Socioeconomic Status and Body Mass Index in Canada: Exploring Measures and Mechanisms

We examine the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES), sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle behaviors (fruit and vegetable intake, exercise, smoking, and alcohol consumption), and body mass index (BMI) using the Canadian Community Health Survey 2.1. We explore two different measures of SES, education and income, to elucidate material and cultural explanations of the SES‐BMI relationship. Results vary significantly by gender, highlighting the complexity of the relationship between SES, sociodemographic and lifestyle factors, and BMI. We suggest that body weight is still a gendered status symbol, and that cultural and psychosocial factors may be more important than material factors in perpetuating this health inequality.     

A Socioeconomic Scale for Canada: Measuring Occupational Status from the Census

Cet article présente une nouvelle échelle professionnelle pour la classification nationale des professions (CNP) au Canada. En premier, l'on discute le contexte historique dans lequel la production des échelles des professions, faites par des sociologues aux Canada et aux États-Unis, s'est réalisée. La méthodologie de la récente échelle Nam–Powers–Boyd utilisée aux États-Unis est ensuite appliquée au recensement des professions de 2001. Celle-ci sert à créer des scores des statuts professionnels pour les titres professionnels de la classification nationale des professions (CNP 2001) à Statistiques Canada. Ces scores soulignent les inégalités démographiques et socio-économiques qui existent parmi les groupes au Canada. L'article se termine par une discussion des débats courants concernant l'utilisation des scores composites professionnels.
This paper provides a new occupational scale for the Canadian National Occupational Classification system. The historical context for occupational scales produced by sociologists in Canada and the United States is first discussed. The methodology used in the recent Nam–Powers–Boyd scale in the United States then is applied to the 2001 census of occupations to construct occupational status scores for the occupational titles found in the National Occupational Classification for Statistics (2001) at Statistics Canada. The occupational status scores highlight inequalities existing among groups in Canada along demographic and socioeconomic dimensions. The paper concludes with a discussion of current debates over the use of composite occupational scores.     

Is the Burgess concentric zonal theory of spatial differentiation still applicable to urban Canada?

L'auteur examine les données par centre de recensement provenant des recensements de 1961,1971 et 1981 dans le but d'étudier, dans les quatorze agglomérations les plus importantes au Canada, la persistance de la répartition de la population en zones concentriques selon la situation socio-économique et la taille de la famille prédite par la théorie de Burgess. II conclut que même si le caractère des zones n'est plus tout à fait le même que dans le Canada d'antan, le phénomène de la stratification progressive a non seulement persisté, mais s'est peut-être même accentué en ce qui a trait à la situation socio-économique et à la taille des families. Cette persistance s'explique, d'une part, par les valeurs sociales, qui continuent à attacher beaucoup d'importance à la possession d'une maison unifamiliale et, d'autre part, par l'aménagement et le maintien d'un réseau routier qui permet aux gens de travailler dans les grandes villes canadiennes tout en vivant en banlieue ou à la campagne.
Using census tract data from the censuses of 1961,1971 and 1981, this paper examines the durability of concentric zonal patterns in socio-economic status and family size predicted by Burgess' theory in the 14 largest metropolitan areas of Canada. Although the character of the zones may have changed over time in modern day Canada, it was found that the gradient pattern itself not only persists but may have intensified as far as socio-economic status and family size are concerned. This persistence is attributed to the strong societal norm of owning a single family detached dwelling and the development and maintenance of roadways which still make it worthwhile to commute to work in Canadian cities.     

Marriage and Socioeconomic Change in Contemporary Indonesia

This study investigates the relationship between economic trends and entry into marriage in a rapidly developing setting. We examine Indonesian marriage in the 1990s, a decade of substantial economic growth followed by a sudden financial collapse in 1998. We use discrete‐time hazard models to analyze information on 4,078 women and 4,496 men from the Indonesia Family Life Survey. Although previous research has shown that marriages may be postponed after economic downturn, we find no evidence of such delays at the national level following the 1998 financial crisis. In contrast, we use regional wage rate data to show that entry into marriage is inversely related to economic growth throughout the decade for all women and for men from lower socioeconomic strata.     

