Identifying health inequalities between Māori and non‐Māori using mortality tables

Abstract

While there is a need for more detailed information on health inequality to guide public health policy, the most complete and easily available data remain those in mortality tables. We investigate, via a comparative analysis of data from New Zealand on Māori and non‐Māori mortality, whether more detailed information than raw life expectancy may be extracted from the mortality tables. Given a parametric distribution for the mortality capable of fitting irregularities in mortality table data, the curvature of the survival and hazard rates can identify changes in mortality rates, such as infant and late‐life adult mortality, which allows for straightforward comparisons between the two sub‐populations. Our results identify an exogenous effect in earlier mortality among Maori, which correlates well with many published observations of health and health‐care inequalities between Māori and non‐Māori. This “proof of concept” for our method of analysis indicates that examination of bulk data such as those in mortality tables has a potential role in the design of more detailed studies involving causes of mortality.     

Explaining Diversities in Age-Specific Life Expectancies and Values of Life Saving: A Numerical Analysis

To what extent can life protection account for observed diversities in age-specific life expectancies across individuals and over time? We provide answers via calibrated simulations of a life-cycle model where life’s end is stochastic, and age-specific mortality hazards are endogenous outcomes of life protection, set jointly with life insurance and annuities. Our model links mortality hazards and values of life saving (VLS) as “dual variables”, and offers new insights about the measurement of VLS. Life protection is estimated to account for non-trivial portions of observed levels and inequalities in life expectancies and empirical estimates of VLS by age and education, and over time.     

Russia and Regional Institutions in the Asia-Pacific Region

Until the past few years, post-Soviet Russia devoted insufficient attention to multilateral processes of cooperation in the Asia-Pacific Region (APR). This situation gradually started to change in the period leading up to and during Russia’s stint as chair of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation in 2012. An additional stimulus to more active Russian participation in institutions of regional cooperation in the APR was implementation of the policy of the “turn to the East,” which became especially urgent after the crisis of 2014 in Russia’s relations with the West. As it happened, however, Russia strengthened its ties with multilateral institutions in the APR at exactly the time when many mechanisms of cooperation were in crisis and weakened by tensions between China and the United States in the region and also by competing regional projects promoted by these powers.     

Redefining “Old Age” and “Dependency” in East Asia: Is “Prospective Aging” A More Helpful Concept?

East Asian societies are currently some of the most rapidly aging in the world. Projections of the traditional old‐age dependency ratios (OADR) present a daunting future of the size of the aged population both in absolute terms and, in the context of low fertility, relative to the future workforce. Recently scholars, especially Sanderson and Scherbov, have argued that OADR is inadequate as a guide to future levels of dependency based, as it is, on past scenarios of “old age” and “dependency” rather than current and future notions. Indeed, in the context of rapidly aging settings in East Asia with developmental welfare states, the OADR has probably never been truly relevant, is profoundly unhelpful and could lead to policy paralysis. As such, Sanderson and Scherbov suggested a new method to measure aging prospectively to take into account both improved life expectancy and health across the life‐course. We introduce these new measurements as a possible new, more radical and optimistic way to think about aging in East Asia. These measurements more accurately demonstrate the “boundaries” to “dependency” and, hence, demonstrate the potential room for social policy interventions to maximize “active aging” for the population currently, perhaps incorrectly, defined as “old” and “dependent”.     

Demographic changes in East European countries and Russia

The authors outline demographic trends in Eastern Europe and Russia since 1970. Aspects considered include population size, birth rate and number of births, marriage and divorce, death rate, infant mortality, natural increase, sex ratio, and life expectancy.     

“桑梓情谊”的现代转化：费孝通社会理论的情感维度

费孝通的社会理论在社会结构方面更受学界重视，而其中的情感维度尚未得到足够关注。本文试图在费孝通早年有关中国现代化的理论视域中，梳理他有关“桑梓情谊”与“亲属情谊”“乡土工业”“村镇地方团体”之间关系的探索和讨论，进而呈现费孝通社会理论中对于情感的重视。 在费孝通看来，中国的现代化应该以中国传统社会组织为基础来嫁接西方现代技术， 从而推动整个社会从传统向现代的有效过渡。 在此过程中，他尝试将既旧且新的“桑梓情谊”阐释为现代中国社会的情感基础。 文章认为，“桑梓情谊”表征并构造了本地的根源与大社会的流动以及地方与国家的人际关联， 是理解费孝通社会理论之情感维度的关键，对我们思考当代中国现代化建设也有一定的启示。     

Valuing mortality risk in China: Comparing stated-preference estimates from 2005 and 2016

Journal of Risk and Uncertainty - We estimate the marginal rate of substitution of income for reduction in current annual mortality risk (the “value per statistical life” or VSL) using...     

