Sociality in Diverse Societies: A Regional Analysis Across European Countries

For a long time, researchers investigate the impact of diversity on society. To measure diversity, either archival data at the national level of census data at the neighborhood level, within a single country are used. Both approaches are limited. The first approach does not allow to investigate variation in diversity within countries and the second approach misses the possibility to investigate cross national differences. The present study aims at bringing these two approaches closer together by constructing diversity measures based on the European Social Survey (ESS). The ESS is collected every 2 years since 2002 and includes individual level data that allow replicating earlier measures of ethnic, linguistic, and religious diversity for 30 European countries. Furthermore, since respondents are asked to indicate in what region they live, measured with the Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics classification, it is possible to construct disaggregated measures. Comparing the new indicators with existing diversity scores leads to the following conclusions. First, the new and old measures are strongly correlated at the national level. Secondly, investigating the relationship between diversity and different kinds of sociality (interpersonal trust, institutional trust, and support for government redistribution) shows that regional diversity is more strongly related to them than diversity at the national level.     

The Culture of New Mobility in Russia: Networks and Flows Formation

Abstract

The paper considers the development of the culture of new mobility in Russia from the perspective of the quantitative analysis of the changes occurring in the structure of traffic movements and flows and communication using mobile phones, the internet, and other mobile gadgets. The culture of mobility is defined as a set of the interactions which are carried out apropos and during mobility. It is argued that the culture of new mobility in Russia is specified by the processes of ‘individualization’ and ‘networked individualism’. This conclusion is inferred from the rapid growth of individualized automobility, from the considerable increase in international tourism and from the widespread prevalence of mobile gadgets as indispensable attributes of everyday life.     

The Educational Gradient in Marriage: A Comparison of 25 European Countries

Previous research has suggested that a new marriage gradient has emerged in the United States, with marriage becoming increasingly the privilege of the better-educated. This article examines whether this is true for Europe and explores differences in the marriage gradient among 25 European countries, using multilevel models. The focus is on the chances of living in a marital (or cohabiting) union during midlife (ages 40–49). Multilevel analyses show that the direction and strength of the gradient depend on the societal context. In countries where gender roles are traditional, better-educated women are less likely to be married than less-educated women; in gender-egalitarian countries, better-educated women are more likely to be married. For men, the educational effect on marriage is absent in traditional countries but becomes positive as gender roles become more equal. Inequality in a society also modifies the gradient: if the degree of economic inequality between educational groups in a society is strong, better-educated men are more likely to be married than less-educated men. In general, the results suggest that there may be an accumulation of social and economic disadvantages for the less well educated in more-developed countries.     

Education and Physical Health Trajectories in Later Life: A Comparative Study

The cumulative (dis)advantage hypothesis states that health disparities between education groups increase with age. The present study examined this hypothesis in a comparative analysis of the United States, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Sweden. These countries offer sharp contrasts in the social conditions that may intensify or inhibit processes of cumulative (dis)advantage. Using harmonized panel data from the HRS, ELSA, and SHARE, the study applied Poisson multilevel regression models to trace changes in the number of chronic conditions and functional limitations of people aged 50–76 (N = 16,887 individuals; 71,154 observations). The four countries showed a clear gradient in levels of physical health and in the extent to which health trajectories were shaped by education. Across all ages and cohorts, health problems were most prevalent in the United States, less prevalent in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, and least prevalent in Sweden. A similar cross-national gradient was found for the size of health gaps between education groups and for the extent to which these gaps widened with age. Gaps were largest in the United States, smaller in the United Kingdom and in the Netherlands, and smallest in Sweden.     

城乡居民家庭代际收入流动的比较研究

基于CGSS2006的数据,本文对我国城乡家庭的代际收入流动性进行了比较分析,研究发现:我国城乡家庭的代际收入流动性偏弱,城镇家庭代际收入向上的流动性总体而言要高于农村家庭,代际收入流动性的差异客观上加剧城乡之间的收入差距;新生代城镇家庭子女收入向上流动的能力相对他们的前辈有所减弱,而新生代农村家庭子女收入向上流动的能力要超过他们的前辈,在与城镇同龄人的比较中也处于优势;人力资本是影响代际收入流动的主要因素,虽然在职业生涯的初期,教育并没有显著地提高代际收入向上流动的概率,但随着子女职业生涯的发展,教育对代际收入流动的影响逐渐增强。此外,家庭的经济地位和社会关系等家庭背景因素对代际收入流动也有显著的影响。     

基于国际人力资本流动视角的中印技术创新模式比较研究

文章通过构建企业创新生产函数并引入国际人力资本流动因素,对中印两国技术创新的影响因素进行计量分析,并重点考察了国际人力资本流动的作用。实证结果表明,中国的技术创新主要来自高研发投入和以FDI技术溢出为代表的国际技术扩散,而印度则更多地依赖国际人力资本流动引致的技术创新、内需及制度方面的政府支持,以FDI为代表的国际技术扩散对其技术创新作用甚微。印度在国际人力资本流动推动技术创新方面比中国更具优势,中国技术创新模式虽然取得了一定成绩,但与印度依靠人才国际化推动创新的模式相比潜力相对不足。     

