A model to estimate births averted due to IUCDs and sterilizations

The computation of births averted due to a specific family planning programme requires special treatment instead of application of the usual population projection technique using conventional fertility rates. The reason for this is that adopters of a family planning method are a selective group from the general population with respect to a number of demographic and biological characteristics, including the initial susceptibility status at the time of adoption. In the present paper a matrix of annual birth probabilities specific to age at adoption of a method and duration since adoption is obtained. One matrix is presented for adopters of IUCD, another for salpingectomy, and a third for vasectomy. These matrices are used to obtain estimates of births averted for India due to IUCDs and sterilizations performed during 1956–69. The results are compared with those that could have been obtained by using the usual age-specific marital fertility rates under identical conditions, except for initial susceptibility. The entire work is programmed on a high speed electronic computer.     

Welfare to Well-Being Transition

Welfare to well-being leads to better qualityof life for families and communities. Around the world, societies are experimenting and shifting policies that address welfare to well-being for families and communities. In the U.S., the greatest shift in several decades has occurred with thewelfare reform policies. These shifts haveplaced at issue the extent to which individualsand families and governments contribute toself-sufficiency and sustainability of theirmembers and the collective whole in society. The paper addresses: a framework for thinkingabout sustaining well-being in the context ofmaking transitions from welfare for the few towell-being for the many; a researchillustration of focus group findings on themeaning of self-sufficiency for families whoare currently receiving one type of welfare(food stamps); and the opportunities emergingin the context of the interaction of the familyand society at the community, state, nationaland global level that allows for a wholisticresponse to issues around well-being andquality of life studies.     

对妇女要求离婚问题的思考

妇女离婚的要求受法律保护,正确认识妇女离婚权的取得、行使和保护,对保护妇女的合法权益,深入观察和研究改革开放以来我国社会的发展变化具有重要意义。文章从分析离婚率攀升有无底线入手,引出制度变迁为妇女离婚提供法律保护,从而提出解决问题的途径。     

Returns to returning

We examine the labor market performance of return migrants using the Hungarian Household Panel Survey. Two distinct selection issues are considered in the estimation of the earnings equation; we implement a natural method using MLE. The result that there is a “premium” to work experience abroad for women is robust across the models we considered. For men, the return to working abroad is not generally significant. Received: 4 June 1998/Accepted: 16 April 1999     

Locational returns to human capital: Minority access to suburban community resources

The suburbanization of racial and ethnic minorities is analyzed in terms of the locational resources provided by their communities of residence. In suburbs in the New York CMSA, non-Hispanic whites and Asians, on average, live in communities with higher average socioeconomic status, while Hispanics and blacks live in the less desirable suburbs. Models predicting suburban socioeconomic status for each racial/ethnic group show that whites and Hispanics receive consistent returns on income, acculturation, and family status. Asians’ locational patterns differ because they are unrelated to measures of acculturation; for blacks, locational outcomes correspond least to any of these human capital characteristics.     

A survey of Indian immigration to British tropical colonies to 1910

After the abolition of slavery in British colonies in 1834, many thousand labourers left India under indenture for employment on colonial plantations. Their efforts resulted in a striking rise in exports of plantation products. At the end of their indenture, many Indians decided to settle in their new home, especially in British Guiana, Trinidad, Mauritius and Fiji.

The paper discusses the districts in India from which labourers were recruited ; the conditions of service under the indenture system, and its advantages and abuses. It discusses the opportunities open to the Indian labourer at the end of his indenture, and the facilities which the government or the planters provided for his settlement on the land. Those who did not settle on the land turned to the professions or trades, often with success.

The paper discusses the attitude of the “communities of reception” to the Indian during and after indenture, and his adjustment to a multi-racial society. It analyses his change in outlook as a result of emigration, the increase in his ambition and initiative, and his transition from submissiveness to independence.     

Reply to Wachter

Although twins constitute only about 2.4 per cent of total births in less developed countries, they account for about 12 per cent of neonatal deaths and about nine per cent of infant deaths. Twin mortality in less developed countries has almost never been analysed systematically. We examine survival among twins as contrasted with that among singleton births by using 2692 twin observations pooled from 26 standardized Demographic and Health Surveys. Weakened by gestational and other biological complications, twins seem to be more vulnerable to detrimental demographic and household socio-economic influences than singletons. Twinning tends to amplify, or at least retain, whatever group differences exist among singleton births.     

