Modeling interregional migration flows: Continuity and change

This paper addresses the question of how to formally represent the spatial structure of an observed origin‐destination‐specific pattern of interregional migration flows. Such a representation allows an analyst to compare the spatial structures of different migration regimes and contrast their changes over time. It also facilitates the indirect estimation of migration flows, in the absence of such data, by allowing the analyst to impose a particular age or spatial structure when observed flow data are inadequate, partial, or completely nonexistent. In this paper, we focus on the level and allocation aspects (or the generation and distribution components) of age‐specific interregional migration flows. We find that over time these flows exhibit strong regularities that can be captured by generalized linear models, which can then be used in situations where data are inadequate or missing to indirectly estimate interregional migration patterns.     

Fertility Decline and Increased Manifestation of Sex Bias in India

This paper argues that expectations - the process of evaluating the chances for future attainment of valued goals in the home community (stay decision) vs. alternative locations (move decision) - along with family norms about migration are major predictors of intention to move, which in turn is a proximate determinant of migration behaviour. Utilizing longitudinal data from the 1992 and 1994 waves of the Thailand National Migration Survey, logistic regression models show that a strikingly different set of expectations, household demographic indicators, and migrant capital factors were significant determinants of migration intentions for men and women; reflecting Thai gender roles. Migration intentions, in turn, predicted more permanent, but not temporary, survival strategy migration behaviour, while low household income predicted temporary but not more permanent migration behaviour. The measure of perceived family migration norms was a powerful determinant of migration behaviour, but the size of migrant networks was not a statistically significant determinant of either migration intentions or behaviour.     

Enclaves, language, and the location choice of migrants

Empirical studies in the migration literature have shown that enclaves (networks) negatively affect the language proficiency of migrants. Most of these studies do not address the choice of location as a function of language skills. Using data on Mexican migration to the US, we show that migrants choose smaller networks as their English language proficiency improves.

People and Technologies as Resources in Times of Uncertainty

Abstract

This paper is concerned with people’s decision‐making and communication practices when moving around the world in uncertain situations. It examines how people acted when flights were grounded in Europe for one week in April 2010 as a result of the ash cloud from a volcano in Iceland. The paper focuses on the communication practices of a group of people travelling from Norway to Britain in a hired coach. Drawing on the approaches of literacy studies along with broader work on new technologies, it covers a range of issues including: how people integrate languages and technologies as global resources for local decision making; how they deploy networks of support in different ways; and how they evaluate knowledge in a rapidly changing situation of rumour and counter‐claim. The paper enriches understanding of people using technologies and acting within complex networks. It emphasises the need for literacy studies, and sociolinguistics more generally, to develop richer notions of networked interaction and mediated language use in a mobile world. And it highlights for mobilities research the importance of language issues in a multilingual world.     

International migration and economic growth: a source country perspective

This study analyzes the impact of international migration on economic growth of a source country in a stochastic setting. The model accounts for endogenous fertility decisions and distinguishes between public and private schooling systems. We find that economic growth crucially depends on the international migration since the migration possibility will affect fertility decisions and school expenditures. Relaxation of restrictions on the emigration of high-skilled workers will damage the economic growth of a source country in the long run, although a ‘brain gain’ may happen in the short run. Furthermore, the growth rate of a source country under a private education regime will be more sensitive to the probability of migration than a country under a public education regime.

Race/ethnic differentials in heavy weight and cesarean births

Objectives: The general objectives of this research are tofurther our understanding of the distribution and incidence of heavy weight births and to examine differentials in the use of cesarean section as a response to macrosomia in models that are more broadly comparative by race/ethnicity than any that have heretofore been estimated. Methods: The data are drawn from the combined 1989–1991 NCHS Linked Birth/Infant Death Cohort Files,a data set of over 12 million live births and over 100,000 infant deaths that allows for highly reliable estimations for relatively small race/ethnic sub populations. Results: The results confirm that previously identified determinants of macrosomia such as maternal diabetes,maternal weight gain, parity and a previous heavy weight infant are highly predictive of a macrosomic birth, independent of race/ethnic effects. With respect to the management of heavy weight births, race/ethnic differentials exist in the odds of a cesarean delivery, theprocedure most often used to limit the risks of a macrosomic delivery.     

