Structural Pluralism and Life Expectancy in Less-Developed Countries: The Role of Women's Status

This study replicates a previous finding forthe U.S. counties that showed a strongassociation, net of controls between``structural pluralism' and lower mortality. ``Structural pluralism' refers to a community'scapacity for political competition, and is acore element of ``democracy.' Pluralism hasthis effect because it facilitates theacquisition of appropriate medical facilitiesand because it tends to optimize the biologicalfunctioning of the residents. Working from amajor component of pluralism, minorityparticipation, this hypothesis is tested byshowing that women's status in less developedcountries improves life expectancy net ofcontrols. A path analysis demonstrates thatthe structural dimensions work through healthorganization as an intervening variable, andthe future testing of biological optimizationis outlined. Location in Africa south of theSahara is a partially unexplained controlvariable that has a powerful negative impact. Interpreting women's status as a component ofpluralism explains why it predicts increasedlife expectancy for all citizens, not justwomen. It is a global dimension that affectsall the members of a community.     

The Legacy of the Great Recession in Italy: A Wider Geographical,Gender, and Generational Gap in Working Life Expectancy

Under the pressure of population aging the Italian pension system has undergone reforms to increase labor force participation and retirement age, and, thus, the length of working life. However, how the duration of working life has developed in recent years is not well understood. This paper is the first to analyze trends in working life expectancy in Italy. We use data from a nationally representative longitudinal sample of 880,000 individuals from 2003 to 2013 and estimate working life expectancy by gender, occupational category, and region of residence using a Markov chain approach. We document large and increasing heterogeneity in the length of working life. From 2003–2004 to 2012–2013, working life expectancy for men declined from 35.2 to 27.2 years and for women from 34.7 to 23.7 years, increasing the gender gap to 3.5 years. Both young and old were hit, as roughly half of the decline was attributable to ages below 40, half above 40. Working life expectancy declined for all occupational groups, but those in manual occupations lost most, 8.5 years (men) and 10.5 years (women). The North–South economic gradient widened such that men living in the North were expected to work 8 years longer than women living in the South. The fraction of working life of total life expectancy at age 15 declined to record lows at 40% for men and 34% for women in 2012–2013. Policies aiming at increasing total population working life expectancy need to take into consideration the socio-demographic disparities highlighted by our results.

     

Parenthood, Marital Status, and Well-Being in Later Life: Evidence from SHARE

Using pooled cross-sectional data from the first two waves of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe, we address the question of whether and how parenthood and marital status are associated with various dimensions of elders’ well-being, which we define by elements of the individual’s economic situation, psychological well-being, and social connectedness. The results of our multivariate analysis suggest that childless individuals do not generally fare worse than parents in terms of their economic, psychological, or social well-being. Although there is some indication for a ‘protective effect’ of marriage, having a partner does not per se contribute to greater psychological well-being: only those reporting satisfaction with the extent of reciprocity in their relationship report lower numbers of depression symptoms than their unmarried counterparts. We observe no systematic associations between parenthood (marriage, respectively) and individuals’ propensity to participate in social activities. These findings are fairly stable, that is, they hold for both men and women as well as across various cohorts, and they do not vary systematically between countries.     

The Retrenchment of Marriage: Results from Marital Status Life Tables for the United States, 1995

Marital status life tables were calculated using 1995 US rates of marriage, divorce, and mortality. Compared to figures for 1988, the proportion of persons surviving to age 15 who ever marry remained fairly steady at about five‐sixths of all men and seven‐eighths of all women. The average age at first marriage rose substantially: to 28.6 years for men and 26.6 years for women. The probability of a marriage ending in divorce changed little and was .437 for men and .425 for women. It is likely that no US period or cohort will ever have half of all marriages end in legal divorce, though the highest cohort may reach 47 percent. Patterns of marriage and divorce observed since 1970 show the effect that cohabitation continues to have on the American family, where it is delaying, but not replacing, marriage.     

