Fertility and development: evidence from Brazil

Using microdata from the Brazilian demographic censuses of 1960, 1970, 1980, and 1991, aggregated into 518 consistently defined spatial units called microregions, we estimated fertility and mortality and constructed indicators of development and living conditions in the rural and urban areas of the microregions in each census. We then estimated cross-sectional and fixed-effects models to answer questions about the degree to which changes in these indicators are associated with changes in fertility and whether the relationship between fertility and development shifts through time. We found strong and consistent relationships between the decline in fertility and measurable changes in social and economic circumstances.     

Differences in Child Health Across Rural,Urban, and Slum Areas: Evidence From India

The developing world is rapidly urbanizing, but an understanding of how child health differs across urban and rural areas is lacking. We examine the association between area of residence and child health in India, focusing on composition and selection effects. Simple height-for-age averages show that rural Indian children have the poorest health and urban children have the best, with slum children in between. With wealth or observed health environment held constant, the urban height-for-age advantage disappears, and slum children fare significantly worse than their rural counterparts. Hence, differences in composition across areas mask a substantial negative association between living in slums and height-for-age. This association is more negative for girls than boys. Furthermore, a large number of girls are “missing” in slums; we argue that this implies that the negative association between living in slums and health is even stronger than our estimate. The missing girls also help explain why slum girls appear to have a substantially lower mortality than rural girls, whereas slum boys have a higher mortality risk than rural boys. We estimate that slum conditions (such as overcrowding and open sewers), which the survey does not adequately capture, are associated with 20 % to 37 % of slum children’s stunting risk.     

Economic Stress, Quality of Life, and Mortality for the Oldest-Old in China

China??s oldest old population is estimated to quadruple by 2050. Yet, poverty rate for the oldest old has been the highest among all age groups in China. This paper investigates the relationship between economic stress, quality of life, and mortality among the oldest-old in China. Both objective economic hardships and perceived economic strain are examined. We base our investigation on data drawn from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey conducted between 2000 and 2005. Our sample includes 10,972 men and women between the ages of 80 and 105 in 2000. The data show that about 16% of these oldest-old lived under economic stress in 2000. The risk factors that make one vulnerable to economic stress include age, being male, being widowed or never married, being a minority member, having no education, having no living children, and not having children as main source of income, and having no pension. Economic stress is negatively associated with indicators of quality of life, such as the quality of medical care and mental well-being. The poor quality of life contributes to the higher mortality rate for the oldest old who are under economic stress. Results also show that perceived economic strain increases the risk of mortality by 42% in rural areas, even after controlling for basic demographic characteristics, life style factors, and major health events.?For the rural oldest-old, having children as a main source of income and having access to pension alleviates the negative impact of economic hardship on mortality hazard by 23 and 66% respectively. However, in urban areas, economic stress has no direct impact on the hazard of mortality.     

广东人口死亡状况研究

本文利用 2 0 0 0年第五次全国人口普查资料 ,全面分析广东人口死亡水平的发展变化、地区和城乡差别、性别与年龄差异以及影响因素。     

Deadly Cities? Spatial Inequalities in Mortality in sub‐Saharan Africa

We investigate whether sub‐Saharan African countries are affected by an “urban mortality penalty” repeating the history of industrialized countries during the nineteenth century. We analyze Demographic and Health Surveys from several sub‐Saharan African countries for differences in child and adult mortality between rural and urban areas. For the first decade of the 2000s, our findings indicate that child mortality is higher in rural than in urban areas for all countries. On average, child mortality rates are 13.6 percent in rural areas and 10.8 percent in urban areas. In contrast, average urban adult mortality rates (14.1 percent) have exceeded rural adult mortality rates (12.4 percent). Child mortality rates are on average 65 percent higher in urban slums than in formal settlements. Child mortality rates in slum areas are, however, still lower than or equal to those in rural areas for most countries in our sample.     