Behavioral processes and egg-laying decisions of the bean weevil, Callosobruchus maculatus

Empirical studies of behavioral processes were designed in a seed beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus, to distinguish between two alternative tactical models, namely, comparison tactics and threshold tactics of seed choice, and also to deduce the behavioral rule of its oviposition decisions. Search sequences and the oviposition process of the female bruchid beetle were observed and recorded. Analyzing data of the search sequence showed that the female bruchid beetle repeatedly encountered seeds randomly and tended to oviposit on a newly encountered seed in an ovposition bout. These results contradict the usual comparison models, which predict that the female will return to choose any one of the previously encountered seeds after sampling. In addition, the oviposition decision (rejection or acceptance of an encountered seed to oviposit) was analyzed with a generalized linear modeling (GLIM) technique. Modeling showed that the probability of accepting a seed with different numbers of eggs on it changed during her egg-laying process. This evidence supports the idea that the female is using a threshold tactic and that her acceptance threshold is being adjusted by experience gained during the egg-laying process. The analysis of statistical modeling also showed that both the time since the last oviposition and the number of eggs which had been laid by the female had a significant effect on the probability of accepting seeds with different numbers of eggs. Therefore, a time measuring system and the physiological state variable, e.g., eggload of the female, should be included in the behavioral rule to explore how the female makes her decision in the egg-laying process and to examine the importance of choice behavior as a component of selection and adaptation. Received: May 8, 1998 / Accepted: September 20, 1999     

Olivia Pope: a black post-feminist subject? Analyzing Scandal’s intersecting post-feminist and colorblind discourses

Previous analyses of Scandal have focused on how colorblind discourse in the series influences the representation of lead character Olivia Pope’s Blackness. Less has been written about how dominant discourses of race and gender intersect in the series. Correspondingly, post-feminist scholarship has overwhelmingly concentrated on discourses of gender in depictions of white women. This article seeks to bridge the gaps between scholarship on representations of race and gender on television. Situating Scandal within the context of post-feminist and colorblind discourses of gender and race that have been prominent on mainstream television since the early 2000s, this article takes an intersectional approach to interrogate how Olivia Pope, a Black woman, is incorporated into post-feminist discourse. Rhetorical analyses of episodes of Scandal’s seasons 1 through 5 uncover how colorblind and post-feminist discourses provide at their junction a restricted space for a Black post-feminist subject. Olivia Pope’s post-feminist characterization comes at the expense of obfuscating how her Blackness affects her identity as a woman, and effectively “posts” her Black womanhood. The visibility of the Black post-feminist subject in colorblind post-feminism is thus paradoxically contingent on the concurrent invisibility of Black women’s experiences and Black feminist concerns.     

Decision-making in Swiss home-like childbirth: A grounded theory study

Background

Decision-making in midwifery, including a claim for shared decision-making between midwives and women, is of major significance for the health of mother and child. Midwives have little information about how to share decision-making responsibilities with women, especially when complications arise during birth.

“It’s (not) handled”: race,gender, and refraction in Scandal

Much scholarship on mediated representations of race and gender claims that contemporary texts are examples of post-race and post-feminism, effectively communicating that our society is past the eras of inequality of races and sexes. Yet, many scholars have also argued that such representations are not so straightforward. Extending the work of this latter group of scholars, we call this tension refraction, a term we define as representational practices that draw attention to, or magnify, innate oppositions and inconsistencies in mediated representations surrounding identity markers. Through a case study of the first three seasons of the television series Scandal, we find multiple examples of refraction, as the protagonist Olivia Pope simultaneously embodies and critiques specific race/gender tropes. This ultimately depoliticizes issues of race and gender by simultaneously calling attention to, and drawing attention away from, those issues.     

