to be sensitive to variation between individual years. Still, the Labour and Welfare Administration (NAV), the Public Road Administration and governmental departments increased their retirement age substantially over the period. The data cannot fully identify all available types of retirement in terms of pension programs, and even less so when analysing how retirement changed over the study period. Disability retirement has seemingly decreased more strongly over the study period than the take up of other pensions. One should be careful to note here that some services, particularly many manual jobs, were privatized and moved out of the governmental sector during the study period. Some employees continue working also after taking up a pension, typically known as flexible retirement. Before 62 years of age such flexibility is more frequent among women than men, typically by combining a 50% disability pension with a 50% job. Above 62 years the gender gap in flexible retirement narrows. Flexible retirement increased over the study period. There is only moderate variation in flexible retirement between occupational groups and services. The report investigates retirement behaviour using various methods, including the average retirement age among retirees and discrete time (proportional odds) models for everyone at risk for retirement.By and largethe twomethods give similar results, particularly when comparing occupational groups (adjusted r=0.965). There is some variation between the two methods, however, when comparing governmental services (adjusted r=0.85).

• Blekesaune, Morten (2005). Unge uførepensjonister. Hvem er de, og hvor kommer de fra? NOVa. ISSN 9788278942109. Full text in Research Archive
• Blekesaune, Morten & Øverbye, Einar (2003). Familieendring, helse og trygd. Fire longitudinelle studier. NOVA. ISSN 9788278941768. Full text in Research Archive
• Øverbye, Einar & Blekesaune, Morten (2002). Early retirement and social citizenship. Marginalisation and integration in the Nordic countries. NOVA. Full text in Research Archive
• Blekesaune, Morten (2001). Hverdagslivets sosiologi i norsk tradisjon. NOVA. Full text in Research Archive
• Blekesaune, Morten & Øverbye, Einar (2001). Levekår og livskvalitet hos uførepensjonister og mottakere av avtalefestet penson. Om overgangen til førtidspensjon. NOVA. ISSN 9788278941171. Full text in Research Archive
• Blekesaune, Morten (2000). Familiefase og hverdagsliv. En studie av husholdningsarbeid og fritid. NOVA. ISSN 9788278940976. Full text in Research Archive
• Blekesaune, Morten & Øverbye, Einar (2000). Uførepensjonister materielle levekår og sosiale tilknytning. En undersøkelse basert på fem levekårsundersøkelser fra 1983 til 1995. NOVA. ISSN 9788278940945. Full text in Research Archive
• Blekesaune, Morten (1999). Innstramming i rehabiliteringspenger. Hvilke følger fikk den? NOVA. ISSN 9788278940709. Full text in Research Archive
• Blekesaune, Morten (1998). Virker arbeidslinja på de langtidssykemeldte? En oppfølgingsundersøkelse av de som ble langtidssykelemdt første halvår 1991, 1992 og 1993. NOVA. ISSN 9788278940440. Full text in Research Archive
• Blekesaune, Morten (1997). Når rehabiliteringspengene avsluttes. NOVA. Full text in Research Archive

View all works in NVA