An integrative approach to health

In this article, I make the case for using an integrative approach to health, broadly defined as social, emotional, mental, and physical well-being; for studying health among the young as an important marker for future health and well-being across the life course; and for understanding health disparities among the young as both causes and consequences of social stratification. An integrative approach bridges biomedical sciences with social and behavioral sciences by understanding the linkages between social, behavioral, psychological, and biological factors in health. It is furthermore vital that integration occur in all steps of the research process: in theory, design, data collection, and analysis. I use the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, or Add Health, as an example of an integrative approach to health and of the importance of adolescence and the transition to adulthood years for setting health trajectories into adulthood. Evidence is also presented on the linkages between health trajectories during adolescence and the transition to adulthood and social stratification in adulthood.     

急需对青少年开展全方位的性与生殖健康教育

本文分析了我国青少年性与生殖健康问题的现状及目前我国对青少年性与生殖健康教育尚很欠缺的一些影响因素.作者强烈呼吁急需对青少年开展全方位、多层次、多形式的性与生殖健康教育.     

A new method of sequential sampling to classify populations relative to a critical density

Summary A method of sequential sampling for grading population level in relation to a critical density is proposed. The method is based on the relationship and can be used without restrictions on the distribution patterns. The formulae for simple random sampling as well as for two-stage sampling are given. This research was suported by science research fund from the Ministry of Education.     

Striving to Work

Using data from the 2011–2015 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement, this study improves upon standard United States labor force measures to create three new measures which better capture the range of activities and attitudes that signal, at the individual level, an interest in work. When comparing the traditional employment-to-population ratio and the labor force participation rate with these new ‘striving to work’ measures, we find stark racial differences across measures. Hispanics have slightly higher odds of being employed or in the labor force than non-Hispanic whites, yet have similar odds of striving to work. Other vulnerable populations, including non-Hispanic blacks, non-Hispanic persons of other non-white races, females, and persons with disabilities, have significantly lower odds of participation in any of the five measures, compared to their comparison groups and controlling for other covariates. Policy implications are discussed.     

ASEAN to have common population projects

The ASEAN countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand) agreed to cosponsor population programs, especially for the rural and underprivileged. An attempt will be made to integrate population programs with development programs. The feasibility of using research findings for developing and implementing family planning programs will be studied. The development of an intercountry personnel training program for pouplation and development programs will be considered. Multimedia support for population programs will also be studied.     

Continue to encourage one couple to have one child]

The Chinese State Council exhorted the masses in 1984 and 1986 to improve upon its adherence to the birth policy. The policy of 1 child per couple is the proper policy reflecting specific historical conditions. China's goal to modernize cannot be realized if the population grows unchecked. With the exception of minorities and certain rural families, all couples are affected by this policy. The 1 child rate jumped from 20.73% in 1970 to 58.3% in 1984, while the 3 child rate dropped to 19.8% from 60.21% during those years. In order to solve one of China's major future population problems, it is necessary to continue advocating 1 child per couple. With the 1986 population at 1,060,080,000, China's average per capita income is among the lowest in the world. It is not enough simply to improve the economy. Population growth must be contained at 1,200,000,000 by 2000. If every couple were permitted 2 children, and allowing for unplanned births, the population would be 1,300,000,000 in 2000. Therefore, it is essential to encourage more couples to limit families to 1 child through example by officials, propaganda, material incentives and priorities in jobs and housing.     

A reply to Kim's comment

This reply criticizes Kim's note as incorrectly characterizing the essential feature of the method proposed for life table construction. The method suggested for estimating N(a), the number attaining age 2 during the intercensal period, is to make a separate estimate of the contribution to N (a) made by each single-year cohort that attains 'a' during the period between censuses. Each cohort estimate is constructed by interpolation, utilizing as data the recorded number in the relevant single-year cohorts in the 2 censuses. 2 methods of interpolation were proposed. 1 is an iterative procedure that constructs a preliminary life table by linear interpolation for each cohort and then derives more refined interpolation factors from this preliminary life table. The other procedure derives interpolation factors on the assumption that the proportionate distribution of deaths by age as each cohort moves from the earlier to the later census date is the same as the proportionate distribution of deaths by age over the same age range in a model life table. The advantage of the proposed procedure is that it supplies better estimates of N (a) than do alternative methods. The author concedes that a life table calculated from accurately recorded deaths and an accurately enumerated population would ordinarily be superior. However, he also notes that in the absence of registered deaths data, there is no precise enough conventional method to yield accurate values of average intercensal single-year age-specific mortality rates from nothing more than 2 accurate censuses 11 years apart. A common procedure for calculating life expectation at a very advanced age is to calculate the reciprocal of the death rate among persons over the age in question.     