A New Proposal to Gauge Intergenerational Mobility: Educational Mobility in Europe as a Case Study

This paper is aimed at presenting a new intergenerational mobility index that (a) combines the intergenerational elasticity and the R-squared of the intergenerational regression and (b) enables the expression of the total degree of mobility as the weighted sum of mobility with respect to both parents. As a case study, we apply our proposal to investigate the intergenerational mobility of education in several European countries and its changes across birth cohorts. The results derived from the proposed index indicate that Nordic countries display higher levels of educational mobility than Southern countries, whereas continental countries are in an intermediate position. Moreover, it appears that the degree of mobility increases over time only in those countries with low initial levels and remains stable for the most mobile countries. Finally, for most of the countries the proposed methodology can prove that the degree of educational mobility with respect to each parent tends to converge to the same level over the course of time.     

A Benefit Recipiency Approach to Analysing Differences and Similarities in European Welfare Provision

In comparative welfare state research, the question of how to measure and understand cross-country differences and similarities in extents of public welfare provision has led to a major discussion about the indicators that could be used for this purpose. Much scholarly attention approaching this so-called ‘dependent variable problem’ concentrates on social expenditure or on social rights data as indicators of ‘welfare stateness’ or ‘welfare generosity’. However, recently, micro-level data on benefit receipt as another promising but hitherto underused indicator was brought into this discussion. The article at hand extends existing knowledge about the conceptual, methodological and empirical potentials and challenges of this alternative indicator compared to the two prevailing indicators. For the empirical analysis, it uses cash benefit recipiency data from the EU-SILC to investigate differences and similarities in extents of public welfare provision between 29 European countries for the period 2003–2012. The study reveals parallels to findings from research in which indicators of social expenditure and social rights are applied, but it also adds new insights beyond their cost and paper reality. This is mainly the case where priority is given to household-related assistance benefits rather than individual insurance benefits. The main conclusion of the paper is that the benefit recipiency indicator—despite not being flawless and requiring further research—complements existing knowledge on differences and similarities in welfare provision by European welfare states.     

Aging and Gender Health Gap: A Multilevel Analysis for 17 European Countries

Social Indicators Research - The European population is aging and their declining capacity makes older Europeans more dependent on the availability of care. Male and female health needs at older...     

Illicit Financial Flows: Another Road Block to Human Development in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Social Indicators Research - This article analysed the relationship between illicit financial flows (IFFs) and human development, as measured with the United Nations Human Development Index (HDI),...     

The Influence of Social Models on Retirement Savings: Evidence for European Countries

Population ageing, together with the negative effects of the recent economic and financial crisis that some European countries are still facing, have threatened the sustainability of public pension systems. In this context, voluntary private pensions have emerged as the most feasible alternative to supplement the minimum provided by Social Security Systems; however, this financial product does not enjoy its expected popularity. A potential explanation of this reality might be due to the fact that European countries are far from being homogeneous, nor their pensions systems. Therefore, any policy geared toward improving financial retirement planning should take into account these potential differences. As a first approach to their analysis, this paper proposes the existence of four different ‘social models’ in Europe -namely, Continental, Mediterranean, Nordic and Transitional-. Overall, empirical evidence confirmed the significant influence of country’ ‘social model’ on the decision to invest in retirement accounts on a sample of 31,468 individuals in 2013. It was also proved that this decision is positively related to age, household income and wealth, higher levels of formal education, job situation, good health status, and long-term planning horizons; and negatively related to age squared, household size or financial risk aversion. In short, future policies and reforms regarding private pensions should not only take into account the existence of individual differences among Europeans, but also the existence of differences depending on institutional and cultural country factors.     

The EKC Hypothesis Does Not Hold for Direct Material Flows: Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis Tests for Direct Material Flows in Five Industrial Countries

This study analyses the Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis (EKC) with direct material flow data from the USA, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands and Finland in the years 1975 to 1994. Recently, there has been a discussion concerning the relevance of the EKC hypothesis suggesting that also the intensity of material use should decline with income growth. The EKC hypothesis has not been widely tested with direct material flow data, and this paper presents one of the first attempts to do such tests. The results of the empirical hypothesis tests indicate that the EKC hypothesis does not hold in the case of aggregated direct material flows among industrialised countries like Germany, Japan, the USA, the Netherlands and Finland.     

中国职业流动中的社会不平等问题研究

文章从代际职业流动和代内职业流动角度,分析先赋因素(如家庭背景、户籍制度、所有制等)对职业流动的影响,从而折射出职业流动中的一些不平等。通过对数据的分析发现,尽管改革开放以来,市场因素对就业分配的配置作用越来越大,但是对职业的合理流动的制度性限制以及结构性限制依然存在,从而产生社会不平等问题。基于这样的研究,文章在政策层面提出了首先要改变职业流动过程中的制度性不平等问题,才能缩小社会不平等(包括收入差距),而职业流动起点上的不平等要通过加强对弱势群体的教育援助和社会保障来解决。     

国外DFC实践及启示

全球人口结构高龄化态势严峻,导致认知症老人数量剧增,给世界各国的社会经济带来巨大压力.因此,一股积极探索和实践DFC(Dementia Friendly Community)行动的热潮涌向全球.英国制定国家认知症战略,为地方积极推进提供政策保障;日本注重加强认知症早期干预,全面转变公众负面认知;美国不断修订国家认知症计划,同时开发和推广DFC工具包等.我国目前尚未对认知症老人照护投入足够的重视力,但是为尽早应对我国认知症老人数量高峰到来的风险,我国政府各部门应当联合制定认知症照护发展规划,推动早期干预政策及试点,本土化改造DFC工具包.     

