Economic Crisis and its Consequences

Social Indicators Research - The financial crisis that began in late 1997, led to a catastrophic downturn of economic and social development in Korea. Rather than dealing with the macroeconomic and...     

The Social Patterning of Work-Related Insecurity and its Health Consequences

This study examines the association between work-related insecurity and health, with a focus on how this relationship is moderated by social location (gender, age and race). Drawing on longitudinal data from a Canadian labour market survey (1999–2004) the findings show that certain groups have a higher prevalence of exposure to certain types of work-related insecurity including (among others) low earnings, poor job mobility and the absence of union protection. Results from regression analyses indicate that the negative health impact of work-related insecurity is also unevenly distributed across different social locations. In some cases, older age and visible minority status significantly elevated the health risk posed by work-related insecurity. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of major shifts in the demographic composition of the labour market due to workforce ageing and the increased participation of women and visible minorities.     

A Conceptual-Referent Theory of Happiness: Heterogeneity and its Consequences

This paper puts forward The Conceptual Referent Theory of Happiness (CRT), which states that a person’s conceptual referent for a happy life plays a role in the judgment of her life and in the appraisal of her happiness. A typology of eight conceptual referents for happiness is made on the basis of a review of philosophical essays on happiness.The theory contributes to the understanding of happiness by focusing on a cognitive factor involved in the judgment process: A person’s notion of what a happy life is, of what she understands for being well. Thus, CRT complements previous research by studying what a person thinks, rather than what she feels, at the time of appraising her life. CRT also stresses the importance of heterogeneity; this is: the conceptual referent is not the same for every person; people have different conceptions of what a happy life is. Hence, the investigation studies the issue of superiority in the conceptual referent for happiness. It shows that no conceptual referent can be considered as superior in the sense of being associated to greater happiness. However, there are a few conceptual referents that are clearly inferior. The investigation also studies the influence of socioeconomic and demographic variables in the conceptual referent a person holds. It shows that the probability of embracing a particular conceptual referent for happiness is contingent on a person’s socioeconomic and demographic situation. The empirical investigation is based on data from a large survey applied in Mexico.     

Indicators of Democratization in Romania

The process of democratization of the Romanian society, which started in December 1989, following the removal of the communist regime, has several peculiarities. The new authorities managed to stay in power until the autumn of 1996, after their left wing party (The National Salvation Front – FSN) won the free multi-party elections of 1990 in which several other parties participated too, and the elections of 1992 (this time under the name of Party of Social Democracy). A new Constitution was adopted and the institutions of the state of the right were established. Although marked by tension and conflicts, especially during 1990–1991, the process of democratization progressed, however, steadily, satisfying the formal indicators of democracy. The victory of the center and right-winged opposition in the elections of November 1996, revealed the alternance of parties in power and by this the consolidation of the democratic institutions in Romania.     

The Lonely and Homeless: Causes and Consequences

Both, homelessness and loneliness are quite pervasive in North America. This study compared the causes of the loneliness experienced by the homeless to that of the general population. Two hundred and sixty six homeless and five hundred and ninety five men and women from the general population answered a 30 item yes/no questionnaire. The causes of loneliness were composed of the following five factors: Personal inadequacy, Developmental deficits, Unfulfilling intimate relationships, Relocation/significant separations, and Social marginality. The present results indicated that the causes of homeless loneliness are significantly different from those of the general population.     

Unintended Population Consequences of Policies

Unintended population consequences of policies stem from three sources: (1) A policy overshoots its original goal; (2) different policies conflict, so that the implementation of one policy inhibits implementation of another policy; (3) negative consequences of a policy are unforeseen, or are anticipated but judged unlikely to be severe or considered less important than the positive aims of the policy. Examples from Singapore, South Africa, Italy, the U.S., and the former Soviet Union are discussed.     

Validity and the Consequences of Test Interpretation and Use

The vast majority of measures have, at their core, a purpose of personal and social change. If test developers and users want measures to have personal and social consequences and impact, then it is critical to consider the consequences and side effects of measurement in the validation process itself. The consequential basis of test interpretation and use, as introduced in Messick’s (Educational measurement, Macmillan, New York, pp. 13–103, 1989) progressive matrix model of unified validity theory, has been misunderstood by many measurement experts, test developers, researchers, and practitioners. The purposes of this paper were to (a) review Messick’s unified view of validity and clarify his consequential basis of test interpretation and use, (b) discuss the kinds of questions evoked by value implications and social consequences and their role in construct validity and score meaning, (c) present a reframing of Messick’s model and a new model of unified validity and validation, (d) bring the concept of multilevel measures under the same validation umbrella as individual differences measures, and (e) offer some thoughts and directions for more explicit consideration of value implications, intended social consequences, and unintended side effects of legitimate test interpretation and use. This paper has implications for the interpretation, use, and validation of both individual differences and multilevel measures in education, psychology, and health contexts.     