俄罗斯的社会转型与社会阶层分化

20世纪80年代,俄罗斯社会开始转型,90年代以后,俄罗斯的社会阶层发生了明显的分化。本文主要从以下几个方面描述和分析俄罗斯的社会阶层分化：1、社会收入的差距（包括个人的收入差距,政府各部门之间、社会各行业之间的收入差距,俄罗斯区域间的收入差距）。2、“社会边缘群体”和“新贫困者”。“社会边缘群体”是一些不能确定自己的社会地位和群体归属的“被社会边缘化”的人群。“新贫困者”是指前苏联时期,以教授、工程师和医生等知识分子为主体的社会阶层,俄罗斯社会改革前,他们生活安逸,有很高的社会地位,而现在却生活艰难,变成了俄罗斯的穷人。3、新中产阶级。 俄罗斯在社会政治、经济转型过程中,旧的以知识分子为核心的社会中间阶层消失了,出现了新的以企业主为中心的中产阶级,俄罗斯新中产阶级的出现使俄罗斯的社会阶级结构发生了巨大的变化。     

One hundred years of money,welfare and death: mortality,economic growth and the development of the welfare state in 17 OECD countries 1900–2000

Kangas O. One hundred years of money, welfare and death: mortality, economic growth and the development of the welfare state in 17 OECD countries 1900–2000 Int J Soc Welfare 2010: ??: ??–??© 2010 The Author(s), Journal compilation © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd and International Journal of Social Welfare. The article focuses on the role played by the welfare state vis‐à‐vis GDP in the increase of life expectancy in 17 OECD countries 1900–2000. The article shows that money matters, war kills and the welfare state is good for health. There is a curvilinear relationship between prosperity and longevity: after a certain level, the marginal utility of an extra dollar levels off. In the longer run, growth is a necessary but not sufficient condition. The welfare state plays its role, too. Bigger is better, be it with regard to social spending or the generosity or coverage of social protection. For the life expectancy of a population to increase, it is better to have broader coverage or universal access to care than to have more generous benefits, which are channelled to a limited circle of citizens. It is better to give adequately to all than lavishly to too few.     

China-Germany Industrial Cooperation in the Context of the Belt and Road Initiative—An Analysis Focusing on Shandong Province*

At present, economic decision-makers and theorists predict that the robust alliance of “German technology” and “made in China” will reach new global heights through the development of intelligent manufacturing. However, the path to the realization of this prediction is still being explored. Shandong is a microcosm of China’s economic development and China-Germany cooperation, so the province can be analyzed as a representative example of the industrial choices and implementation strategies of this cooperation. In practice, China-Germany industrial cooperation should take into account industries where Germany has an advantage and the industrial development priorities and future growth potential of China and Shandong. We should thus focus on raising the quality of German investment and attending to its spill-over effects. The findings of a quantitative analysis of Shandong’s industrial gradient coefficient and industrial correlation show that the future alignment of German and Shandong industry should adhere to the principle of “emphasizing key points and storing up resources for the future.” For this reason, we should not only strengthen the key fields of Shandong’s industrial alignment with Germany, but also actively cultivate areas with potential. Research on the pattern of German investment in China indicates that German companies’ choice of investment location has certain distinctive features. The factors that matter most in attracting German investment are the concentration of German first-comer enterprises in the host country, the shape of the business environment and the level of human capital and regional science and technology. For this reason, against the background of the Belt and Road Initiative, Shandong’s alignment with German industry should focus on building industry chains, constructing investment platforms and shaping the external environment.     

