The Educational Homogamy Gap Between Married and Cohabiting Couples in Latin America

The explosive expansion of non-marital cohabitation in Latin America since the 1970s has led to the narrowing of the gap in educational homogamy between married and cohabiting couples (what we call “homogamy gap”) as shown by our analysis of 29 census samples encompassing eight countries: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Mexico, and Panama (N = 2,295,160 young couples). Most research on the homogamy gap is limited to a single decade and a small group of developed countries (the United States, Canada, and Europe). We take a historical and cross-national perspective and expand the research to a range of developing countries, where since early colonial times, traditional forms of cohabitation among the poor, uneducated sectors of society have coexisted with marriage, although to widely varying degrees from country to country. In recent decades, cohabitation is emerging in all sectors of society. We find that among married couples, educational homogamy continues to be higher than for those who cohabit, but in recent decades, the difference has narrowed substantially in all countries. We argue that assortative mating between cohabiting and married couples tends to be similar when the contexts in which they are formed are also increasingly similar.     

教育水平显著提高,扫盲任务仍很艰巨

2000年第五次全国人口普查结果表明,在20世纪90年代,由于教育事业的迅猛发展,我国人口的受教育水平得到了显著提高.具体表现为:     

The Proximate Determinants of Educational Homogamy: The Effects of First Marriage,Marital Dissolution,Remarriage, and Educational Upgrading

This paper adapts the population balancing equation to develop a framework for studying the proximate determinants of educational homogamy. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth on a cohort of women born between 1957 and 1964, we decompose the odds of homogamy in prevailing marriages into four proximate determinants: (1) first marriages, (2) first and later marital dissolutions, (3) remarriages, and (4) educational attainment after marriage. The odds of homogamy among new first marriages are lower than among prevailing marriages, but not because of selective marital dissolution, remarriage, and educational attainment after marriage, as has been speculated. Prevailing marriages are more likely to be educationally homogamous than new first marriages because of the accumulation of homogamous first marriages in the stock of marriages. First marriages overwhelmingly account for the odds of homogamy in prevailing marriages in this cohort. Marital dissolutions, remarriages, and educational upgrades after marriage have relatively small and offsetting effects. Our results suggest that, despite the high prevalence of divorce, remarriage, and continued schooling after marriage in the United States, the key to understanding trends in educational homogamy lies primarily in variation in assortative mating into first marriage.     

学龄人口减少及其对教育发展的影响

目前,我国正处于人口自然变动和人口迁移变动不断加速的历史时期。这将对学龄人口的规模及其在城乡间的分布产生较大影响,进而影响到未来我国教育事业的发展。根据2005年1%人口抽样调查数据,本文估算了未来各级教育学龄人口规模及供求缺口的变化趋势,及其对各级教育发展的影响。由于人口迁移变动的存在,学龄人口变化对教育发展的冲击被强化。据此,未来我国的教育发展策略应因应人口变动的挑战,采取适应性的调整。     

教育水平对人口职业分层影响的实证分析--以湖北省为例

文章通过对湖北省第五次人口普查及相关资料的实证分析,认为教育水平对就业人口的职业分层有明显的影响。分析发现,湖北省就业人口的职业构成目前仍处于“传统模式”,体力劳动者职业人口比重大,其主要原因是职业人口的平均受教育水平普遍偏低,特别是处在低级次职业的体力劳动者最为突出。     

The Environmental Impact of Immigration: An Analysis of the Effects of Immigrant Concentration on Air Pollution Levels

Despite growing interest in the impact of immigration on U.S. society, research has rarely examined the effects of immigration flows on the natural environment. The current study addresses this gap in research using data on 183 Metropolitan Statistical Areas drawn from the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Census Bureau, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to empirically assess the relationships between contemporary immigration and seven measures of air pollution. In doing so, we seek to (1) broaden knowledge about the social consequences of immigration to include its potential effects on the environment, (2) address competing theoretical perspectives about immigration-environment relationships (i.e., population pressure/social disorganization versus ecological footprint/community resource perspectives), and (3) extend knowledge about the predictors and sources of environmental harm within local communities. In contrast to popular opinion and population pressure positions, our research indicates that immigration does not contribute to local air pollution levels across any of the seven pollution measures examined.     

The Impact of Democracy on Well-being

Can governance impact directly on well-being? In this paper we examine subjective well-being using data for a cross section of countries from the World Values data set. We find that regional democratic satisfaction impacts on both individual happiness and life satisfaction. However, the impact is less evident for women, rich people and for those in rich countries. The fact that the governance variable analysis is based on regional differences in democratic satisfaction reminds us that governance and indeed happiness often differs within countries as well as between them. The use of regional satisfaction in this manner helps overcome endogeneity problems which would be present if we were to use individual democratic satisfaction. Other significant determinants of happiness include settlement size, marital status, income, unemployment and being part of a linguistic minority/majority grouping.     

