Urban‐Rural Mortality Differentials: An Unresolved Debate

Historians and demographers have long debated the existence, causes, and consequences of historical differences between urban and rural mortality levels. In Europe it has been usual to observe excess mortality in cities compared to the countryside, but in East Asia, by contrast, it has been found that urban areas had relatively favorable mortality environments. The debate continues because a number of pertinent questions remain to be resolved. For example, the way in which mortality is measured may influence the apparent extent of the differential, as may the way in which“urban” and“rural” are defined. Cultural factors need to be taken into account, including the practices of childrearing and the conventions surrounding baptism. Examples drawn from Japan, China, England, and France illustrate the issues involved in comparative analysis, while the urban‐rural mortality continuum is examined for nineteenth‐century England and Wales using log‐normal distributions.     

Spanish Surname and Anglo Infant Mortality: Differentials Over a Half-Century

Using a half-century of death records from San Antonio/Bexar County, Texas, we examine the timing and cause structure of Spanish surname and Anglo infant mortality. Our findings show that despite the substantial disparities between ethnic-specific infant mortality rates in the early years of the study, there have been consistent declines in overall, neonatal, and postneonatal mortality for both groups, as well as a major convergence of mortality rates between Spanish surname and Anglo infants. Further, we demonstrate that the convergence is of relatively recent origin and is due primarily to shifts in postneonatal mortality. Finally, we examine the transition reflected in the cause structure of ethnic-specific infant mortality and show that the convergence was largely the result of reductions in deaths from exogenous causes. Implications for research into the "epidemiologic paradox" are discussed.     

北京市近年婚配状况的特征及分析

婚姻本质上是男女双方的选择和匹配过程。文章基于北京市2004～2009年的婚姻登记数据库,对夫妇双方在年龄、城乡户籍、地区户籍、学历、婚次、民族和职业等方面的匹配状况和特点进行分析,印证了婚配过程中同类匹配和婚姻梯度的存在。从时序上看,夫妇双方的年龄日益趋近,人口流动也促进了跨地域通婚的增加,这些特征改变了传统的婚配走向,使婚配更具开放性;但夫妇学历的日趋般配和跨城乡通婚的减少,也显现出婚姻匹配走向封闭的特征。基于社会交换心理所形成的男女双方不同特征属性之间的优劣互补,使婚姻梯度所造成的夫妇间的差距在一定程度上有所减弱,从而形成同类婚配、且丈夫的综合条件略高于妻子的总体婚配特征。在大城市中,受婚姻梯度的影响,往往是条件优秀的女性承受更大的婚配压力。     

Measuring The Effects Of Race Differentials In Mortality Upon Surviving Family Members

A model is developed to use marital history data from the U.S. Current Population Survey and mortality statistics from the federal registration system to estimate color differences in (a) the risk of widowhood among women in the working ages and (b) the cumulative duration of widowhood. Color differentials in mortality among married males are thereby translated into person-years of dependent survivorship among women, in anticipation of our later estimating average and cumulative lifetime income losses for the survivors. Initial results of this model, dealing with the demographic aspects of survivorship, are presented.     

The 1918 Influenza Epidemic's Effects on Sex Differentials in Mortality in the United States

The 1918 influenza epidemic had a marked and fairly long‐lasting effect on the sex differential in mortality in the United States. After 1918 women lost most of their mortality advantage over men and the female/male gap did not regain its pre‐epidemic level until the 1930s. An analysis of causes of deaths shows a link with tuberculosis. We conjecture the existence of a selection effect, whereby many 1918 influenza deaths were among tuberculous persons, so that tuberculosis death rates dropped in later years, disproportionately among males. Age‐ and sex‐specific data by cause of death corroborate this hypothesis.     

Marital Status and Reproductive Performance in Kipsigis Women: Re-evaluating the Polygyny-Fertility Hypothesis

The effects of marital status on fertility and offspring survivorship are examined with data on six marriage cohorts of Kipsigis women, agro-pastoralists of south western Kenya. Neither marriage order, nor the average number of co-wives married to a man during a woman's reproductive years, is associated with completed family size, nor with any of the components of reproductive performance. The mechanisms whereby polygyny might potentially lower the reproductive performance of polygynously married women in the Kipsigis and other populations are discussed in some detail, with particular reference to resource shortages, sexual and economic favouritism, the observance of post partum taboos, disease, husband's age, co-wife co-operation, education, sterility, and age at menarche and marriage.     

An Analysis of Fertility Differentials by Religion in Kerala State: A Test of the Interaction Hypothesis

In a revelation of overall decline to below replacement fertility in the Kerala state of India, it was generally found that fertility among Muslims is higher and contraceptive prevalence lower than among Hindus and Christians. This paper examines the interaction between religion and other socioeconomic factors, that is, whether the effect of religion on fertility remains constant across other factors. The analysis is based on the data from the National Family Health Survey-1 in Kerala. The analysis found that large Hindu-Muslim fertility differences at a low level of education do not persist at higher levels. For contraceptive use, wider gaps are found at a middle level of education and at a medium level of standard of living than at lower and higher levels. This indicates that couples at different socioeconomic settings make different decisions in spite of belonging to the same religion. The fact that fertility of Muslims at higher levels of socioeconomic status is low, and not much different than the fertility of other religions, suggests that the observed fertility gap between Hindus/Christians and Muslims is a passing phenomenon.     