The Inequality Effect of Urbanization and Social Integration

On the basis of the China Social Survey (CSS2011) and related urban statistics, this article conducts an analysis of the “unequal” effects of urbanization and of problems in rural migrants’ social integration with urban residents in the course of their urbanization. We found that although the increased rate of population urbanization did not produce a significant difference between “rural migrants” and “city people” in terms of income, migrants fare considerably worse than city people with regard to social security, cultural life, psychological acceptance and status identification. This kind of inequality transforms the original urban/rural dual structure into a new dichotomy that divides urban dwellers into the migrant population and residents with urban household registration, thereby impeding social integration. This finding will help us understand the causes of the social barriers in current urbanization and may provide theoretical and empirical reference material for “new-type urbanization,” particularly as it relates to the transformation of the rural migrant population into urban citizens.     

Stories of contemporary aging: An analysis of “lived” citizenship in later life

ABSTRACT

The new political economy of aging portrays “active citizenship” among seniors as a key challenge for the years to come. As a policy framework, Active Aging ranks high on the agendas of most supranational bodies. Informed by discourse analysis and a narrative approach, this article focuses on, first, older women’s everyday “active” practices, their meaning, and purpose and second, their day-to-day practical citizenship and social engagement experiences. A typology consisting of four figures of “lived” citizenship is proposed. Social contribution in later age is expressed through various types of engagement identified through these citizenship figures. These figures support older women’s social anchoring and sustain their feeling of belonging to the community. However, the figures outlined also reveal tensions, produced by relations of power between “dominant citizenship” and “relational citizenship,” pertaining to social relations and to caring for the other. In the latter case, we see that the coupling of action between the choice of action and social engagements in later age is more limited, due to social and health inequalities as well as lack of opportunities throughout the life course. Finally, in order to guarantee the right to age with dignity, we suggest a change of orientation in aging policies.     

The Canadian Agency for the Oversight of Research Involving Humans: A Reform Proposal

In this paper, I propose the creation of a Canadian agency for the oversight of research involving humans. I describe first a series of significant problems with Canada’s current system of oversight. I then argue for the creation of a national-level agency, covering all research involving humans, with three branches (policy and standards, education, and compliance). Of particular note, the proposed compliance branch consists of a number of independent national and regional Research Ethics Boards (i.e., REBs no longer reside within institutions). There is also an Audit Committee and a Non-compliance Committee (with supporting staff of auditors and compliance officers) to ensure compliance with the policies and standards set by the Policy and Standards Branch. Finally, I answer a series of “frequently asked questions” about the proposed agency design such as “What about ‘local context’?” and “Why not have a system of accreditation of institutional REBs instead?” In sum, radical reform is needed and, in this paper, I present a proposal for such reform.     

全球海洋经济:认知差异、比较研究与中国的机遇

各国对于“海洋经济”的认知和概念界定仍然存在巨大差异。梳理“海洋经济”的概念演进和政策内涵、分析各国对“海洋经济”认识和统计差异后,仍可发现其具有一定的可比性。中国海洋经济则具备比较优势,包括发展速度快、结构持续优化、比重保持稳定、对就业贡献大等等。鉴于“海洋经济”具有广阔的发展前景及其在国家经济和社会发展中趋升的战略地位,中国宜抓住历史机遇,利用自身优势和潜力,加速发展海洋经济和构建海洋强国。政策建议包括:加强海洋经济理论研究和国际交流,尤其是将建立国际通用统计标准作为重点合作领域;倡导建立海洋命运共同体,推动海洋经济国际合作,践行共商共建共享理念,把海上丝绸之路建设作为重要抓手;进一步拓展蓝色伙伴关系,形成广泛而有深度的利益捆绑;新冠疫情背景下把加强冷链运输的安全性纳入全球或区域海上公共卫生体系建设之中;重启蓝色经济,充分挖掘海洋经济潜力。     

“Chinese Values” and Innovation in Philosophy and Social Sciences in Present Day China

“中国价值观” 是相对于 “美国价值观” , “亚洲价值观” , “华盛顿共识” 等 而言的, 是中国社会价值体系长期发展演变的结果, 是当代中国价值复杂性的观念表 现和理论提升。在历史与时代, 中国与世界的多维背景中分析中国当前复杂价值状况 的历史生成, 演进逻辑, 多元构架, 深层原因与内在依据,透视西方几百年现代化进 程中的历时性矛盾在当代中国的共时性并存, 我们主张以复杂性的思维与方法来看待 当前中国的复杂价值现实和价值观念, 在多重线索汇聚和多元变化整合的动态过程中 积极守护 “中国利益” , 合理履行 “中国责任” , 自觉探寻 “中国道路” , 清醒回应 “中国期盼” , 自觉化解 “中国难题” , 恰当彰显 “中国信心” , 更好地发挥出哲学 社会科学在解读与引领社会发展的积极功能。

