Mobile Internet Use and Multidimensional Poverty: Evidence from A Household Survey in Rural China

The impact of specific living conditions on the population of geographically and socially segregated Roma settlements in Eastern Slovakia is considerable. They are characterized by high unemployment, lower education, poor housing and sanitary conditions, a poor quality of life, which all affects significantly their higher mortality rates and worse health status. In this paper we try to approach the problem of adverse mortality conditions and health with a deeper demographic insight. The fundamental goal of the paper is to analyse mortality in the population from Roma settlements over the past two decades using complex demographic methods such as life tables, direct standardization with the objective of eliminating differences in the age structure, single and multi-dimensional decomposition of age, sex and causes of death. We also analyse mortality using the concept of avoidable mortality. The results obtained from Roma settlements confirmed significantly worse mortality rates for both sexes. In addition, it appears that the disparities between them and the majority population are growing over time. The primary reason is the higher mortality of the youngest children and persons at post-reproductive age. Basically, all main chapters of the causes of death shorten the life expectancy of persons from Roma settlements, but cardiovascular diseases have the greatest negative impact. Conclusions obtained from the avoidable mortality analysis point to problems related to the accessibility and quality of health care, as well as the lack of interest of population from Roma settlements in their own health, along with the need for more targeted prevention and screening campaigns in this environment. Although the answers of respondents from Roma settlements to their own health confirm the deteriorating quality of health, increasing morbidity and the degree of restriction of normal daily activities with increasing age, they also point to some problems associated with the use of this approach.

     

Neighborhood Concentrated Disadvantage and Adult Mortality: Insights for Racial and Ethnic Differences

While racial and ethnic differences in mortality are pervasive and well documented, less is known about how mortality risk varies by neighborhood socioeconomic status across racial and ethnic identity. We conducted a prospective analysis on a sample of adults living at or below 300% poverty with 8 years of the National Health Interview Survey (N = 159,400) linked to 11,600 deaths to examine the association between neighborhood disadvantage and mortality for non-Hispanic whites, non-Hispanic blacks, and U.S.- and foreign-born Hispanics. Using multilevel logistic regression, we find that the probability of death from any cause for lower-income adults is higher in more-disadvantaged neighborhoods, compared to less-disadvantaged neighborhoods, but only for whites. The adjusted likelihood of death for blacks and foreign-born Hispanics is not associated with neighborhood disadvantage, and the likelihood of death for U.S.-born Hispanics is lower in more-disadvantaged neighborhoods. While future research and policy should focus on improving health-promoting resources in all communities, care should be given to better understanding why race/ethnic groups have differential mortality returns with respect to area-specific socioeconomic conditions.     

Women’s fertility, religion and education in a low-fertility population: Evidence from South Australia

The old issue of religion and fertility is examined in relation to women s level of education. In-depth interviews exploring influences on parity for Adelaide parents in 2003–04 suggest that more frequent attendance at religious services in childhood, and affiliation with particular religious denominations, are related to both higher preferred and higher achieved parity, even for women with university education. For some university-educated women, their religious upbringing appears to play a part in negating the traditional relationship between higher education and lower fertility. Quantitative data on religion, fertility and educational level from the 1996 Census for women aged 40–44 in South Australia show that women with No Religion had lower fertility than those With a religion, while university-educated women in New Protestan-New Christian groups had higher fertility than university-educated women in other denominations. The findings provide an understanding of some social conditions that support higher fertility in a low-fertility population. Future fertility research in developed countries should include consideration of the influence of religious affiliation and religiosity at disaggregated levels of inquiry.     

Religious attendance and mortality: Implications for the black-white mortality crossover

This study investigates the relationships among religious attendance, mortality, and the black-white mortality crossover. We build on prior research by examining the link between attendance and mortality while testing whether religious involvement captures an important source of population heterogeneity that contributes to a crossover Using data from the Established Populations for Epidemiologic Studies of the Elderly, we find a strong negative association between attendance and mortality. Our results also show evidence of a racial crossover in mortality rates for both men and women. When religious attendance is modeled in terms of differential frailty, clear gender differences emerge. For women, the effect of attendance is race- and age-dependent, modifying the age at crossover by 10 years. For men, however; the effect of attendance is not related to race and does not alter the crossover pattern. When other health risks are modeled in terms of differential frailty, wefind neither race nor age-related effects. Overall, the results highlight the importance of considering religious attendance when examining racial and gender differences in age-specific mortality rates.     