The Relationship Between Resources and Human Migration Patterns in Central Kamchatka During the Post-Soviet Period

This paper examines the relationship between resources and migration in post-Soviet Kamchatka (Russian Far East). During the post-Soviet period of socio-economic hardship, migration trends have changed drastically both in central Kamchatka and throughout the Russian Far East. I predicted that there would be a clear relationship between resource scarcity and people's decisions to leave in search of more propitious opportunities. Against the backdrop of economic decline, out-migration prevailed in central Kamchatka throughout the post-Soviet period; however, migration patterns among villages in this rural and resource-dependent region diverge considerably. Villages in central Kamchatka facing a local natural resource crisis show greater net negative migration than those with a relatively intact resource base. Such variation is notable, given the relatively contained area of the study; it suggests migration patterns are closely tied to ecological conditions. Besides socio-economic and ecological factors, historical circumstances also influence migration patterns. The decision to migrate is complex, arising from the interaction of socio-economic, political, ecological, and historical conditions.     

Bequest division and population growth: A lineal extinction probability approach

This study uses a lineal-extinction-probability-minimization approach proposed by Chu (1991) to study the relation between bequest division and population growth. Using a Markov branching process and “first-degree stochastic dominance” technique, our model's results imply that any specific bequest division, primogeniture or equal divisions, does not necessarily increase or reduce the population growth by itself. Whether the population does grow, or by how much, will be determined by the concurrent social-economic conditions. We find that if all family heads faced an increasing MRTS technology and/or a relatively unfair market chance, then they would tend to choose an unequal division as their optimal bequest policy, and population growth would increase. However, if an equal division was adopted involuntarily by family heads or was enforced by laws, then the population growth might decline. Received: 26 November 1999/Accepted: 26 October 2000     

Another country,another language and a new baby: A quantitative study of the postnatal experiences of migrant women in Australia

BackgroundGovernments and service providers have consistently acknowledged the importance of support for women and families in the transition to parenthood. Lower levels of satisfaction and concern about postnatal depression have highlighted women's needs at this time. Migrant women may also face relocation, distant family and support networks, language barriers and potentially discriminatory or culturally insensitive care.ObjectiveThe present study evaluates the unique contribution of migrant status, comparing the experience of this group to that of native-born English-speaking women.MethodSecondary analysis of data from a population-based survey of maternity care in Queensland. Experiences of 233 women born outside Australia who spoke another language at home were compared to 2722 Australian-born English-speaking women with adjustment for demographic differences.ResultsAfter adjustment, differences between the groups included physical, psychological aspects and perceptions of care. Women born outside Australia were less likely to report pain after birth was manageable, or rate overall postnatal physical health positively. They more frequently reported having painful stitches, distressing flashbacks and feeling depressed in the postnatal period. Few differences in ratings of care providers were found, however, women born outside Australia were less likely to feel involved in decisions and to understand their options for care. However, they were more likely to report being visited by a care provider at home after birth.ConclusionsThe findings represent an important addition to existing qualitative reports of the experiences of migrant women, reflecting poorer postnatal health, issues associated with migration and parenthood and highlighting areas for care improvement.     

Joint decisions on household membership and human capital accumulation of youths. The role of expected earnings and local markets

This paper analyses the effects of expected earnings and local markets conditions on the behaviour of young adults with high school diplomas. Decisions to either remain in the parental home or form a new household are modelled jointly with those of either gaining work experience or investing in a university education. Expected lifetime earnings are found to play a crucial role in determining the choice of studying and residing with parents. Poor labour market opportunities discourage young people from working and induce them to study. The cost of housing greatly influences the choice of working and leaving the parental home. Received: 23 March 2001/Accepted: 26 November 2001 All correspondence to Gianna Claudia Giannelli. Helpful comments by two anonymous referees are gratefully acknowledged. Responsible editor: John F. Ermisch.     