Aging Women and Long-Term Care: Truth and Consequences

As the primary givers and recipients of care, elderly and middle-aged women comprise the population segment most significantly affected by the long-term care issue. Salient demographic and social factors relating to this phenomenon are explored, and the benefits and shortfalls of the current long-term care payment sources are identified. Despite the recent financial protection afforded by Medicare "Catastrophic Coverage," financing (or directly providing) long-term care still remains the responsibility of the elderly and their families. Privately purchased long-term care insurance provides some protection to those who can afford it, but elderly women continue to constitute a group at high risk for devastation by long-term care needs and costs.     

Births that are Later-than-Desired: Correlates and Consequences

Population Research and Policy Review - Prior literature examining women’s evaluations of pregnancy timing has focused on pregnancies that are mistimed (i.e. earlier-than-desired) and...     

不同身份下岗职工的再就业

本文通过对下岗职工再就业状况的分析指出，下岗职工的再就业，一方面体现着养家■口的压力，另一方面也体现着因为就业状况的变化而导致的社会职业与社会地位状况的变化。故不同身份下岗职工的再就业，就在“给钱就干”与“找满意的工作”之间存在多种选择。进一步的研究还发现，学历水平较低者与学历水平较高者都需要较长时间去寻觅工作；下岗职工原单位的单位类型、原工作职位以及政府各部门举办的转岗转业培训等，也对其再就业具有显著影响。     

The Educational Consequences of Teen Childbearing

A huge literature shows that teen mothers face a variety of detriments across the life course, including truncated educational attainment. To what extent is this association causal? The estimated effects of teen motherhood on schooling vary widely, ranging from no discernible difference to 2.6 fewer years among teen mothers. The magnitude of educational consequences is therefore uncertain, despite voluminous policy and prevention efforts that rest on the assumption of a negative and presumably causal effect. This study adjudicates between two potential sources of inconsistency in the literature—methodological differences or cohort differences—by using a single, high-quality data source: namely, The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. We replicate analyses across four different statistical strategies: ordinary least squares regression; propensity score matching; and parametric and semiparametric maximum likelihood estimation. Results demonstrate educational consequences of teen childbearing, with estimated effects between 0.7 and 1.9 fewer years of schooling among teen mothers. We select our preferred estimate (0.7), derived from semiparametric maximum likelihood estimation, on the basis of weighing the strengths and limitations of each approach. Based on the range of estimated effects observed in our study, we speculate that variable statistical methods are the likely source of inconsistency in the past. We conclude by discussing implications for future research and policy, and recommend that future studies employ a similar multimethod approach to evaluate findings.     

The Social Consequences of Insecure Jobs

Forms of insecure employment have been increasing all over Europe in recent decades. These developments have been welcomed by those who argued that these types of flexible employment would not only foster employment but could also help women, in particular, to positively combine work and family life. This vision was questioned by others who argued that flexible employment could have negative consequences for both occupational prospects and private and family life since it is often associated with greater insecurity and poorer working conditions. Relatively little research has been dedicated to the “social consequences” of insecure employment and its specific implications for work-life reconciliation issues. This paper contributes to this topic by linking research that addresses work-life conflict to the wider body of work dealing with job insecurity. It investigates the consequences of certain employment contracts on private and family life, taking into account information on current family life, future family plans and general well-being. It provides a series of test relating to the extent to which negative consequences in these areas might be attributable to the type of employment contract and how these vary between European countries. Analysis using ESS data from 2004 for western European countries confirms that insecure employment is accompanied by more problematic “social and family” situations. These negative consequences are partly shaped by the specific context provided by the country in question.