Preliminary analysis of the relationship between literacy quality and occupation of our minorities women and their population development]

Chinese women, particularly those of ethnic minorities were studied 3 major areas: 1) literacy, 2) occupation and 3) the relationship between population growth and literacy and occupation. All of the data referred to are based upon the National Census of 1982. Although there has been substantial improvement in literacy among women of ethnic groups in China since the 1950s, the present situation is still far from satisfactory. Illiteracy is 132.6% higher among women than among men on a national level, and the number of illiterate women belonging to ethnic groups is almost twice that of illiterate men. Among 55 ethnic groups examined, 40 has an illiteracy rate higher than that of the national level. At present, 90% of the members of ethnic groups are involved in traditional occupations such as farming, forestry, and fishing. The percentage of women in nontraditional occupations is much lower than that found on the national level. For instance, the number of male government officials is nationally 763% higher than the number of women in these professions; and it is 806% higher among ethnic groups. It is noted that population growth is directly related to literacy and occupation: The birth rate decreases in proportion to the increase in the number of women becoming educated and joining the work force. It is concluded that in order to lower the birth rate and to improve the status of the national population, the government should promote commodity production and modify the occupational structure by employing more women and further improving education.     

Infant Mortality and Socioeconomic Status: New Bottle,Same Old Wine

This paper presents the results of an ecological analysis of the relationship between infant mortality and economic status in metropolitan Ohio for the period 1960–2000. The data examined are centered on the five censuses undertaken during this 40-year period. The basic unit of analysis is the census tract of mother’s usual residence, with economic status being determined by the percentage of low income families living in each tract. For each of the five periods covered, census tracts were aggregated into broad income areas and three-year average infant mortality rates were computed for each area, by age, sex, race and exogenous-endogenous causes of death. The most important conclusion to be drawn from the data is that in spite of some very remarkable declines in infant mortality at all class levels since 1960, there continues to be a very clear and pronounced inverse association between income status and infant mortality. Indeed, the evidence indicates that the relationship has become stronger over the years. These observations are applicable for both sexes, for whites and nonwhites, for neonatal and postneonatal deaths, and for both major cause of death groups. It is concluded that while public health programs are important, any progress in narrowing this long-standing differential is unlikely unless ways can be found to enhance the economic well-being of the lower socioeconomic groups.     

Neo-natal and post-neo-natal mortality in a rural area of Bangladesh

Abstract An analysis of neo-natal and post-neo-natal mortality in 132 villages (population of 117,000) of Matlab thana indicates the following: (i) Neo-natal deaths accounted for 60% of the infant mortality rate of 125. This proportion was unexpectedly high since previous research had maintained that in countries with infant mortality rates over 100, neo-natal deaths account for less than one-third of all infant deaths. Since the present findings on the proportions of neo-natal deaths correspond exactly with results from an earlier registration system in East Pakistan, it is suggested that the long-accepted proposition, 'less developed' areas are characterized by lower proportions of neo-natal deaths than 'more developed' areas, be re-examined. (2) The infant death rate accounts for 36% of all deaths in the population. If the infant death rate were reduced by half the result would be a decrease in the current crude death rate from 16 to 13. Although this reduction would appear to be small, in the context of a current high growth rate of 3% (from 1966-67 to 1968-69) it exerts a sizeable impact. For example, it would take a reduction of eight points in the crude birth rate of 46 just to achieve a growth rate 2·5% under these circumstances. Obviously, continued efforts in death control without an effective birth control programme will perpetuate high rates of growth. (3) Neo-natal and post-neo-natal mortality exhibited the -expected 'U' shaped pattern with parity, and generally varied as expected with age and family size, except in the oldest age group and largest family size where the risk was smaller than in the preceding groups. An explanation for these findings is presented, based on the effect that births to high-parity women with low child mortality have upon the total neo-natal and post-neo-natal mortality rates. It was found that these births exhibit a much lower mortality risk than births to women of comparable parities and higher child mortality, and that their numbers account for the lower risk to the births in the oldest age group and largest family size. It was concluded that women with a combination of high parity and low child mortality most probably represent a group with superior socio-economic and or health conditions which contribute to the lower risk of neo-natal and post-neo-natal death.     

