A Darwinian Account of the Fertility Opportunity Hypothesis

Reproduction is asine qua non for the continuance of any gene pool. Therefore, it would be strange if natural selectionfailed to act on reproductive patterns, even among humans where the most characteristic adaptations are cognitive and culturally-mediated. In fact, the regularity of human fertility rate responses to variation in the opportunity structure has been documented in many contexts. Humans appear to be alert to environmental signs that indicate whether conditions for childbearing and nurture are more or less optimal, given the possiblities. Specifically, a perception that economic opportunity is expanding, so that relatively many children could probably be successfully raised to maturity, is associated with early marriage and larger family size.     

Fertility and socio-economic status in Rural Bangladesh: Differentials and linkages

Summary Socio-economic differentials in fertility are examined by using data collected from a daily registration system covering over 100,000 persons in rural Bangladesh during the period 1968 to 1970. The findings indicate that fertility was generally higher among women in the higher than in the lower socio-economic groups. Several factors associated with high socio-economic status and their relation with the intermediate variables are discussed as providing the linkages with high fertility. These include, health status, breastfeeding, the enforcement of 'purdah' and migration.     

Mortality Differentials by Marital Status: An International Comparison

Although the greater longevity of married people as compared with unmarried persons has been demonstrated repeatedly, there have been very few studies of a comparative nature. We use log-linear rate models to analyze marital-status-specific death rates for a large number of developed countries. The results indicate that divorced persons, especially divorced men, have the highest death rates among the unmarried groups of the respective genders; the excess mortality of unmarried persons relative to the married has been generally increasing over the past two to three decades; and divorced and widowed persons in their twenties and thirties have particularly high risks of dying, relative to married persons of the same age. In addition, the analysis suggests that a selection process is operating with regard to single and divorced persons: the smaller the proportion of persons who never marry or who are divorced, the higher the resulting death rates.     

Peers and Fertility Preferences: An Empirical Investigation of the Role of Neighbours,Religion and Education

Individual fertility preference is influenced by observed social norms. The present paper investigates the effect of the observed fertility of peers on a woman’s fertility preference. We explore the role of two peer groups: neighbourhood peers and religious peers. Data from the National Family Health Surveys (1992–1993, 1998–1999 and 2005–2006) in India is employed for empirical estimations using a multinomial logit model. We find that both neighbourhood and religious peers have a significant impact on individual fertility preferences, but their relative importance changes with family size. An increase in peer fertility increases the probability of preferring more children. We further examine the roles of education and wealth as transmission channels between the fertility norms of peers to the fertility preferences of the women and find that education plays an important role in moderating peer influences. These findings can serve as vital inputs in formulating family planning and gender policies.     

山东省生育力抽样调查分析报告

经过30多年的努力,我省人口数量过快增长的势头已经得到有效控制,实现了人口再生产类型的历史性转变.但是由于人口问题具有特定的发展规律,加之人口发展的巨大惯性作用,未来十几年,我省的人口总量仍会保持持续增长的态势,生育率反弹的主客观条件依然存在.为正确分析新形势下人口和计划生育工作面临的新问题,必须对我省人口与计划生育工作的过去和现状进行科学的评价,对妇女生育水平和生育意愿进行准确的评估,并通过总结工作经验和规律,有针对性地指导基层工作,为省委、省政府制定"十一五"及中长期国民经济和社会发展规划奠定基础,最终实现我省人口与社会经济、自然资源和生态环境的协调发展.经省人口计生委党组研究决定,由我处牵头在全省范围内组织开展一次育龄妇女生育力抽样调查.调查时点为2004年7月1日,调查时间为7月20日至8月10日.现将调查情况报告如下:     

Family Benefits and Fertility: An Econometric Analysis

A population's growth potential is significantly underestimated by conventional calculations of population momentum which assume an immediate drop to replacement level fertility. Here we assume that the growth rate of births linearly declines to zero over a specified time interval, and find simple and intuitively meaningful expressions for the size of the ultimate birth cohort and the resultant population momentum. In particular, we find that the increase in the number of births over the transition is equal to growth at the initial rate for half the time needed to attain a constant birth level. Thus our formula readily calculates the growth potential of a population under a gradual approach to stationarity without the need for a numerical projection. Calculations for actual and hypothetical populations are presented to show the demographic impact of such gradual approaches to zero growth.     

