Ea Hoppe Blaabæk

Ea Hoppe Blaabæk serves as an External Lecturer at the Department of Sociology within the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Copenhagen. Her work is deeply rooted in quantitative sociological research, utilizing both Danish registry data and international survey datasets to examine social inequality patterns, particularly as they relate to cultural consumption and educational outcomes.

Education:

• Sociology, Cand.Scient.Soc, University of Copenhagen (2013-2016)
• Sociology, BSc, University of Copenhagen (2010-2013)

Dr. Blaabæk's research primarily focuses on intergenerational transmissions of inequality, social stratification processes, cultural consumption patterns (particularly reading behaviors), and applied microeconometric methods. Her work often examines how family background shapes children's educational opportunities and outcomes, with a particular emphasis on reading development and library usage patterns across different socioeconomic groups. She frequently employs innovative registry data approaches, especially leveraging Denmark's comprehensive population-level datasets.

Her publication record reveals a strong focus on inequality in cultural participation and educational outcomes. Recent work examines how socioeconomic status affects library usage patterns, literary preferences, and children's access to reading materials. Several studies investigate how inequality in children's reading develops across childhood and how external factors like the COVID-19 pandemic affected digital versus physical book consumption across social classes. Her methodological approach consistently combines sophisticated quantitative techniques with sociological theory to unpack mechanisms of inequality reproduction.

Dr. Blaabæk maintains active external research positions as a researcher at the Rockwool Foundation Research Unit (2023-2025) and as a guest researcher at Danmarks Statistik since 2020. Her current postdoctoral project, funded by Spar Nord Fonden with Mads Meier Jæger as PI, investigates inequality in library usage and literary preferences using Denmark's comprehensive registry data on library loans. She has been extensively engaged in public discourse through media contributions discussing how libraries and reading relate to social inequality.

Her research has been presented at numerous conferences including the European Consortium for Sociological Research (ECSR) and Nordic Sociological Association meetings, with a particular focus on communicating findings about children, inequality, and reading to both academic and public audiences.