HIV/AIDS and Cross-National Convergence in Life Expectancy

This article analyzes the effect of HIV/AIDS on the cross-national convergence in life expectancy as well as infant and child survival rates by comparing three scenarios. One is based on historical and future best-guess estimated values given the existence of the epidemic. The second scenario assumes that the effect of the epidemic is much worse than expected. The final scenario is based on hypothetical values derived from estimations where the mortality caused by the epidemic is removed. For life expectancy, convergence becomes stalled in the late 1980s (without weighting by country population size) or 1990s (with weighting). Convergence in infant and child survival rates does not become stalled, but slows down. These results are mainly attributable to the epidemic since all signs of stalled convergence or even divergence disappear in the “No AIDS scenario.” Given the existence of the epidemic, however, the reduced degree of inequality in life expectancy attained by 1985 is only expected to be achieved again by 2015 at the earliest. If the epidemic turns out much worse than expected, divergence could continue to 2050. No divergence is to be expected in infant and child survival rates in any of the scenarios.     

Multinational Corporations,Democracy and Child Mortality: A Quantitative,Cross-National Analysis of Developing Countries

This study presents quantitative, sociological models designed to account for cross-national variation in child mortality. We consider variables linked to five different theoretical perspectives that include the economic modernization, social modernization, political modernization, ecological-evolutionary, and dependency perspectives. The study is based on a cross-lagged effects regression analysis of a sample of 59 developing countries. Our preliminary analysis based on additive models replicates prior studies to the extent that we find that indicators linked to economic and social modernization have beneficial effects on child mortality. We also find support for hypotheses derived from the dependency perspective suggesting that multinational corporate penetration fosters higher levels of child mortality. Subsequent analysis incorporating interaction effects suggest that the level of political democracy conditions the effects of dependency relationships based upon multinational corporations. Transnational economic linkages associated with multinational corporations adversely affect child mortality more strongly at lower levels of democracy than at higher levels of democracy–that is intranational, political factors interact with the international, economic forces to affect child mortality. We conclude with some brief policy recommendations and suggestions for the direction of future research.     

Macro-Structural Determinants of Political Freedom in Developing Countries: A Cross-National Analysis

This study attempts to evaluate the impacts of macro-structural factors on political freedom in developing countries (DCs). Political freedom is conceptualized as civil liberty and political rights the general population of a society can enjoy in influencing public policy. The Freedom House indexes are used as measures of freedom. In explaining the individual countries’ differences in political freedom, this study considers the following factors: regime types, level of development, social structure, fractionalization, the state and military influence and external economic dependence. Empirical modeling of 118 DCs with regression techniques and ordered logit methods demonstrates that besides the regime effects, economic development generates favorable influence, while a large poor population and military spending produce negative impact on freedom. In the concluding section, we discuss the theoretical implications in comparative perspective.     

Living Alone over the Life Course: Cross-National Variations on an Emerging Issue

The increasing proportion of persons living alone has come to be emblematic in many ways of modern Western societies because it represents the importance conceded to the individual and to individual goals at the expense, basically, of the family. Solo living has been interpreted within the context of changing values and preferences, changing personal and conjugal realities, and the changing work contexts so often associated with the Second Demographic Transition. We know little about patterns and trends in living alone over the life course in much of the world because most research to date has concentrated on regional and national portrayals or on living arrangements in later life. This study provides a systematic look at the differences in living alone by age and sex in 113 countries. Our aim is to understand the extent to which behavior differs around the world and the implications this has for society. We also examine the relationship between trends in living alone and levels of human development. Results are taken from three massive datasets: census and survey microdata from IPUMS-international, Demographic Health Surveys, and EU-Labor Force Surveys.     

Appraising the Quality of Democracy as a Developmental Phenomenon: How South Koreans Appraise the Quality of Their Democracy

In recent years, an increasing number of scholars have made serious efforts to assess the quality of democracy from the perspective of ordinary citizens. Their research endeavors to date have all sought to distinguish democracies exclusively in terms of low to high levels of quality. Unlike these studies, which are solely concerned with the varying levels of democratic quality, this study offers a new conceptual framework that allows for discerning and monitoring its shifting patterns from electoral through liberal to civic quality. An analysis of the 2010 Korea Democracy Barometer survey confirms that the quality of democracy is, indeed, a developmental and multidimensional phenomenon. Furthermore, it reveals that ordinary citizens are capable of identifying its particular dimensions, and Korean democracy shows a significant deficit in two: the liberal and civic domains.     

The Quality of Korean Life in Camparative Perspective: Objective Quality of Life in Korea and the OECD Countries

Social Indicators Research - This study attempts to compare the current state of Korea's quality of life with that of more developed countries in their past, and seeks to derive suggestions for...     