National estimates of racial segregation in rural and small-town America

The objective of this paper is to provide, for the first time, comparative estimates of racial residential segregation of blacks, Hispanics, and Native Americans in nonmetropolitan and metropolitan places in 1990 and 2000. Analyses are based on block data from the 1990 and 2000 U.S. decennial censuses. The results reveal a singularly important and perhaps surprising central conclusion: levels and trends in recent patterns of racial segregation in America's small towns are remarkably similar to patterns observed in larger metropolitan cities. Like their big-city counterparts, nonmetropolitan blacks are America's most highly segregated racial minority--roughly 30% to 40% higher than the indices observed for Hispanics and Native Americans. Finally, baseline ecological models of spatial patterns of rural segregation reveal estimates that largely support the conclusions reached in previous metropolitan studies. Racial residential segregation in rural places increases with growing minority percentage shares and is typically lower in "new" places (as measured by growth in the housing stock), while racially selective annexation and the implied "racial threat" at the periphery exacerbate racial segregation in rural places. Our study reinforces the need to broaden the spatial scale of segregation beyond its traditional focus on metropolitan cities or suburban places, especially as America's population shifts down the urban hierarchy into exurban places and small towns.     

Geographic morbidity differentials in the late nineteenth-century united states

We use a national cross-sectional database, the 1880 Integrated Public Use Microdata Sample, to examine aggregate patterns and individual-level estimates of chronic-disease morbidity and long-term disability in the United States in the late nineteenth century. Despite higher levels of urban mortality in 1880, morbidity prevalence rates were highest in the rural areas of the country, especially in the western and the southern regions. Equations using microdata show that the estimated risk of chronic disease and impairment was highest for males and females who were older, of lower socioeconomic status, or from rural areas. This era was marked by geographically uneven but significant levels of endemic chronic disease, likely the outcomes of prior episodes of infectious disease and exposure to conditions generated by human action, such as the Civil War and migration.     

Population redistribution policy in Korea: A review

With its rapid industrial transformation over the last two decades, Korea has experienced a massive population shift from rural to urban areas. In particular, population concentration together with the concentration of economic and political power in the primate city of Seoul created spatial imbalances and a host of urban problems which are not uncommon to many developing nations. In response to these persisting imbalances and problems, the government of Korea has implemented various programs and measures since 1970. Korea's experiment with population redistribution, although it may not be easily replicated in other countries, provides a rare example with which we can examine some of the major issues involved in population distribution policies. The paper reviews Korean policies and programs for population redistribution, assesses their effects in redressing the three major spatial imbalances - between urban and rural, between regions, and between cities of different sizes - and draws lessons for policy formation in Korea as well as in other countries which are considering such a policy.     

Gentrification and Segregated Wealth in Rural America: Home Value Sorting in Destination Counties

The term “gentrification” carries conflicting popular connotations, conjuring images of both revitalization and displacement. Despite a rich critical literature from urban social scientists, gentrification as it relates to rural housing and rural development is a similarly conflicted term. With the frequent conflation of rural gentrification and economic improvement, researchers and policy-makers alike need more nuanced techniques for identifying how the process distributes costs and benefits across households. This paper operationalizes rural gentrification as a specific demographic pattern of household migration, termed the “Rural Gentrification Score,” and maps its footprint between 1980 and 2000 in 25 US states. It then uses census data to better understand the impacts of rural gentrification on home values in rural counties, interrogating the popular notion that homeowners benefit from gentrification. Using comparative analyses, two related hypotheses about rural gentrification and inequality are explored: (1) that gentrified rural counties were susceptible to greater home value segregation and (2) that over time gentrification’s spread culminated in greater homogeneity of home values. Results support each of these hypotheses and point to nuances in the relationship between population turnover, inequality, and socioeconomic context. Most notably the findings highlight a spatial and temporal pattern of widening wealth inequality in gentrifying rural counties.     