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 Impact of Economic Crisis on Happiness

There is a common belief that economic crisis will lead to a decrease in subjective wellbeing. Previous studies indicate that income is correlated with happiness and unemployment with unhappiness. The relationship between increased income and happiness is well documented while the impact of decreased income has been less explored. The aim of this paper is to study how the economic downfall in Iceland, followed by reduced income and increased unemployment, affects happiness as well as to explore which groups are most vulnerable to changes in happiness and which are most resilient. The study is a longitudinal, nationally representative postal survey which assessed 5,918 individual’s aged 18–79. A total of 4,092 (77.3%) answered again in 2009. The relationship between economic factors and happiness was explored using multiple linear regression to find out how much they explain of the happiness variance and the changes in happiness, together with demographic factors, health and social relationships. Results indicate that income and unemployment did not predict happiness but financial difficulties did. A decrease in happiness was detected after the collapse. The change in happiness from 2007 to 2009 was normally distributed, 40% had the same score in both years and an equal number increased as decreased. The explored factors did not explain the changes in happiness. The economic crisis had a limited affect on happiness. Those with financial difficulties were hardest hit. Changes in happiness need to be studied further since they are not well explained by the factors which influence cross-sectional levels of happiness.     

The Impact of Pollution on Labor Productivity

Based on Chinese provincial panel data from 1991 to 2010,the empirical study in this paper establishes partial equilibrium model, taking pollution as a variable, to examine the effects of pollution. The pollution affects labor productivity in two major ways: production and decision-making of labor input. The study indicates that pollution has positive influences on labor productivity in short term but negative ones in the long-term. Moreover the inverted U relation is found between pollution scale and labor productivity. While it is uprising when the pollution scale is small, the labor productivity is declining with the large pollution scale     

环境污染对劳动生产率的影响研究

当前大多数文献考察了环境管制对劳动力市场的影响,而较少直接考察环境污染对劳动力市场的影响。因此文章将环境作为一种生产要素来建立局部均衡模型,并利用中国1991～2010年省级面板数据进行实证研究,结果发现,环境污染对劳动生产率的影响主要从污染对生产的影响和污染对劳动支付决策的影响两个渠道来实现;同时实证研究发现环境污染对当期的劳动生产率有显著的正效应,然而通过对劳动者劳动支付决策的影响会显著抑制下一期的劳动生产率,并且在环境污染规模较低时,环境污染规模的增加有利于劳动生产率的提高,而当环境污染规模较大时则会对劳动生产率有显著的抑制效应。     

户籍管制放松、就读地选择与进城家庭教育支出

本文利用中国家庭收入项目调查数据(CHIP2007),运用Two-Part模型研究户籍管制放松是否影响以及如何影响有7~16岁在读子女进城家庭的教育支出行为。研究发现,户籍管制放松会影响进城家庭子女就读地选择;对于有子女在城市就读的进城家庭,户籍管制放松对其教育支出水平的影响取决于家庭收入,放松户籍管制将会降低低收入进城家庭的教育支出份额,但会提高高收入进城家庭的教育支出份额,具体影响大小因家庭收入水平的不同而存在差异;在总样本均值处,户籍管制放松1个百分点,进城家庭教育支出将减少1.3945个百分点。在推进新型城镇化建设的背景下,放松户籍管制的意义不仅在于促进教育公平,更在于加快人口城镇化步伐、改善进城家庭消费结构和提振国内消费。     

The Impact of Socioeconomic Status on Life Satisfaction

The stratification system in India has resulted in the socioeconomic inequality in society and defines women domestic workers as one of the lowest segments of society. This qualitative and quantitative study aims at describing the problems of female domestic workers, the relationship of their employers with them, and exploring the impact of socioeconomic status mainly, occupation, education, and income on life satisfaction. We used ethnographic observation and in-depth interview over a 4 year period in Mysore (a city in the south of India). Furthermore, our quantitative research was guided by convenience sampling technique with selecting 125 (65 domestic workers, 60 employers). We prepared a structured questionnaire for gathering demographic information, i.e. age, education, marital status, occupation, and religion. To measure the degree of life satisfaction, we administered Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener et al. J Person Assess 49(1):71–75, 1985). The data were collected during September and October 2011. The hypotheses were tested by applying Pearson correlation, regression, and t test (SPSS, version 18). The results of our observation and interview indicate that domestic workers suffer from various problems inside and outside their homes. The relationship between domestic workers and employers is a master–servant relationship. Domestic workers remain as an unorganized job group though in 2004 the Karnataka Minimum Wage Act was passed. Our quantitative findings reveal that there is a positive correlation between socioeconomic status and life satisfaction. This type of study displays that enacting law is not sufficient; it necessitates implementing and monitoring properly. This study suggests measures for supporting female domestic workers.     