The mismatch between employment and child care in Italy: the impact of rationing

In Italy the women’s participation is among the lowest in Europe. The female employment rate stands almost 13 percentage points below the EU average and 22 below the Lisbon target. One of the most important reasons is related to the characteristics of child care system. We analyze the characteristics of the child care system in Italy and its relationship to the labor market participation decision of mothers. The two decisions are jointly considered in a discrete choice framework, which also allows for simple forms of rationing. We go on to estimate a bivariate probit model of the child care and employment decisions and find evidence that rationing is an important factor in interpreting price effects on utilization rates and employment decisions. Responsible editors: Deborah Cobb-Clark & Tito Boeri     

Should I stay or should I go? Educational choices and earnings: An empirical study for Portugal

We analyse educational choices and earnings of individuals at two different levels in the Portuguese educational system. At each exit we consider two decisions: the decision to continue studying and the employment decision. We find empirical support for the existence of selectivity bias as the errors of the earnings functions are in general correlated with the disturbances of the decision functions. The obtained rates of return to education vary between 2.4 and 9.4 percent, depending on whether or not selectivity and quantity effects are excluded from the computations. Note that selectivity represents three quarters of this difference. Received: 5 March 2001/Accepted: 10 October 2001 I am grateful for the comments of the editor and two anonymous referees. Responsible editor: John F. Ermisch.     

Unemployment benefits, risk aversion, and migration incentives

With reference to the EU enlargement, a framework is derived which allows the study of the effect of unemployment benefits on the migration decision. While benefits simply increase the expected gain for risk neutral individuals, they work as an insurance device for risk averse migrants; the results for the two groups might differ. Thus, the migration decision is reformulated as monetary lottery. Unsurprisingly, the paper finds that risk averse individuals are less likely to engage in migration. Yet, introducing unemployment benefits also makes them select a different set of countries. The implications of selection and sorting, however, depend crucially on the link between risk aversion and economically important personal characteristics. It is also shown that unemployment benefits give rise to intertemporal trade-offs in migration returns.The author is grateful for helpful comments by Hartmut Lehmann, Christoph M. Schmidt and three anonymous referees. I also like to thank my colleagues at CERT and participants of the R.O.S.E.S. Enlargement Conference 2003 in Paris. This work has been conducted before the author joint DWP and does not reflect the opinion of the department. Responsible editor: Klaus F. Zimmermann.     

Recent studies on place-utility and intention to migrate: An international comparison

Findings from five recent studies carried out in different cultural and social-economic contexts (Egypt, Kenya, Philippines, Thailand, and U.S.A.) show significant support for certain features of a "placeutility/migration intentions" model of migration decisions. These findings also suggest that there may be substantial variation in the migration decision process from one setting to another, and that the behavioral models which have been generally used to advance hypotheses in this field need to be revised to take into account empirical findings.Subjective assessments of place-utility are at best partial predictors of actual migration, as measured in follow-up surveys in four of the five studies. Intentions to move are strong predictors of subsequent migration in some settings but weak predictors in others. The findings point to the need to give greater weight to personal and structural constraints on migration (financial resources, help from friends, etc.) which, in the decision making process, may override place-utility consideration in the determination of intentions and actual migration decisions. Overall, the five studies add significantly to knowledge on how migration decisions are made in different settings and point to a number of challenging hypotheses and gaps in research design which need to be addressed in future research.This paper constitutes a revised version of my Discussant's Comments for the session on "Migration strategies, migration intentions, and migration decisions," organized by James T. Fawcett at the Population Association of American Annual Meetings, Minneapolis, April 1984. The revisions take into account modifications in the content and authorship of the papers prior to appearing in this issue or elsewhere in final printed form. I am indebted to Jean Turner for her comments on the draft of this paper.     

Status Homophily,Sexual Identity,and Lesbian Social Ties

The literature on friendship and social networks finds that individuals form social ties with people who are like them—a much studied concept called homophily. However, few studies have explicitly examined sexual identity as a point of homophily. Scholars from multiple disciplines have long argued that sexuality influences the organization of our social worlds, yet most studies of friendship and social networks under-examine or overlook the influence of sexual identity. This study addresses that gap by looking at status homophily among lesbian social ties to examine the influence of sexual identity, as well as gender, race, class, and family, on their personal networks. Using survey data from 544 U.S. lesbian respondents, the findings make visible some of the factors and forces that shape social ties for lesbians. The results point to the importance of sexuality as an organizing element of social life, and suggest that studies that examine social networks or friendships more often make sexual identity, gender, and intersecting social locations a central focus.