The Effect of Union Type on Work-Life Conflict in Five European Countries

This paper explores the strategies for reconciling family and work in different union types. The focus here is on investigating how cohabiting and married individuals perceive the work-life conflict in different European countries. To test the union type impact on work-life balance in the context of different societal conditions, this paper draws on 2004 ESS data from Sweden, Germany, United Kingdom, Slovenia and Estonia (European Social Survey 2004). The pooled country data are examined to analyze the association between work-life conflict and socio-demographic, as well as family-level characteristics of individuals. The findings did not demonstrate uniform differences in the work-life conflict of married and cohabiting couples. However, a higher degree of work-life conflict among Swedish cohabiting women was still significant when controlling for individual characteristics, household composition and working conditions.     

A Multidimensional Approach in International Comparative Policy Analysis Based on Demographic Projections

The present study adopts a multidimensional approach to classifying countries in international comparative policy analyses. The article builds a data-based typology founded on future demographic projections of the United Nations. Latent class analysis is used to identify various demographic profiles of countries based on fertility rates, net migration rates, and dependency ratios. There is great value in identifying future changes in population composition, as it enables governments to set policy agenda, prioritize needs, and prepare better for what lies ahead. The paper demonstrates the value of such typology to social services, by analyzing the demographic profiles and estimating their implications for future challenges in educational provision. The contributions of the paper to international comparative policy analysis are discussed.     

Subjective Welfare, Well-Being, and Self-Reported Food Hypersensitivity in Four European Countries: Implications for European Policy

This study estimates the effects of food hypersensitivity on individuals?? perceived welfare and well-being compared to non-food hypersensitive individuals. Study respondents were recruited in the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and UK. The difference in welfare between food hypersensitive respondents and those asymptomatic to foods was estimated using a subjective welfare approach, including income evaluation. Well-being was measured using the Cantril Ladder-of-Life Scale, and health status using the Self-Perceived Health Scale. The difference in well-being, welfare and health status between participant groups was explained further using a number of background variables. No significant within-country differences in welfare between food hypersensitive respondents and respondents asymptomatic to foods were found. In terms of well-being, adult food hypersensitive respondents and their spouses reported significantly less happiness than respondents and their spouses asymptomatic to foods in the Netherlands and Poland. In Spain, the spouses of the food hypersensitive respondents were significantly less happy than respondents aymptomatic to foods. The well-being of children did not significantly differ between groups. The degree of severity of food hypersensitivity was negatively related to overall health status. In Poland, food hypersensitive respondents reported worse health status compared to asymptomatic respondents. In Spain, the converse was true. Food hypersensitive respondents were generally less happy with their life as a whole than respondents asymptomatic to foods, presumably because they experienced more negative effects, which were not related to perceived health status.     

How We Fall Apart: Similarities of Human Aging in 10 European Countries

We analyze human aging—understood as health deficit accumulation—for a panel of European individuals, using four waves of the Survey of Health, Aging and Retirement in Europe (SHARE data set) and constructing a health deficit index. Results from log-linear regressions suggest that, on average, elderly European men and women develop approximately 2.5 % more health deficits from one birthday to the next. In nonlinear regressions (akin to the Gompertz-Makeham model), however, we find much greater rates of aging and large differences between men and women as well as between countries. Interestingly, these differences follow a particular regularity (akin to the compensation effect of mortality) and suggest an age at which average health deficits converge for men and women and across countries. This age, which may be associated with human life span, is estimated as 102 ± 2.6 years.     

Determinants of Environmental Behavior in Societies in Transition: Evidence from Five European Countries

Countries of Central and East Europe are in a process of economic, social and political transition. This process provides a unique opportunity for cross-national studies in a context of social transformation and radical infrastructural changes. In the present study, we compared environmental behavior, and the factors affecting it, of citizens from five European countries with diverse economic and social status. Outcomes of the present survey suggest that people's attitudes towards environmental issues and economy-environment trade-offs can be considered reliable predictors, contrary to political attitudes which did not prove to be important determinants of environmental behavior. However, one should be aware of the differences in individual factors affecting citizens' environmental behavior, since the latter cannot be considered as a linear function of a country's development and modernization.     

退休年龄比较研究

近年来多个国家和地区实施了退休年龄改革,以缓解人口老龄化所带来的养老金支付压力,而我国有关部门也正在研究推迟退休年龄。通过世界172个国家和地区退休年龄的比较,发现我国现行退休年龄制度存在身份差别、低于世界平均水平等不足。根据全球退休年龄改革的趋势,建议我国采取分步走的方式推迟退休年龄。