我国人口预期寿命分析与预测

本文通过对我国人口年龄和性别构成现状的分析,运用蒋庆琅法利用2003年我国人口抽样和死亡率资料编制当年的简略寿命表,估算我国现阶段人口的预期寿命。接着,对我国自解放至今人口预期寿命的变化及其原因进行分析,并最终利用我国自第四次人口普查至第五次人口普查阶段人口预期寿命增长率等相关资料,对我国人口2001-2020年的预期寿命作出预测,得出今后我国人口预期寿命将继续增长,但增长率依年度的推移而递减。     

北京市近年婚配状况的特征及分析

婚姻本质上是男女双方的选择和匹配过程。文章基于北京市2004～2009年的婚姻登记数据库,对夫妇双方在年龄、城乡户籍、地区户籍、学历、婚次、民族和职业等方面的匹配状况和特点进行分析,印证了婚配过程中同类匹配和婚姻梯度的存在。从时序上看,夫妇双方的年龄日益趋近,人口流动也促进了跨地域通婚的增加,这些特征改变了传统的婚配走向,使婚配更具开放性;但夫妇学历的日趋般配和跨城乡通婚的减少,也显现出婚姻匹配走向封闭的特征。基于社会交换心理所形成的男女双方不同特征属性之间的优劣互补,使婚姻梯度所造成的夫妇间的差距在一定程度上有所减弱,从而形成同类婚配、且丈夫的综合条件略高于妻子的总体婚配特征。在大城市中,受婚姻梯度的影响,往往是条件优秀的女性承受更大的婚配压力。     

中国人口的死亡水平及预期寿命评估——基于第六次人口普查数据的分析

本文基于2010年人口普查数据,以1981年的中国人口生命表为模型生命表对2010年的人口按龄死亡模式进行修正,测算2010年的中国人口预期寿命,对20世纪80年代以来人口死亡率的变化趋势以及性别模式进行分析。研究结果发现,2010年中国人口的死亡率下降至5.58‰;人口预期寿命达到75岁,其中男性的预期寿命超过73岁,女性预期寿命为78岁;近10年间中国人口预期寿命的增幅超过4岁,高于20世纪80年代以来的任何时期。然而,2010年的人口普查数据中婴幼儿和老年人口存在严重的死亡漏报,现有的经济利益和社会制度因素的制约对人口普查数据质量的提高提出了巨大挑战。偏高的女婴死亡率虽然较2000年有所改善,但依旧存在,对女性的社会歧视仍在威胁中国的人口安全。     

中国老年人的居住方式与其婚姻状况的关系分析

基于追踪调查数据,运用随机效应Probit模型分析老年人的居住方式与其婚姻状况的关系及其在不同性别和不同年龄段上的差异。研究发现,丧偶对老年人的居住方式存在显著影响,老年人在丧偶后更可能与子女同住。然而,在控制配偶照顾因素后,丧偶对老年人居住方式的影响却大幅下降。从性别和年龄上来看,丧偶对女性老年人居住方式的影响大于男性老年人,对高龄老年人的影响大于低龄老年人。同时,研究还发现,在控制人口特征、社会经济以及健康状况变量之后,未观测到的个体异质性对老年人居住方式存在显著影响。     

Care Life Expectancy: Gender and Unpaid Work in the Context of Population Aging

Population Research and Policy Review - Amid growing concern regarding the potential added burden of care due to population aging, we have very little understanding of what is the burden of care in...     

新疆少数民族人口婚姻状况及其变动趋势分析

本文根据历届人口普查资料及各类有关调查和文献资料,对改革开放以来,新疆的维吾尔族、哈萨克族、回族、蒙古族、柯尔克孜族等五个主要的少数民族人口婚姻状况变动趋势进行综合分析,探索这些少数民族中出现的各类人口婚姻问题,并提出相应的对策与建议。     

Lifespan Dispersion in Times of Life Expectancy Fluctuation: The Case of Central and Eastern Europe

Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) have experienced considerable instability in mortality since the 1960s. Long periods of stagnating life expectancy were followed by rapid increases in life expectancy and, in some cases, even more rapid declines, before more recent periods of improvement. These trends have been well documented, but to date, no study has comprehensively explored trends in lifespan variation. We improved such analyses by incorporating life disparity as a health indicator alongside life expectancy, examining trends since the 1960s for 12 countries from the region. Generally, life disparity was high and fluctuated strongly over the period. For nearly 30 of these years, life expectancy and life disparity varied independently of each other, largely because mortality trends ran in opposite directions over different ages. Furthermore, we quantified the impact of large classes of diseases on life disparity trends since 1994 using a newly harmonized cause-of-death time series for eight countries in the region. Mortality patterns in CEE countries were heterogeneous and ran counter to the common patterns observed in most developed countries. They contribute to the discussion about life expectancy disparity by showing that expansion/compression levels do not necessarily mean lower/higher life expectancy or mortality deterioration/improvements.     