An Empirical Test of a Neo-Malthusian Theory of Fertility Change

Some neo-Malthusians regard fertility as being kept in check by scarcities and constraints and, conversely, as being raised by economic prosperity. Since out-migration to developed countries and the receipt of food aid from developed countries relax the constraints imposed by a country’s carrying capacity, both will have a positive effect on fertility rates in developing countries. Moreover, better economic prospects will also raise fertility, all other things equal. This article provides an empirical test of these hypotheses derived from a neo-Malthusian theory of fertility change. The results fail to confirm the theory and often contradict it.

人口密度和生育率:一项探索性分析

20世纪是世界人口前所未有的增长期。文章利用世界187个国家1960～2000年(间隔5年)的时间序列资料,结合中国、印度和瑞典的个案分析,着重研究人口密度与人口增长率、生育率之间的关系。研究结果表明,人口密度是除影响人口增长率和生育率下降的社会、经济、文化变量之外的另一个重要因素,它直接影响生育率的水平和趋势,在未来人口预测中有必要考虑人口密度变量。中国、印度和瑞典的案例也反映出人口密度与生育率之间的显著相关关系。     

Hispanic Fertility,Religion and Religiousness in the U.S.

Is the higher fertility of Hispanics in the United States due to their religion and/or to their greater religiousness? Evidence from national survey data indicates no difference in fertility between Protestant and Catholic Hispanic women but Hispanics are more religious than non-Hispanics in terms of the perceived importance of religion in their personal lives. Religiousness is associated with higher fertility but Hispanic fertility is higher than non-Hispanic fertility regardless of religion or religiousness. Ethnic differences in education and income in turn are more important for fertility than the religious dimension.     

Family Functioning and Socioeconomic Status in South African Families: A Test of the Social Causation Hypothesis

Optimal family relationships are central to individual well-being. The focus of this paper is on family functioning and how socioeconomic status (SES) explains family functioning. Ecological theory states that a family’s socioeconomic context is determined by macro-systemic factors, thereby influencing individuals’ perceptions of family functioning. Within this context, the social causation hypothesis asserts that social conditions influence family functioning. This paper uses the Family Attachment and Changeability Index as measure of family functioning. SES is viewed as multidimensional and individual-, household-, and subjective SES indices are developed using multiple correspondence analysis. Multivariate regression models suggest that household- and subjective SES are associated with higher levels of perceived flexibility in the family. There is no association between SES and family members’ attachment to each other. In general, the findings support the social causation hypothesis.     

“发展型”或“政策型”生育率下降?——基于翼城“农村二孩”试点的分析

中国生育率在过去30年持续下降至较低水平,围绕下降的主要动因及其政策涵义的争论热烈。文章以"农村二孩"试点之一的翼城为案例,重新梳理和检视了在已有研究中较为忽视的翼城试点出台的背景和政策实施细则,并从多个方面考察了翼城生育政策对生育行为和生育意愿的影响。与已有研究对翼城试点的认识不同,政策文献回顾表明:"农村二孩"生育政策只是在初婚时间、生育子女数和生育间隔方面做出一些技术性"调整"以缓解国情与民情的矛盾,并没有实质性地改变实施计划生育这一基本国策的初衷。多维度数据分析交叉印证了在实施限制性的生育政策以后,社会经济发展变量不能解释生育率的下降,翼城现有生育行为和生育意愿更多是政策干预的结果,是政策促成的外生性转变,而非由于社会经济发展导致低生育意愿的内生性转变。     

中国育龄妇女生育集中度变化分析——基于“五普”、“六普”数据

新中国成立以来,结束了上千年的封建制度给妇女带来的桎梏,妇女的社会地位有了明显的提升,具体表现在社会活动的参与率有了显著的提高,同时妇女在生育行为方面也发生了巨大的变化。本文利用最近两次中国人口普查数据来分析育龄妇女的生育集中度变化情况,并以此对中国目前TFR很低的现象做了解释,据此推断中国在未来几年的时间,总和生育率在一定程度上会呈上升的变化趋势,但不可能在短期内回升到更替水平。     

Delayed Graduation and Overeducation in Italy: A Test of the Human Capital Model Versus the Screening Hypothesis

Social Indicators Research - Exploiting the human capital versus screening hypothesis frameworks, this paper studies the link between delayed graduation and overeducation, and their effect on...     