Sex Differentials in Mortality in the Soviet Union: Regional Differences in Length of Working Life in Comparative Perspective

In this paper we take a different approach from other authors to the study of differences between the mortality of the two sexes in the USSR. First, we use measures of mortality that are not sensitive to the most common types of error in data and that reflect experience in an age range that is important from a policy perspective: the working ages. Secondly, we measure variation in mortality between regions of the USSR. Thirdly, we compare these regional mortality trends with experience in 33 developed countries. The sex differential in mortality in the USSR is an amalgam of very different regional patterns. Its size and rate of change are more extreme in the USSR than in other countries, and are mainly due to the poor and rapidly worsening mortality of men in the Russian Republic. But the widening sex differentials and increasing mortality of men in the older working ages in Soviet regions are similar to trends in many other developed countries.     

Modelling Marital Fertility by Age and Duration: An Empirical Appraisal of the Page Model

Page's model of marital fertility by age and duration is fitted by maximum likelihood techniques to data from 38 of the 41 developing countries that participated in the World Fertility Survey. The results indicate that the model does an excellent job of capturing variations in fertility patterns, with only two parameters. Moreover, national-level estimates of the parameter representing the degree of control of marital fertility correlate reasonably well with the proportion using contraception. On the other hand, estimates of the parameter representing the level of natural fertility correlate well with the duration of breastfeeding and with a measure of contraceptive use for spacing, but also show substantial regional variation. The paper closes with comments on several extensions and applications of the model.     

数量视角下中国青年婚姻态势的城乡比较

文章对晚婚、大龄未婚、终身不婚几个概念进行辨析的基础上,结合权威部门发布的数据,对当下中国青年婚姻状况进行分城乡比较和考察。指出城市和农村在婚姻年龄模式上,男性＂大龄未婚者＂所面临的终身不婚风险上均存在着差异,并对这些城乡差异产生的原因及其可能的社会学后果进行深入思考。     

新疆少数民族人口婚姻状况调查

本文根据实地调查资料与历年统计资料,对新疆的维吾尔族、哈萨克族、回族、蒙古族和柯尔克孜族这5个主要少数民族人口的婚姻状况进行综合分析,探讨这些少数民族中出现的各类人口婚姻问题。     

Parenthood, Marital Status, and Well-Being in Later Life: Evidence from SHARE

Using pooled cross-sectional data from the first two waves of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, we address the question of whether and how parenthood and marital status are associated with various dimensions of elders’ well-being, which we define by elements of the individual’s economic situation, psychological well-being, and social connectedness. The results of our multivariate analysis suggest that childless individuals do not generally fare worse than parents in terms of their economic, psychological, or social well-being. Although there is some indication for a ‘protective effect’ of marriage, having a partner does not per se contribute to greater psychological well-being: only those reporting satisfaction with the extent of reciprocity in their relationship report lower numbers of depression symptoms than their unmarried counterparts. We observe no systematic associations between parenthood (marriage, respectively) and individuals’ propensity to participate in social activities. These findings are fairly stable, that is, they hold for both men and women as well as across various cohorts, and they do not vary systematically between countries.     

1950年代以来中国人口寿命不均等的变化历程

伴随着人类寿命的不断延长,寿命不均等的问题得到越来越多的关注,即社会成员能在多大程度上公平地分享寿命延长的成果?自中华人民共和国成立以来,中国人口的平均预期寿命经历了快速增长.但是,截至目前鲜有关注中国人口寿命不均等的研究.文章利用中国人口普查资料以及世界人口死亡率和经济发展数据,考察1950年代以来中国人口寿命不均等的变化历程,并对之进行历史纵向和国际横向比较.研究发现,在过去半个多世纪中,中国不仅实现预期寿命的持续增长和寿命不均等的大幅下降,并且能在相同的收入水平上把寿命不均等降到全球极低的水平.这反映出中国在促进健康公平方面所取得的巨大成就.未来中国在人口寿命不均等方面还有很大的改善空间.     