关键词: 中国价值观 多元价值 核心价值 复杂性思维

“Chinese values” is a concept defined in relation to “American values,” “Asian values” and the “Washington Consensus.” It is a product of the long-term development and evol ut ion of Chi nese soci et y’s val ue syst em and const it ute s the c onc ept ua l representation and theoretical enhancement of the complexity of current Chinese values. We analyze the historical formation, evolutionary logic, pluralistic framework, underlying reasons, and inner grounds of present day China’s complex values in a multi- dimensional context that involves history and the present as well as China and the world, looking at the synchronous coexistence in modern China of diachronic conflicts that unfolded over several hundred years in the course of Western modernization. Our contention is that present day China’s complex value reality and value concepts should be approached by using complex ideas and techniques. In the dynamic process of integrating manifold clues and multiple changes, we will vigorously safeguard “Chinese interests,” reasonably fulfill “China’s responsibilities,” consciously seek a “Chinese path,” soberly respond to “expectations of China,” consciously break down “China’s problems” and appropriately demonstrate “China’s confidence,” in order to better perform the positive function of philosophy and social sciences in interpreting and guiding the development of society.     

“Sleep is on the back burner”: Working students and sleep

The current study examines on a potential high-risk sleep loss population: working students at a metropolitan university in a mid-sized Midwestern city in the United States. Open-ended interviews with nineteen working university students provide insight into their beliefs and behaviors regarding how they think about and “do” work, attend university and sleep. Sleep diaries provide information on perceived sleep duration, latency and quality. While students value sleep and recognize the connection between sleep loss and ill health, they accept tiredness as “normal” for their situation. For many students sleep is the one demand that can be “put off”, in the struggle to balance work, school and family demands, “until the bill comes due” when they fall ill. Exchanging sleep loss for educational progress is explored through “health capital” as part of a human capital conceptual framework.     

教育知识与圣俗二分：从涂尔干到伯恩斯坦

“知识是一种社会建构”命题是涂尔干研究人类总体知识的落脚点,也是伯恩斯坦理解教育知识的社会性质的起点。本文试图重新理解涂尔干这一重要却不断被误解的命题,从“圣俗二分假想”入手,还原涂尔干知识社会学背后的问题意识,并呈现伯恩斯坦对圣俗二分的思考。研究发现,伯恩斯坦一方面继承和推进了涂尔干对知识及其社会基础的思考,从双重社会性假设出发阐释了教育知识的分类原则,另一方面也阐明了圣俗二分所蕴含的教育解放的可能性。     

试论费孝通的“乡寰视野”

本文根据费孝通的有关理论、观点提出“乡寰视野”、“劦业乡”两个概念，尝试以此来诠释费孝通关于中国城乡社会发展与世界经济之“休戚与共”的理论和实践活动。文章阐述了费孝通“乡寰视野”观的渊源、演进；从概念结构上解明“乡寰视野”中的“乡”和“寰”，以及“劦业乡”各自的内涵构成；通过对映衬费孝通“乡寰视野”历史意识的理论梳理，以及对费孝通晚年就“乡”“寰”关系问题所作阐述的把握，试图以更具综合性的视域对费孝通的这一重要思想作出较为系统的学理解释。文章最后指出，费孝通倡导“文化自觉”体现出了更为宽广、更为仁至的人文关怀的情愫。“乡寰视野”中的纯真的愿景，是“‘美好社会’的意念”。     

From “State and Society” to “Institutions and Life”: A Shift in the Study of Social Change in China

Abstract

The term “institutions and life” is proposed as an alternative perspective to “state and society.” Here, “institutions” refers to formal institutions set up in the name of the state and supporting its agents at various levels and in different departments in the exercise of their functions. “Life” refers to the everyday activities of social beings, involving not only the interests, powers and rights-based claims of expedient production and life strategies and techniques, but also relatively routine popular mores and informal institutions. The purpose of constructing and applying this perspective is to probe the complex mechanism of the interaction between living subjects and the agents of formal institutions in institutional practice and thereby analyze the actual logic and changing direction of China’s formal institutions and explore the mechanisms behind changes in mores so as to grasp the main thread running through China’s modern nation building.