Income inequality and fertility: A comparative view

Summary Most studies pertaining to the relationship between population and economic development suffer from a major flaw. Researchers use aggregate measures like income or energy consumption per head as indicators of economic development. Such aggregate measures fail to take into account the nature of the distribution of income or energy consumption to the population. The present study attempts to demonstrate the importance of incorporating the nature of distribution of resources as an important intervening variable in the study of the overall relationship between population and economic development. A measure of income inequality is developed which represents the difference between rural and urban incomes. This measure is justified in terms of the distinctiveness of urban and rural sectors in the process of development. The data used relate to societal measures of fertility, income, income inequality, etc. Consistently with existing literature, we observe that, generally speaking, economic development does entail a reduction in rural-urban income inequalities. On the other hand, a substantial part of the negative effect of an increase in income per head can be nullified if such an increase were not also accompanied by a reduction in rural-urban income inequality. Also, a substantial part of the negative effect of an increase in income per head and the level of education in reducing the level of infant mortality would be nullified if it did not also result in a reduction of rural-urban income inequality. On the other hand, it is quite possible for the level of education in a society to increase together with an increase in income per head without substantially altering the extent of inequality of income between the rural and the urban population. It is suggested that the positive relationship between rural-urban income inequality and the level of fertility is due to higher rural fertility rates in a high-inequality country. By implication, this would mean that higher standards of living for the rural population compared with its urban counterpart will have a favourable impact in reducing rural fertility.     

Health conditions in rural and urban areas of developing countries

The poor quality and meagre supply of data prohibit conclusions as to the relationship of health status to rural-urban residence in underdeveloped countries. Demographic indicators of health, specifically infant mortality and average life expectancy, do not seem to vary systematically according to rural-urban residence in the less developed countries ofAsia, Africa and Latin America. Further differences between rural and urban areas in availability of health services and facilities do not always conform with apparent differences between the areas in health status. However, nutritional standards, housing conditions, and sanitation, water supply and other pertinent environmental circumstances account to some extent for differences observed in health status between rural and urban inhabitants of these countries.     

[An analysis of regional differential mortality].]

Regional differences in mortality and life expectancy in China are explored, and the socioeconomic, cultural, and educational factors affecting such differences are considered using data from the 1982 census. The author notes that mortality, particularly infant mortality, is highest in economically underdeveloped areas, and female infant mortality is high in both rural and urban areas. It is also observed that female life expectancy is 3.26 years longer than for males in urban areas, and 1.38 years longer in rural areas.     

Mother’s,Household, and Community U.S. Migration Experience and Infant Mortality in Rural and Urban Mexico

This study explores rural and urban differences in the relationship between U.S. migration experience measured at the individual, household, and community levels and individual-level infant mortality outcomes in a national sample of recent births in Mexico. Using 2000 Mexican Census data and multi-level regression models, we find that women’s own U.S. migration experience is associated with lower odds of infant mortality in both rural and urban Mexico, possibly reflecting a process of healthy migrant selectivity. Household migration has mixed blessings for infant health in rural places: remittances are beneficial for infant survival, but recent out-migration is disruptive. Recent community-level migration experience is not significantly associated with infant mortality overall, although in rural places, there is some evidence that higher levels of community migration are associated with lower infant mortality. Household- and community-level migration have no relationship with infant mortality in urban places. Thus, international migration is associated with infant outcomes in Mexico in fairly complex ways, and the relationships are expressed most profoundly in rural areas of Mexico.

The value of symmetric and asymmetric indices of segregation constructed from MCD data

People studying rural communities typically limit their analyses to single communities or to comparatively large units, such as counties. This information is important, but it is in local subcounty areas where rural people live and work. We examine the appropriateness of minor civil divisions (MCD's) as a small ecological unit in nonmetropolitan areas to measure segregation between poor and nonpoor people. The index of dissimilarity (D) and P^*-type contiguity indices are evaluated for the nonmetro portions of Mississippi and Wisconsin. MCD's are different in the two states, which affects the interpretation of the indices. We found that segregation, as measured by D, was low in both states. The low value of D in Mississippi may have resulted from how the state's MCD's were delineated. Although the P^* indices are highly correlated with the poverty rate, they do provide more information than the poverty rate alone.     