中国老年人的居住方式与其婚姻状况的关系分析

基于追踪调查数据,运用随机效应Probit模型分析老年人的居住方式与其婚姻状况的关系及其在不同性别和不同年龄段上的差异。研究发现,丧偶对老年人的居住方式存在显著影响,老年人在丧偶后更可能与子女同住。然而,在控制配偶照顾因素后,丧偶对老年人居住方式的影响却大幅下降。从性别和年龄上来看,丧偶对女性老年人居住方式的影响大于男性老年人,对高龄老年人的影响大于低龄老年人。同时,研究还发现,在控制人口特征、社会经济以及健康状况变量之后,未观测到的个体异质性对老年人居住方式存在显著影响。     

Differentials in Adult Mortality and Activity Limitation by Years of Education in the United States at the End of the 1990s

This study examines mortality differentials and health disparities between educational groups within the 1998 adult population (ages 25 and older) in the United States. Mortality differentials are measured using average life expectancy and health disparities by expected years without activity limitation. The results indicate that for both sexes, higher education is associated with higher life expectancy. Those with higher levels of education also have higher life expectancy without activity limitation. Adults with higher education can also expect to enjoy a greater percentage of their expected lives free of any form of activity limitation. At each level of education, adult females have a higher level of activity limitation compared to adult males. At the same level of education, adult females expect to enjoy smaller percentages of their remaining lives free of activity limitation compared to adult males of the same age.     

Child support awards: Differentials and trends by race and marital status

This study has analyzed data from combined 1979 and 1982 April supplements to the Current Population Survey to study differences in the award of child support by race and marital status. The following findings emerge from this study: The percentage of women with children present from an absent father who are awarded child support varies greatly by race and marital status. Among all women, nonblacks are more than twice as likely as blacks to have a child support award, and the ever-married are almost six times as likely as the never-married to have an award. Among the ever-married, currently separated women are approximately half as likely as the ever-divorced to have secured an award. The lower probability of child support awards among blacks can be attributed in part to their disproportionate membership in marital status groups with lower award probabilities. Blacks are four and one-half times as likely as nonblacks to be among the never-married and almost twice as likely to be among the currently separated. Racial differences in award probabilities exist within all marital status groups except the never-married. Among the currently separated, blacks are one-third less likely than nonblacks to have an award. Among the ever-divorced, blacks are almost one-fourth less likely than nonblacks to have an award. Among the never-married, unlike the ever-married, virtually no statistically significant socioeconomic characteristics appear to distinguish mothers who have a child support award from those who do not. Among all women, 50 to 60 percent of the gross racial differential in award rates can be explained by observed differences in such economic and demographic characteristics as marital status, educational attainment, age, place of residence, and number of children. Among the ever-married, 50 percent of the gross racial difference can be explained by these factors. Among the ever-married, the likelihood of being awarded child support at marital disruption has increased over time, but this upward trend has been different for blacks and nonblacks. Among nonblacks, the proportion of women obtaining a child support award increased 1.3 percent per year between 1960 and 1975 and then declined 0.4 percent per year since then. Among blacks, the proportion increased 0.8 percent per year between 1960 and 1975 and then accelerated to 1.6 percent per year since then.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)     

Older Women Living in a Continuing Care Retirement Community: Marital Status and Friendship Formation

SUMMARY

Ethnographic observations and interviews with twenty female residents of a new Continuing Care Retirement Community (CCRC) revealed the patterns of friendship development experienced by older women. Qualitative analyses identified various phases of friendship development and aspects of the social context that facilitated friendship formation in its earliest stages. Marital status was a major factor in the selection of friends within this setting. Friendship styles and strategies for developing friendships varied considerably. Although most women successfully formed new friendships within this setting, certain subgroups seemed at risk for social isolation.     

Sex Differentials in Childhood Feeding,Health Care,and Nutritional Status in India

Strong preference for sons in South Asia is well documented, but evidence on female disadvantage in childhood feeding, health care, and nutritional status is inconclusive. This article examines sex differentials in indicators of childhood feeding, health care, and nutritional status of children under age 3 by birth order and sex composition of older living siblings. Data are from India's 1992–93 and 1998–99 National Family Health Surveys. The analysis finds three reasons for inconclusive evidence on female disadvantage in aggregate analyses. First, discrimination against girls is limited to the relatively small fraction of children of certain birth orders and sex compositions of older siblings. Second, discrimination against girls when boys are in short supply and discrimination against boys when girls are in short supply cancel each other to some extent. Third, some discrimination against girls (e.g., in exclusive breastfeeding at 6–9 months) is nutritionally beneficial to girls. Separate analyses for North and South India find that gender discrimination is as common in the South as in the North, where son preference is generally much stronger.     

International Migration,Remittances Inflow and Household Welfare: An Intra Village Comparison from Pakistan

This study explores the financial costs, time involved in migration and benefits at household level. A household survey has been conducted to investigate about characteristics of migrants, transaction costs and sources of financing by which overseas migration is financed. Results of PSM technique explored that overseas migration conveys worthwhile benefits as measured by their total expenditures, food expenditures, non-food expenditures, clothing expenditures, expenditures on pots and pans, expenditures on vehicles and saving levels. Establishment of technical training institutions, creation of micro-finance institutions and enhancing their functioning as well as sensitization about ‘Pakistan Remittance Initiative’ would be some of the policy options in order to tackle with the problem.