Comparing migrants to non-migrants: The case of Dutch migration to New Zealand

We analyse post-war Dutch migration to New Zealand. We document that history, reflect on analytical and econometric modelling and then combine a sample of Dutch migrants in New Zealand with a representative sample of Dutch in The Netherlands to estimate wage equations and the determinants of the migration decision. We use the results for ex post evaluation of the migration decision.Joop Hartog is Fellow of IZA (Bonn), CESifo (München), AIAS and Tinbergen Institute (Amsterdam). Work on this project was begun when Hartog was Erskine Visitor at the University of Canterbury, Christchurch New Zealand. Rainer Winkelmann is Fellow of CEPR and IZA (Bonn). This paper is produced as part of a CEPR research programme on European Migration from Economic Analysis to Policy Response, supported by a grant from the Commission of the European Communities under its Human Capital and Mobility Programme (no. ERBCHRXCT940515).It was presented at the European Society for Population Economics meetings in Bonn, June 2000. We gratefully acknowledge comments by Justin Lee Tobias, Jacques Poot, Ed Vytlacil, an anonymous referee and Paul Schultz. Responsible editor: T. Paul Schultz.     

Paying attention to eugenics and to improving the quality of the population]

The role of eugenics in China's population policy is considered. Specific policy measures with eugenic implications are noted, including the prohibition of marriage between close relations, prevention of those with hereditary diseases from marrying and bearing children, promotion of genetic counseling and prenatal screening, encouragement of childbearing in the optimal ages for women, emphasis on prenatal care, improvement of obstetric care, and promulgation of information on eugenics.     

Assessing Adjustment to Aging: A Validation Study for the Adjustment to Aging Scale (AtAS)

Adjustment to aging (AtA) is a multifactor adjustment process with implications on aging well among older adults. The aim of this study was to develop and validate a scale to assess the factors that older adults recognized as indicators of their AtA, with a cross-national comparative perspective towards aging well. Convenience sampling was used to gather questionnaire data, including demographics and the proposed scale. Complete data was available for 1,291 older community-dwelling adults, aged between 75 and 102 years (M = 83.9; SD = 6.68), who represented four different nationalities. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were performed for dimension reduction and exploration of the factorial structure. Data gathered with the 22-items AtA five-factor scale showed overall good psychometric properties (in terms of distributional properties, statistical significant factor weights, factorial, convergent, discriminant criterion and external-related validities, as well as reliability). Five factors were selected for the Adjustment to Aging Scale: (a) sense of purpose and ambitions (b) zest and spirituality; (c) body and health; (d) aging in place and stability; and (e) social support. We present a 22-item scale with five factors for AtA estimation in a cross-national elderly population which produced valid and reliable data for elder persons from four different nationalities. Results showed that this scale is an adequate cross-cultural instrument for research, clinical practice and program development in the health care context. These may benefit from clearly understanding AtA as an important component for reducing health disparities and for aging well, across nationalities.     

Using Hegemonic Masculinity to Explain Gay Male Attraction to Muscular and Athletic Men

This article reviews relevant research on male homosexual attraction. Utilizing masculinity as its theoretical frame, the authors use childhood experiences with both fathers and peers, the gay community's inculcation of heteronormative ideologies, and the gay media's adherence to masculine prototypes, to provide causal explanations for the appeal of muscular, lean, and athletic physiques. While the authors acknowledge that not all individuals within the gay community look toward muscularity and athleticism as the primary components of attractiveness, it nonetheless remains important to examine the theoretical perspectives that may explain the appeal of this specific aesthetic.     

Using hegemonic masculinity to explain gay male attraction to muscular and athletic men

This article reviews relevant research on male homosexual attraction. Utilizing masculinity as its theoretical frame, the authors use childhood experiences with both fathers and peers, the gay community's inculcation of heteronormative ideologies, and the gay media's adherence to masculine prototypes, to provide causal explanations for the appeal of muscular, lean, and athletic physiques. While the authors acknowledge that not all individuals within the gay community look toward muscularity and athleticism as the primary components of attractiveness, it nonetheless remains important to examine the theoretical perspectives that may explain the appeal of this specific aesthetic.