Fertility in China: An uncertain future

As one of the world’s two population ‘billionaires’, the future of China’s population is truly of global significance. With its very low fertility and a rapidly ageing population, it might appear that the country’s famous (or notorious) family planning restrictions are somewhat anachronistic. Here, we explore the process of reform seen over the past three decades and, most recently, in late 2013. We suggest that the popular notion that the family planning restrictions are acting as a pressure valve suppressing a pent-up demand for childbearing, particularly in rural China, is likely to be inaccurate. We also suggest that further reform of the restrictions will not solve the problems of population ageing or many of the other issues widely associated with the restrictions. We conclude that the prospects for further reform are wide-ranging, but likely to be beset by many challenges.     

论陕西省人口的低生育率水平

自70年代初大力推行计划生育以来,陕西的计划生育工作取得了巨大成就,人口过快增长的现象得到了有效控制,实现了人口再生产类型的转变,进入到低生育水平时期。21世纪初,中央作出了《关于加强人口与计划生育工作稳定低生育水平的决定》,提出了新时期人口与计划生育工作的主要任务是转向稳定低生育水平,提高出生人口素质。如何按照中央的要求进一步做好人口与计划生育工作,本文就陕西的低生育水平现状、存在问题及稳定低生育水平的不利因素作了进一步的分析研究,强调要充分认识到人口与计划生育工作的长期性、严峻性和复杂性,必须克服盲目乐观情绪,保持清醒头脑,坚持以人为本,提高计划生育服务质量和管理水平,才能保证低生育水平的稳定,促进人口与经济社会资源协调发展与可持续发展。     

人口迁移对延边朝鲜族育龄妇女生育行为差异的影响程度分析

利用2011年国家人口计生委流动人口及其影响因素监测调查数据,通过比较农村未迁出朝鲜族育龄妇女、城市未迁出朝鲜族育龄妇女和迁出的朝鲜族育龄妇女三个人口群体在生育行为上的差异,考察人口迁移对朝鲜族妇女生育行为的影响。结果显示,几种类型的朝鲜族育龄妇女生育行为存在一定的差异,流动迁移对朝鲜族育龄妇女是否选择生育的生育行为有显著影响,但对朝鲜族育龄妇女选择生育二胎的生育行为影响不完全显著。     

Religion and Gender Equality Worldwide: A Country-Level Analysis

Conceptually, the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS; Diener et al. in J Pers Assess 49(1):71–75, 1985) emphasizes evaluations comparing actual and expected life circumstances. Contrastingly we developed the Harmony in Life Scale (HILS) emphasizing psychological balance and flexibility in life. Study 1 (476 participants) developed the HILS. In Study 2 participants (N = 787, T1; N = 545, T2) answered well-being related questionnaires and generated words/texts related to HIL/SWL. The HILS yields satisfactory statistical properties, correlates as expected to well-being related scales, whilst HIL/SWL form a two-factor model. Hierarchical regressions reveal that HILS explains considerably more unique variance than SWLS in most included measures. Quantitative semantic analyses (employing latent semantic analyses) on words related to HIL/SWL reveal that they differ significantly in their semantic content. Word frequency analyses show that harmony significantly relate to peace, balance, etc. and satisfaction with job, money, etc. The HILS demonstrates validity, reliability, and uniqueness complementing the SWLS in forming a more holistic understanding of subjective well-being.     

中国人口生育变化及影响因素——基于第六次人口普查的分析

本文在"六普"汇总数据的基础上,定量分析中国人口的生育水平、生育模式的变化和生育变化的影响因素。研究发现,在生育水平持续下降的情况下,结构性因素逐渐成为左右未来中国生育水平走向的决定性因素;生育模式正在向初婚初育间隔扩大,生育孩次向低孩次集中的方向发展;尽管年龄别已婚生育率的变化使得中国一般生育率上升9.613%,在导致生育水平下降的各因素中,育龄妇女年龄结构、婚姻状态等人口因素的影响显得越来越重要。研究结果对于正确理解我国的人口形势,科学地规划和调整人口政策具有十分重要的意义。