性别失衡的宏观经济后果——评述与展望

本文从家庭经济决策行为、性别失衡与储蓄、婚姻市场挤压等方面对人口性别变量与经济可持续发展的已有研究进行了全面系统的评述,总结了经济学视角下性别失衡研究的发展趋势,指出性别失衡对经济学宏观变量影响的家庭经济决策放大机制是研究该命题的关键。最后,构建了一个从经济学视角来研究人口性别失衡的理论分析框架与建模思路,详细阐述了其背景、构成及所包括的关键机制,为性别失衡对宏观经济影响后果的研究,以及采用包括宏观经济政策在内的性别失衡综合治理和推进性别平等策略的制定与评估提供理论与方法支撑。     

Eating Meat: Evolution,Patterns, and Consequences

Carnivorousness is a part of human evolutionary heritage, but typical meat intakes were limited in virtually all preindustrial societies. Rising meat consumption has been a key marker of the universal dietary transition that has accompanied economic modernization. Meat is now the largest source of high‐quality animal proteins, and in some countries its annual supply is as high as 100 kg or more per capita. At the same time, high average intakes of red meat and poultry have had a number of undesirable agronomic, economic, nutritional, and environmental consequences. Fortunately, most of these negative effects can be alleviated by reducing excessively high meat consumption and by managing better both the production of feeds and the feeding of animals.     

Respect for Civil Liberties During the Third Wave of Democratization: Presenting a New Dataset

The literature on state repression has increased voluminously in recent decades. However, First Amendment-type civil liberties have not received much attention compared to neighbouring freedoms such as electoral rights and physical integrity rights. This neglect is arguably related to the lack of high-quality disaggregated measures. In this paper, we present a new dataset on respect for civil liberties—the Civil Liberties Dataset (CLD)—which includes indicators on freedom of expression, freedom of assembly and association, freedom of religion, and freedom of movement for 207 countries in the period 1976–2010. An assessment of the levels, development, sequencing, and correlates of civil liberties not only reveals a number of interesting patterns, it also shows that the CLD has a competitive edge vis-à-vis extant measures. We conclude that the CLD opens new avenues for research on state repression in general and civil liberties in particular.     

The Consequences of the Tajikistani Civil War for Abortion and Miscarriage

Although a great deal of attention is paid to reproductive health during violent conflicts, the literature is sparse on the consequences of conflict for abortion and miscarriage. This research provides an analysis of a recent historical case: the 1992–1997 civil war in Tajikistan, using the female questionnaire of the 2007 Tajik Living Standards Survey to examine a subsample of 1445 women surveyed who had reached menarche during or after the war and had been pregnant at least once by the time of the survey. The analysis leverages the uneven geographical scope of conflict events during the civil war to pinpoint women’s exposure to violence, measured by the Uppsala Conflict Data Program. The results show that for women who had reached menarche during or after the civil war, exposure to conflict events increases the likelihood of ever experiencing miscarriage, but not abortion. Including a spatial lag operator reveals that there were also spillover effects for abortion, in which women who were in a broader region of uncertainty were more likely to induce an abortion. These findings highlight the role of institutional changes in affecting pregnancy loss during and after civil war.

     

Below-replacement fertility in east and southeast asia: Consequences and policy responses

Fourteen countries in Asia have total fertility rates at or below replacement level. This is more pronounced in China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore and Thailand. The implications are far-reaching and profound as they affect the age structure of the population, giving rise to population ageing, labour force shortages, increased elderly dependency ratios and feminization of the aged population. Evidence from European countries suggests that although fertility may rebound, in most countries it is highly unlikely that fertility will recover sufficiently to reach replacement level in the near future. Mortality reduction will continue to be an overriding policy goal, which would further enhance the ageing process. Therefore, the greatest challenge will be to pension systems, old-age care systems, and health systems or health insurance. This paper first examines the fertility transition in five low-fertility countries. It then discusses the policy measures that these countries have adopted in response to low fertility and population ageing. The paper concludes with the policy implications for healthcare, social care, income security and caregiving facility, and the scope for further study.     

The Unequal Consequences of Mass Incarceration for Children

A growing literature has documented the mostly deleterious intergenerational consequences of paternal incarceration, but less research has considered heterogeneity in these relationships. In this article, I use data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 3,065) to estimate the heterogeneous relationship between paternal incarceration and children’s problem behaviors (internalizing behaviors, externalizing behaviors, and early juvenile delinquency) and cognitive skills (reading comprehension, math comprehension, and verbal ability) in middle childhood. Taking into account children’s risk of experiencing paternal incarceration, measured by the social contexts in which children are embedded (e.g., father’s residential status, poverty, neighborhood disadvantage) reveals that the consequences—across all outcomes except early juvenile delinquency—are more deleterious for children with relatively low risks of exposure to paternal incarceration than for children with relatively high risks of exposure to paternal incarceration. These findings suggest that the intergenerational consequences of paternal incarceration are more complicated than documented in previous research and, more generally, suggest that research on family inequality consider both differential selection into treatments and differential responses to treatments.