Media Use and Satisfaction with Democracy: Testing the Role of Political Interest

An interesting measure for equitable and sustainable well-being has been proposed recently by the National Institute of Statistics in Italy and the National Council for Economy and Labour. It is called BES (from the Italian Benessere Equo e Sostenibile). A set of indicators, partitioned into several domains and themes, is used for measuring the BES. Taking into account prior knowledge of both the structure of this set of indicators and the relationships among them, the paper proposes a hierarchical composite model for measuring and modeling the BES of the Italian provinces. This hierarchical model allows us to synthesize individual indicators into single indexes in order to construct composite indicators at a global and a partial level. Moreover, we analyze the relationships among the different domains and themes as well as the effects of these on equitable and sustainable well-being, in order to search for strongly influential factors. In order to estimate the parameters of the model, we use both Partial Least Squares path modeling and a new method, called Quantile Composite-based path modeling. In particular, Partial Least Squares path modeling is used to estimate average effects in the network of relationships between variables, while with Quantile Composite-based path modeling we investigate whether the magnitude of these effects changes across different parts of the variable distributions, providing a more complete picture and uncovering specific local leveraging factors for improvement. A final ranking of the Italian provinces, according to the BES composite indicator, is also provided at the national level and for different geographic areas of Italy.     

Service and Life Quality: The Case of Palermo

The research aims at analysing the ``quality' of some services offered to the citizens by the Commune of Palermo. The data available were gathered thanks to a sampling survey carried out in October 1997. The sample is made up of 1008 residents in the city of Palermo and is proportionally stratified according to the quarter of residence. Information was gathered by means of a telephone questionnaire. The answering rate was rather high and a great interest in the subjects dealt was taken.The research wants to individuate the degree of efficiency of the Commune of Palermo, also at administrative level, with some questions concerning the municipal council, taking the expectations of the citizens of the city into account through an analytic survey of the indicators measuring the judgement of the citizen towards the main services. This result will be the starting point of an exhaustive analysis aiming at the individuation of the ``quality of life' in Palermo, which is tightly connected with the services offered.     

The Relationship Between Islam and Democracy in Turkey: Employing Political Culture as an Indicator

During the last decade the agenda of local and global politics is heavily marked by the encounter of two powerful currents, namely democracy and political Islam. On the one hand Islam as a religion itself is facing a cultural dialectic between a modern and an authentic form, producing a synthesis which is only to be criticized again by a new radical antithesis. Within that framework political Islam is perceived to be a tool for this current antithesis, attacking the states for impiety and materialism. Democracy, on the other hand, is becoming dominant as a criterion of good government, the “only game in town”, with its inherent complexity which reveals itself in each particular context. The two currents are not necessarily irreconcilable, but they produce a number of different effects on each other whenever they meet. The fundamental contention of this article is to demonstrate this relationship within the Turkish setting.     

The Gap Concept as a Quality of Life Measure: Validation Study of the Child Quality of Life Systemic Inventory

The objective was to determine the interest and psychometric properties of a new QOL self-assessment questionnaire suitable for children 8–12 years old measuring alpha, beta and gamma changes: the “Inventaire Systémique de Qualité de vie pour Enfants” (ISQV-E^©). This was a cross-sectional validation study. 288 children have completed the ISQV-E. Other tools were used: The “Autoquestionnaire de Qualité de Vie Enfants Imagé” (AUQUEI), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC), the Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI). The internal consistency of the four scores of the ISQV-E (state, goal, rank and gap) is satisfactory. All scores have their own specificity. The data show the convergent validity, sensitivity and applicability of the ISQV-E. On the other hand, no satisfactory factorial structure was found although a multidimensional theoretical perspective was applied. The feasibility of the ISQV-E seems clearly demonstrated and the value of this new tool seems evident in contexts of physical, psychological or social problems. The validation study was promising but certain points such as test–retest reliability remain to be studied.     

Quality of Life in Hong Kong: the Cuhk Hong Kong Quality of Life Index

The CUHK Hong Kong Quality of Life Index, which aims to assess and monitor the quality of life in Hong Kong, is a composite index incorporating both objective and subjective measures. This index, developed by the Faculty of Social Science of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, employs data collected in representative sample surveys and official statistics. A wide range of life domains is covered and the year 2002 is taken as the base year of the study. Index scores demonstrate that in general the quality of life in Hong Kong has improved slightly in 2003; scores of the composite index and the three sub-indices on sectorial performance are somewhat higher than those of the previous year. It is noteworthy that Hong Kong has made noticeable progress and performs as well as many economically advanced societies in certain life domains; yet, the well-being of the people relies on further improvement in others.     