Age at marriage,family planning practices,and other variables as correlates of fertility in Korea

The relationships between fertility and thirteen variables are examined in three groups of married Korean women, about 400 each from urban, rural, and semi-rural areas. Data were obtained by interview. Age at marriage and family planning practice are the strongest predictors of fertility and account for about 10 percent and 7 percent of the total variance, respectively. Other factors which accounted for lesser fractions of variability are ideal number of children, rural versus urban residence, education, aspiration for daughters, exposure to mass media, and economic status. Most of the relationships appear to be stable over time; others, which are associated with modernization, appear to be changing. The thirteen variables combined can account for a maximum of 40 percent of the variance in fertility.     

The transition to nonmetropolitan population deconcentration

A major aim of this study is to address our lack of understanding of rural-urban population change within nonmetropolitan counties of the United States. Specifically, we (a) examine trends between 1950 and 1975 in differential rural and urban growth rates within nonmetropolitan counties, and (b) examine the relationship between county location/function and within-county deconcentration. We show that the post-1970period has not simply marked the net shift of population from metropolitan to nonmetropolitan areas, but has also ushered in a pattern of population deconcentration within most nonmetropolitan areas. It is also clear that traditional ecological and economic base variables have been of diminishing utility in explaining deconcentration during the 1970s, suggesting that deconcentration is now evident in nonmetropolitan counties characterized by a broad spectrum of economic and sociodemographic traits.     

Gender,Age, and Place of Residence as Moderators of the Internalized Homophobia-Depressive Symptoms Relation Among Australian Gay Men and Lesbians

Internalized homophobia is a risk factor for depression among gay men and lesbians. The aim of the study was to test whether the internalized homophobia-depression relation was moderated by gender (stronger among gay men compared with lesbians), age (stronger among younger compared with older gay men and lesbians), and place of residence (stronger among gay men and lesbians who live in rural areas compared with those who live in urban areas). An Australian sample of 311 self-identified gay men and 570 self-identified lesbians, aged 18 to 70 years, completed the Internalized Homophobia Scale and the Centre for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale. Results indicated that age and gender did not moderate the internalized homophobia-depressive symptoms relation. Place of residence was a significant moderator for gay men but not lesbians. In contrast to the hypothesis, the internalized homophobia-depression relation was significant only among gay men who resided in urban areas. Those who work with gay men should be particularly aware of the significant relationship between internalized homophobia and depressive symptoms among gay men who reside in urban areas.     

Is There an Urban Advantage in Child Survival in Sub-Saharan Africa? Evidence From 18 Countries in the 1990s

Evidence of higher child mortality of rural-to-urban migrants compared with urban nonmigrants is growing. However, less attention has been paid to comparing the situation of the same families before and after they migrate with the situation of urban-to-rural migrants. We use DHS data from 18 African countries to compare child mortality rates of six groups based on their mothers’ migration status: rural nonmigrants; urban nonmigrants; rural-to-urban migrants before and after they migrate; and urban-to-rural migrants before and after they migrate. The results show that rural-to-urban migrants had, on average, lower child mortality before they migrated than rural nonmigrants, and that their mortality levels dropped further after they arrived in urban areas. We found no systematic evidence of higher child mortality for rural-to-urban migrants compared with urban nonmigrants. Urban-to-rural migrants had higher mortality in the urban areas, and their move to rural areas appeared advantageous because they experienced lower or similar child mortality after living in rural areas. After we control for known demographic and socioeconomic correlates of under-5 mortality, the urban advantage is greatly reduced and sometimes reversed. The results suggest that it may not be necessarily the place of residence that matters for child survival but, rather, access to services and economic opportunities.