母亲受教育水平对儿童健康的影响及其路径

母亲的受教育水平对儿童的健康发展具有重要影响,但鲜有研究针对其影响路径进行深入分析。本文基于1991-2015年中国营养与健康调查数据,利用母亲的兄弟姐妹个数作为母亲受教育水平的工具变量,采用两阶段最小二乘法(2SLS),探讨了母亲受教育水平对儿童健康的影响及其路径。研究表明,母亲受教育水平每提高1年,儿童的年龄别身高Z评分和年龄别体重Z评分分别平均显著提高0.129和0.14个标准差,具体来说,5岁儿童身高和体重对应是提高约0.6厘米和0.3千克。使用九年义务教育的实施作为母亲受教育水平的工具变量时,结果仍然稳健。影响路径的研究结果说明,母亲的受教育水平可通过提高其膳食知识水平和家庭资产指数来影响其儿童的健康发展。进一步的异质性分析发现,农村母亲受教育水平对家庭资产指数和儿童健康的影响显著大于城市,但对膳食知识水平的影响不存在城乡差异。基于以上分析,提高女性的教育投入,尤其是农村女性的教育投入可以显著改善儿童的健康状况。     

夫妻教育匹配对男性平等分担家务的影响

利用2000年和2010年中国妇女社会地位调查数据,考察了21世纪最初十年间中国婚姻家庭的家务分工特征及其变化,着重检验了夫妻教育匹配对家务分工平等化的影响.研究发现,夫妻平等分担家务的现象近年来呈缓慢的上升趋势,2010年全国接近两成的已婚夫妇相对平等地分担家务.夫高妻低的教育匹配模式不利于推动家务分工平等化以及改变"女主内"的分工模式;与之相对,夫妻教育相同和夫低妻高的教育匹配模式在不同程度上推动着男性平等分担家务.文章认为,夫妻平等分担家务代表了现代社会经济和性别平等文化背景下家务分工演变的方向.实现这一转变,女性自身教育水平的相对提高以及教育匹配现象的演化扮演着极为重要的角色;而营造良好的社会舆论环境与完善社会服务体系,则是家务分工平等化的重要社会保障.     

The Differential Impact of Alzheimer's Disease on Older Women

The relationship between gender and Alzheimer's Diease is explored in the paper. Data are based on a sample (N = 2245) of subjects screened at California's Alzheimer's Disease Diagnostic and Treatment Centers who have been diagnosed as having possible or probable Alzheimer's Disease. Demographic variables, service utilization patterns, neurological, behavioral, functional and cognitive problems and infonnal caregiving characteristics are compared across gender groups. In addition, using logistic regression, the differential risk for receiving a diagnosis of Alzheimer's Disease is examined. The authors conclude that a mix of biological and social factors combine to increase the impact of the disease for older women.     

工作转换对农民工职业流动的影响效应

农民工就业流动频繁已经成为当前劳动力市场的普遍现象和重要特征,而工作转换能否带来农民工职业向上流动,实现职业地位提升？文章采用RUMIC面板数据,进一步估计工作转换对农民工职业流动方向的影响。结果发现：工作转换对职业流动产生显著负效应,工作转换导致农民工职业向下流动,职业流动没有呈现“U”型特征,但存在一定的跨期效应,重新定义工作转换进行稳健性检验仍然支持这一结论。而从根本上消除劳动力市场的制度壁垒,强化农民工职业技能培训,无疑是未来劳动力市场政策调整的主要方向。     

老年人人格特征对心理健康的影响研究

老年人人格特征是影响老年人心理健康的一个重要因素。为了探讨人格特征对老年人心理健康的影响,采用艾森克人格问卷和心理健康症状自评量表,对武汉市60岁以上随机抽取的442位老年人进行研究。研究结果表明:随着年龄的增加,老年人人格特征更趋于内向,性情更趋于平和;情绪稳定性的老年人心理健康水平要显著好于情绪不稳定性的老年人;在老年人心理健康的变差中,能被性别、年龄和情绪稳定性共同解释的比例为27.1%。     

劳动力抚养负担对居民储蓄率的影响研究

在生命周期理论假说基础上,文章运用二步系统GMM方法对中国省际动态面板数据进行估计,并分析了抚养负担对储蓄率的影响.结果发现,少儿抚养负担的下降是促使居民储蓄率上升的重要原因之一,而老年抚养负担对储蓄率的影响并不显著.总抚养负担减轻带来的储蓄率提高主要是由于快速下降的少儿抚养负担引致.