Prospects for international migration: Globalization and its discontents

The paper challenges the view that the late twentieth century is the ‘age of migration’. For developing countries, flows of out-migrants are small compared with population growth, although in developed countries the stock of immigrants increased in proportion to the total population between 1965 and 1990. Despite the importance of refugee movement, the main force for international migration is economic. Why do not more people migrate (internally and internationally) to take advantage of potential economic gains? For international migration, one deterrent is institutional barriers against uncontrolled immigration. Different interest groups stand to gain or lose from increased migration. The income-enhancing effects of unhindered international labour migration, measured jointly for sending and receiving countries and by extension globally, should be very large. Even partial liberalization of immigration to industrialized countries would serve developing countries well. In industrialized countries, however, there is concern about the effect of massive labour inflows on the ethnic, religious and cultural composition of the population and its social cohesion. In some countries, migration is leading to greater ethnic mingling; in others there is a recrudescence of nationalistic aspirations for independent statehood with ethnically homogeneous populations, or to preserve the advantages of economically successful subregions.     

Application of the Own-Children Method for estimating fertility by ethnic and religious groups in the UK

Fertility across and within countries is influenced by a number of socio-economic and cultural factors, including ethnicity and potentially religion. However, apart from census data, little information is available, at least in the UK, to estimate fertility rates and thus fertility trends by ethnic and religious groups between censuses. Previously, the Labour Force Survey (LFS) has been exploited to produce national total fertility rates (TFR) by ethnic groups up to 2001 using the reverse-survival Own-Children Method (OCM). Here the LFS–OCM is assessed and refined to improve accuracy and tested against official statistics. The LFS–OCM is compared with results obtained using more straightforward techniques based on Child-Woman Ratios using the same LFS data, and differences are discussed. The refined method is applied to produce recent fertility profiles by ethnic groups, including trends in the TFR and age-specific fertility rates, showing significant and decreasing differences between groups. Furthermore, the method allows us to reliably investigate TFR within one ethnic group by other criteria, as illustrated by differences in the TFR by religious affiliation of Indian women.     

A survey of cause of death (1973-1979) in Bao Jing County]

Findings from 1976 and 1980 surveys conducted by the Provincial Tumor Prevention Bureau and the County Department of Health concerning causes of death in Baojing, China, from 1973 to 1979 are reported. The data show that mortality rates for women and children were relatively high. The leading cause of death was contagious disease, particularly dysentery, followed by respiratory diseases. No relationship between cause of death and ethnic origin was established.     

Social,behavioral, and biological factors,and sex differences in mortality

Few studies have examined whether sex differences in mortality are associated with different distributions of risk factors or result from the unique relationships between risk factors and mortality for men and women. We extend previous research by systematically testing a variety of factors, including health behaviors, social ties, socioeconomic status, and biological indicators of health. We employ the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey III Linked Mortality File and use Cox proportional hazards models to examine sex differences in adult mortality in the United States. Our findings document that social and behavioral characteristics are key factors related to the sex gap in mortality. Once we control for women’s lower levels of marriage, poverty, and exercise, the sex gap in mortality widens; and once we control for women’s greater propensity to visit with friends and relatives, attend religious services, and abstain from smoking, the sex gap in mortality narrows. Biological factors—including indicators of inflammation and cardiovascular risk—also inform sex differences in mortality. Nevertheless, persistent sex differences in mortality remain: compared with women, men have 30% to 83% higher risks of death over the follow-up period, depending on the covariates included in the model. Although the prevalence ofriskfactors differs by sex, the impact of those riskfactors on mortality is similar for men and women.     

