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Emma Von Essen

Uppsala University, Sweden, and Stockholm Univeristy, Sweden

It is a fantastic opportunity to contribute to IZA World of Labor - a platform that facilitates better informed policy making.

IZA World of Labor role

Author

Current position

Associate professor, Department of Sociology, Uppsala University, and researcher at The Swedish Institute for Social Research, Stockholm University, Sweden

Research interest

Gender economics, labor economics, gender and transgender inequality, women in top positions

Website

https://sites.google.com/site/emmavessen/home

Past positions

Associate professor, School of Business and Social Sciences, Aarhus University Researcher, The Swedish Institute for Social Research, Stockholm Univeristy

Qualifications

PhD Economics, Stockholm University, 2013

Selected publications

  • "The end of an impossible choice: Removing infertility as a prerequisite for legal gender recognition." AEA Papers & Proceedings, forthcoming 2025 (with Y. Moberg, R. Norlinder, and J. L. Tilley).

  • "The Demography of Sweden's Transgender Population - A Research Note on Patterns, Changes, and Sociodemographics." Demography 62:2 (2025): 349–363 (with M. Kolk, L. Tilley, L., Y. Moberg, and I. Burn).

  • "Network connections and board seats – are female networks less valuable?" Journal of Labor Economics 41:2 (2023): 323–360 (with N. Smith).

  • "Changing property rights in the Family: Evidence From an Inheritance Reform." Journal of Law and Economics 65:2 (2022): 343–368 (with G. Bruze).

  • "Exploration in Teams and the Encouragement Effect: Theory and Evidence." Management Science 66:12 (2020): 5861–5885 (with M. Huysentruyt and M. Miettinen).

article(s)

  • Gender quotas on corporate boards of directors Updated

    Gender quotas for women on boards of directors improve female share on boards, but firm performance effects are mixed, and spillover effects are positive but small.

    Nina SmithEmma Von Essen, May 2025

    Arguments for increasing gender diversity on corporate boards of directors by gender quotas range from ensuring equal opportunity to improving firm performance. The introduction of gender quotas in a number of countries, mainly in Europe, has increased female representation on boards. Current research does not unambiguously justify gender quotas on grounds of economic efficiency. In many countries, the number of women in top executive positions is limited, and it is not clear from the evidence that quotas lead to a larger pool of female top executives, who, in turn, are the main pipeline for boards of directors. Thus, other supplementary policies may be necessary if politicians want to increase the number of women in senior management positions.

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