Socioeconomic differences in early childhood time preferences

This article examines the extent to which early childhood socioeconomic differences emerge in hyperactivity, impulsivity and persistence, all of which are psychometric analogues to how economists conceptualise time discounting. We control for a wide range of factors including parental investment and proxies for maternal time preferences. Our results show substantial social class variations across measures at age 3. We find weak evidence that these measures are predicted by differential maternal behaviours (e.g. savings behaviour, smoking) but relatively stronger evidence that these traits are transmitted through the parents’ own non-cognitive skills (self-esteem, attachment) and parental time investments (time spent reading to the child and teaching the child to write, sing).     

Elite Colleges and Socioeconomic Status

Elite colleges have long been associated with socioeconomic reproduction, passing along elite social standing to children of middle and upper‐middle socioeconomic status (SES) parents. How has that role changed during the expansion of American higher education over the past 50 years? Have elite colleges and universities also become providers of socioeconomic mobility? In this essay, I outline recent demographic, admissions, and financial aid changes at these institutions and compare both in‐college experiences and college outcomes between low‐SES and more‐affluent students at elite colleges. I argue that although elite colleges and universities do include greater numbers of low‐SES students than in earlier generations and have great potential for even further inclusion, they remain far from serving as broad engines of socioeconomic mobility.     

Socioeconomic implications of broadband services

Korea has shown rapid growth in the development of broadband services over the last several years. The Korean government and business have developed broadband services as a new business model, and the country has emerged as the world's undisputed leader in broadband services. Many media scholars, government telecom officials and information technology (IT) experts around the world are interested in how Korea has so quickly embraced broadband technology. They are also enthusiastic about seeing the fulfilment of their own vision of the information economy through the example of broadband service in Korea. This article explores key aspects of broadband services in Korea and its implications for the information economy. It examines why and how Korea has developed broadband service by examining several institutional factors. It also analyses whether government ICT policy frameworks have contributed to economic and social development. Then, it investigates how the government neoliberal economic policies have influenced the transnationalization of the broadband service market and the impact on the information economy.     

Socioeconomic causes of child labor in urban Nigeria

Drawing on interviews with 1,535 children (aged 8–14 years) in urban Nigeria, this study introduces two new measures of child labor—child's ownership of business and control over earnings—to supplement the conventional use of a child's hours of work and to create a wider understanding of child labor. It examines the causes of child labor and how these measures vary by parental socioeconomic status. Study of this relationship is important for a deeper understanding of the varying patterns of child labor, as well as for clarifying the cultural and economic socialization of children. Our findings show that children of parents with higher socioeconomic status are more likely to own businesses rather than assist parents. These children are also more likely to keep and spend their work earnings. Our results also offer strong support of the poverty hypothesis and the socialization theory, which are often used to explain child labor in developing societies. Furthermore, our results indicate that children of parents with higher levels of socioeconomic status work fewer hours. These findings have implications for regulating child labor and for alleviating its consequences.     

Socioeconomic Inequality in Decoding Instructions and Demonstrating Knowledge

Qualitative Sociology - Cultural capital may contribute to socioeconomic achievement gaps by shaping how students engage with authority in schools. However, social class shapes academic skills and...     

Socioeconomic Status and Mental Illness in Japan*

Abstract Since the pioneering work of Faris and Dunham (1938), a number of studies in the United States have documented an inverse association between socioeconomic status (SES) and mental illness both at the aggregate and the individual levels, and both for the treated and the general population. However, there are few studies of whether this relationship holds in other countries. This study examines socioeconomic characteristics and mental illness in Japan, which has a very different social stratification system from that of the United States. It was found that, at the aggregate level, the “inverse” association between socioeconomic characteristics and the rate of treated mental illness does not hold in Japan. Instead, the relationship is curvilinear: mental illness is higher in districts with large numbers of blue collar and upper white collar workers than in districts with large numbers of lower white collar workers. The effect of SES on mental illness operates through economic stress embedded in the macro social context. Because different social structures lead to different patterns of economic stress, the inverse relationship between socioeconomic status and mental health cannot be assumed to hold in all countries.     