Continued Reductions in Mortality at Advanced Ages

Mortality data for 30 mostly developed countries available in the Kannisto–Thatcher Database on Old‐Age Mortality (KTDB) are drawn on to assess the pace of decline in death rates at ages 80 years and above. As of 2004 this database recorded 37 million persons at these ages, including 130,000 centenarians (more than double the number in 1990). For men, the probability of surviving from age 80 to age 90 has risen from 12 percent in 1950 to 26 percent in 2002; for women, the increase has been from 16 percent to 38 percent. In the lowest‐mortality country, Japan, life expectancy at age 80 in 2006 is estimated to be 6.5 years for men and 11.3 years for women. For selected countries, average annual percent declines in age‐specific death rates over the preceding ten years are calculated for single‐year age groups 80 to 99 and the years 1970 to 2004. The results are presented in Lexis maps showing the patterns of change in old‐age mortality by cohort and period, and separately for men and women. The trends are not favorable in all countries: for example, old‐age mortality in the United States has stagnated since 1980. But countries with exceptionally low mortality, like Japan and France, do not show a deceleration in death rate declines. It is argued that life expectancy at advanced ages may continue to increase at the same pace as in the past.     

The peculiar pattern of mortality of Jews in Moscow, 1993-95

Russian Jews, particularly men, have a large mortality advantage compared with the general Russian population. We consider possible explanations for this advantage using data on 445,000 deaths in Moscow, 1993-95. Log-linear analysis of the distribution of deaths by sex, age, ethnic group, and cause of death reveals a relatively high concentration of endogenous causes and a relatively low concentration of exogenous and behaviourally induced causes among Jews. There is also a significant concentration of deaths from breast cancer among Jewish women. Mortality estimates using the 1994 micro-census population as the denominator reveal an 11-year Russian-Jewish gap in the life expectancy of males at age 20, but only a 2-year life-expectancy gap for women. Only 40 per cent of the Russian-Jewish difference for men, but the entire difference for women, can be eliminated by adjustment for educational differences between the two ethnic groups. Similarities with other Jewish populations and possible explanations are discussed.     

Ethnicity and Economic Well-Being: The Case of Ghana

In the context of decades of successful economic reforms in Ghana, this study investigates whether ethnicity influences economic well-being (perceived and actual) among Ghanaians at the micro-level. Drawing on Afro-barometer 2008 data, the authors employs logistic and multiple regression techniques to explore the relative effect of ethnicity on economic well-being. Results demonstrate that ethnicity is an important determinant of both measures of people’s economic well-being (perceived and actual) in Ghana. Ethnicity tends to have both negative and positive effect on economic well-being among different ethnic groups and different sub-sample. For instance, for three ethnic groups (Akans, Ga-Adangbes and Ewe/Anglo), ethnicity predicts lower level of economic well-being for rural residents, whereas for Akans, it minimizes the risk of deprivation in the urban setting. Findings from this study do not support the idea that ethnicity may be less relevant in shaping people’s well-being in an era of economic reforms in a society like that of Ghana. Detailed policy implications of the study are discussed emphasizing the need to develop ethnic-specific development programs to complement the on-going reforms as part of the country’s decentralization efforts.     

Some characteristics and the transition of the population reproduction patterns of China's national minorities

The population reproduction patterns of China's minority groups differ to some extent from those of China as a whole. The population of some of the national minorities, such as the Mongolian, tibetan, and Hezhen nationalities, was actually decreasing before liberation. Cited as causal factors are the oppressive policies of past dynasties, lack of medical care in minority areas, and, in some instances, the religious imposition of strict celibacy on significant numbers of the male populaton. After libertation, reproductive patterns were characterized by a high birth rate and low mortality, resulting in a high growth rate. For example, in 1939-408 the birth rate among the Mongolian nationality in Inner Mongolia was 21.7, and the death rate was 28.3, resulting in a negative growth rate. In the period 1952-3, the birth rate rose to 41.5 while the death rate fell to 17.9 resulting in a growth rate of 23.6. This rapid transition is attributed to State policies of accelerated economic and cultural development in the minority areas, and the development of medical facilities. At present, a 3rd population pattern, characterized by a low birth rate, low mortality, and consequent low growth rate, is being seen among the national minorities. This is attributed to the leadership exhibited by minority cadres in family planning work. While advocating family planning, the State adopted a more flexible policy towards the minorities. A government directive stipulates that the specific rules can be drawn up according to the actual conditions by the nationality autonomous local authorities and the related provinces and autonomous regions. Family planning work has been achieved through the mobilization of the minority populations by the cadres, and by mass education on population theory and the relation between religious beliefs, marriage, and customs and family planning. Freedom of the minority people to preserve or reform their religious belief and customs has been absoluetely respected.     