Quality of Life in Hong Kong: the Cuhk Hong Kong Quality of Life Index

The CUHK Hong Kong Quality of Life Index, which aims to assess and monitor the quality of life in Hong Kong, is a composite index incorporating both objective and subjective measures. This index, developed by the Faculty of Social Science of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, employs data collected in representative sample surveys and official statistics. A wide range of life domains is covered and the year 2002 is taken as the base year of the study. Index scores demonstrate that in general the quality of life in Hong Kong has improved slightly in 2003; scores of the composite index and the three sub-indices on sectorial performance are somewhat higher than those of the previous year. It is noteworthy that Hong Kong has made noticeable progress and performs as well as many economically advanced societies in certain life domains; yet, the well-being of the people relies on further improvement in others.     

Monitoring Urban Quality of Life: The Porto Experience

This paper describes the monitorin g system of the urban quality of life developed by the Porto City Council, a new tool being used to support urban planning and management. The two components of this system – a quantitative approach based on statistical indicators and a qualitative analysis based on the citizens’ perceptions of the conditions of life – are presented. The strengths and weaknesses of these two approaches adopted in the project are reviewed. It is argued that, in order to achieve a deeper understanding and more effective measurement of urban quality of life, both kinds of measurements are useful and complement each other.     

教育质量与西部农村孩子辍学率:云南省的经验证据

文章基于云南省1422个农户的微观数据,利用生存函数模型测算了西部农村基础教育质量对孩子辍学率的影响。结果显示,学校的规模和师资充足对减少学生辍学的风险有显著影响;以班主任学历表示的教师和学校质量水平对于降低孩子辍学率也有重要的影响,并且这种影响存在于基础教育的各个阶段;女孩辍学风险高于男孩,差距在初中阶段开始拉大。父母受教育程度的提高对于降低孩子辍学率具有显著的正向影响,尤其是母亲的作用更大。     

Gender and the Politics of Death: Female Representation,Political and Developmental Context,and Population Health in a Cross-National Panel

There is considerable speculation that female political empowerment could improve population health. Yet, evidence to date is limited, and explanations for why political empowerment would matter and the conditions under which this might be enhanced or muted are not well understood. In this article, we draw on theoretical work on the politics of representation to frame an investigation of whether increases in the percentage of females in a country’s parliament influence mortality rates. We further examine whether the relationship is conditioned by extent of democracy and economic and social development. Through multivariate longitudinal regression, we analyze four indicators of mortality in 155 countries spanning 1990 to 2014 with controls for initial country conditions, time-stable structural predispositions to higher mortality, and a number of time-varying potential confounders. Results indicate that a high level of female representation—30 % or greater in our models—has large negative associations with mortality, that these are particularly strong in lesser developed and weak democratic contexts, that high female political representation effectively offsets liabilities associated with low development, and that the relationships are robust to various operationalizations of social development. In the end, our research provides a particularly thorough accounting of the relationship between female political representation and population health, particularly by specifying the conditions under which female representation is most salient. In doing so, the research suggests important links between issues of female empowerment, political context, and developmental trajectories of countries more generally.     

Cross-National Variation in Individual Life Satisfaction: Effects of National Wealth, Human Development, and Environmental Conditions

This study adds to the literature on subjective well-being and life satisfaction by exploring variation in individual life satisfaction across countries. Understanding whether and how individual life satisfaction varies across countries is important because if the goal of development is to increase well-being, we must identify the causes of well-being in different national and regional contexts. Using hierarchical linear modeling techniques, I test the hypothesis that individual well-being does vary across countries, and that national wealth, human development and environmental conditions explain this variation. I also test whether the effects of individual characteristics on life satisfaction (including age, marital status, education, income, employment status, and sex) vary across countries, and which country level characteristics explain these variations. Using individual level data from the World Values Survey, I find that there is significant variation in life satisfaction across countries. There is also significant variation in the slopes of individual predictors of life satisfaction across countries and regions. Regional differences in the effects of individual characteristics on life satisfaction explain most of the between country variation in life satisfaction. This indicates that universal development indicators may not adequately reflect differences in life satisfaction across countries, and that development measurements should better reflect regional differences.

The Quality of Life in Korea: Comparative and Dynamic Perspectives

Social Indicators Research -     

The Quality of Life in China

The Asia Barometer Survey of 2,000 respondents reveals that substantial majorities of the Chinese people experience feelings of happiness, enjoyment, and accomplishment. In fact, the proportion experiencing these indicators of a high quality of life are larger in China than in some more prosperous countries. Favorable historical comparison, sustained high economic growth, satisfaction with interpersonal life, and a high percentage of married people are among the explanations for China’s prevalence of subjective well-being. The Chinese people’s high levels of satisfaction with their interpersonal, material, and nonmaterial life domains, their positive assessments of their relative living standards, and their high rate of marriage are three direct positive influences on subjective well-being. Value priorities and other demographic characteristics also have indirect bearings on subjective well-being in China.