Age‐at‐Arrival’s Effects on Asian Immigrants’ Socioeconomic Outcomes in Canada and the U.S.1

Age‐at‐arrival is a key predictor of many immigrant outcomes, but discussion continues over how to best measure and study its effects. This research replicates and extends a pioneering study by Myers, Gao, and Emeka [International Migration Review (2009) 43:205–229] on age‐at‐arrival effects among Mexican immigrants in the U.S. to see if similar results hold for other immigrant groups and in other countries. We examine data from the 2000 U.S. census and 2006 American Community Survey, and 1991, 2001, and 2006 Canadian censuses to assess several measures of age‐at‐arrival effects on Asian immigrants’ socioeconomic outcomes. We confirm several of Myers et al.’s key findings, including the absence of clear breakpoints in age‐at‐arrival effects for all outcomes and the superiority of continuous measures of age‐at‐arrival. Additional analysis reveals different age‐at‐arrival effects by gender and Asian ethnicity. We suggest guidelines, supplementing those offered by Myers et al., for measuring and studying age‐at‐arrival’s effects on immigrant outcomes.     

Socioeconomic Heterogeneity of Mining-Dependent Counties1

Abstract Recent typologies of U.S. counties differentiated by sustenance base suggest that mining-dependent counties are characterized by levels of socioeconomic well-being slightly above national averages. However, striking regional differences in well-being among mining-dependent counties are masked when such counties are considered as a single category. Comparison with nonmetropolitan nonmining-dependent counties in the same states reveals that the differences are only partly accounted for by overall regional effects. Further disaggregation demonstrates substantial effects of mining subsector and of subsector-region interaction on well-being. Of particular concern is the disadvantage associated with coal mining dependence in the South and Great Lakes regions contrasted with the advantage associated with such dependence in the West.     

Socioeconomic Status and Health Disparity in the United States

Abstract

Low socioeconomic status (SES) has been associated with high rates of many chronic diseases. This study was a cluster analysis of data from 9,830 adults in the 1994-96 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by the Individuals (1994-96 CSFII) in order to characterize more fully the biologic and social factors that might be associated with chronic diseases. The study employed cluster analysis to define three SES groups (low, middle, and high) based on income, education, age, gender, and race. A significant increase was found in self-reported diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, obesity, and stroke across these groups, being highest in the lowest SES group. Results revealed that health disparity in the U.S. may be substantial, with some population groups bearing a disproportionate burden of chronic diseases.     

Gambling Households in Canada

This paper examines the distribution of gambling dollars in Nova Scotia, Saskatchewan and Canada and studies the impact of this spending on households. We focus first on how gambling expenditures are related to the level and source of household income as well as to other demographic characteristics such as age, education, household composition, geographical area, and sources of income. Next we analyze how gambling expenditures are distributed among those households that gamble. We show how expenditure patterns differ in the intensity of gambling as measured by the proportion of household income or total amount of dollars spent on gambling. Then we study the affects that gambling has on spending on household necessities, changes in net worth, retirement savings and household debt. Finally we determine whether gambling expenditures act as a substitute or a complement to other recreational spending on entertainment products and services. Throughout the paper we offer a comparative analysis of provincial and national data.     

Socioeconomic status differences in vulnerability to undesirable life events

Previous research has documented consistently that persons holding low-socioeconomic status (SES) positions are more strongly affected emotionally by undesirable life events than are their higher-status counterparts. Two types of resources have been implicated in this differential vulnerability: financial resources and a broader class of coping resources, including social support and resilient personality characteristics. We present an analysis that disaggregates measure of life events and of SES to identify which events and which components of SES are most important for understanding differential vulnerability. We document that the lower-SES vulnerability persists across all types of personal events. In addition, we find that differential vulnerability is not confined to income but extends to education and occupational status as well. On the basis of these patterns, we conclude that differential vulnerability reflects more than a simple economic reality. Previous research offers speculative evidence that status differences in past and current social environments may explain differential vulnerability, especially through their effects on the socialization of resilient personality characteristics. We propose future research that could help to evaluate the validity of these speculations.     

Granny Flats in Canada

THe paper examines research on the feasibility and market for granny flats in Canada. Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation and Ontario Ministry of Housing roles are examined in the development and evaluation of demonstration projects. The demonstration projects have shown there is a strong customer acceptance of the concept, a strong Canada-wide market demand. The units are technologically sound and the industry is able to provide quality units. Financial and regulatory issues are being addressed to allow for granny flat programs in Ontario.