Divergent Patterns in the Ethnic Transformation of Societies

The uneven timing of the demographic transition in different countries of the world will lead to divergence between countries in ethnic and religious homogeneity. Developed‐country populations that began their fertility transitions relatively early are becoming increasingly diverse with respect to the ethnic origin and religion of their inhabitants, primarily as a result of high recent levels of immigration. Many demographic patterns of the developed world, such as low death and birth rates, are becoming universal. It might be expected that less developed countries will also turn from emigration to experiencing immigration, as their populations age and their economies develop. This essay suggests, however, that future ethnic diversity arising from immigration may be less marked in many of those developing countries than in the West, especially among latecomers to the fertility transition. Five reasons are advanced as impediments to the globalization of ethnic heterogeneity arising from immigration: demographic, economic, political, and factors related to resource constraints, and climate change. The essay considers what social, economic, and political consequences might arise if high levels of ethnic diversity, and possibly ethnic replacement, remained an idiosyncratic peculiarity of today's developed countries, which would therefore diverge in important ways from the rest of the world as the twenty‐first century unfolds.     

Fertility patterns among religious groups in Canada

The U shape that has been traced out by the crude birth rate in the United States and Canada is well known. Falling birth rates reached a low point in the mid-1930’s; the rate rose to a peak in 1947 and remained high through the 1950’s. In terms of cohorts, completed family size was smallest for women born around 1910, whose childbearing was concentrated in the 1930’s. With data from the 1961 census of Canada, trends in cohort marital fertility by religion are examined. The U pattern appears for both Protestants and Jews. For Catholics, a reversal in the downward trend of family size had not appeared by 1961, although the U pattern can be discerned for some subgroups such as Catholics living in big cities and persons of Irish ancestry. In the United States, however, changes in family size for all three religious groups and both whites and nonwhites follow the U pattern. Religious differentials in family size in Canada have been decreasing, but they remain much larger than either religious or color differentials in the United States, which show no decrease. The distinctive features of Catholic fertility in Canada are most pronounced among the regionallyconcentrated French Canadians, suggesting an interplay of religious, regional, and ethnic influences.     

Religious differentials in infant and child mortality in Holland, 1855–1912

At least three kinds of hypothesis may be invoked to interpret religious differentials in mortality. They are (i) hypotheses that refer to characteristics, (ii) those that refer to lifestyle, and (iii) those that refer to the social isolation of minorities. This paper tests all three kinds of hypothesis using data on urban child mortality from The Hague just before and during the demographic transition. A hazard analysis suggests that economic and demographic characteristics do not account for much of the variation by religion. An analysis of seasonal mortality suggests that some of the variation may be explained by differences in lifestyle. The third kind of hypothesis is presented here for the first time. We suggest that the social isolation of small religious groups lowered their exposure to certain kinds of infectious disease. We use a simulation study to show that this hypothesis could account for part of the variation.     

社会经济地位、社会流动与民族间的阶层认同差异

作为民族分层的关键指标,主观阶层认同对于研究族际冲突意识和冲突行为具有重要意义。本研究利用全国性调查数据,对民族间的阶层认同差异及其影响因素进行分析。研究发现,虽然当前少数民族社会经济地位要略低于汉族,但其阶层认同与汉族相比并不存在显著差异。究其原因,这可能与少数民族实现向上社会流动的比例高于汉族有关,即虽然相对较低的社会经济地位对于少数民族的阶层认同有拉低作用,但这种效用却被少数民族相对较高的向上社会流动机会所消融。本研究的启示在于,在民族关系问题日益重要的今天,我们在注重发展民族地区经济的同时,还要努力提高各民族成员向上社会流动的机会,促进各民族之间的社会交往和文化交融。