江苏省打工妹的婚育现状和婚恋观

根据典型调查和实地问卷调查资料 ,本文重点分析了无锡打工妹的基本构成、婚姻生育现状和婚姻恋爱观念。分析表明 ,打工妹对待离婚持谨慎的态度 ,对于婚外恋持宽容的态度 ,并认为婚前性行为和未婚同居不可接受     

The Quality of Korean Life in Camparative Perspective: Objective Quality of Life in Korea and the OECD Countries

Social Indicators Research - This study attempts to compare the current state of Korea's quality of life with that of more developed countries in their past, and seeks to derive suggestions for...     

中国1998年健康长寿调查及高龄老人生活自理期望寿命

在有关领导部门的指导及各地老龄工作部门同志们的大力协助和参与下,北京大学人口研究所与中国老龄科研中心于1998年在全国22个省、自治区、直辖市组织开展了高龄老人健康长寿调查.本文概述这一调查的意义,样本计方案及数据质量评估,并根据这次调查搜集到的数据资料,首次对中国高龄老人先后自理期望寿命进行估算、分析与讨论.     

Heterogeneity in Trajectories of Life Satisfaction After Reunification: The Role of Individual Resources and Life Stage in Former East Germany

Social Indicators Research - For people living in the former East Germany, reunification with the former West Germany fundamentally transformed the sociopolitical system and most domains of...     

Marital Status and Reproductive Performance in Kipsigis Women: Re-evaluating the Polygyny-Fertility Hypothesis

The effects of marital status on fertility and offspring survivorship are examined with data on six marriage cohorts of Kipsigis women, agro-pastoralists of south western Kenya. Neither marriage order, nor the average number of co-wives married to a man during a woman's reproductive years, is associated with completed family size, nor with any of the components of reproductive performance. The mechanisms whereby polygyny might potentially lower the reproductive performance of polygynously married women in the Kipsigis and other populations are discussed in some detail, with particular reference to resource shortages, sexual and economic favouritism, the observance of post partum taboos, disease, husband's age, co-wife co-operation, education, sterility, and age at menarche and marriage.     

The Association Between Individual Income and Remaining Life Expectancy at the Age of 65 in the Netherlands

This article quantifies the association between individual income and remaining life expectancy at the statutory retirement age (65) in the Netherlands. For this purpose, we estimate a mortality risk model using a large administrative data set that covers the 1996–2007 period. Besides age and marital status, the model includes as covariates individual and spouse’s income as well as a random individual specific effect. It thus allows for dynamic selection based on both observed and unobserved characteristics. We find that conditional on marital status, individual income is about equally strong and negatively associated with mortality risk for men and women and that spouse’s income is only weakly associated with mortality risk for women. For both men and women, we quantify remaining life expectancy at age 65 for low-income individuals as approximately 2.5 years less than that for high-income individuals.     

Exploring Differences in Financial Literacy Across Countries: The Role of Individual Characteristics and Institutions

We explore microdata from the OECD/INFE survey on financial literacy of adult individuals. We find considerable differences in financial literacy across countries and decompose them into a part explainable by varying individual characteristics and a remainder. We show that individual characteristics matter with regard to differences in average financial literacy, but do not fully explain the gaps. We decompose financial literacy across its distribution and directly relate it to different policies. We then correlate the unexplained differences to institutional macroeconomic variables. We find strong correlations between unexplained differences and life expectancy, social contributions rate, PISA math scores, and internet usage, suggesting room for harmonization of environments across countries to close the financial literacy gap.

     

机遇与成本：大都市青年女性的就业、教育、婚姻状况变迁研究

根据1982—2005年间的历次人口调查资料,论文描述了25—29岁女性年龄组的就业、职业、教育与婚姻状况,指出急速的社会发展,女性教育水平的提高给大都市女性提供了不少发展机会,女性的职业结构优化。与此同时,女性也付出了一些成本,如婚姻的推迟和退出劳动力市场成为专职主妇。