Early-life conditions and adult mortality decline in Dutch cohorts born 1812–1921

Mounting evidence suggests that early-life conditions have an enduring effect on an individual’s mortality risks as an adult. The contribution of improvements in early-life conditions to the overall decline in adult mortality, however, remains a debated issue. We provide an estimate of the contribution of improvements in early-life conditions to mortality decline after age 30 in Dutch cohorts born between 1812 and 1921. We used two proxies for early-life conditions: median height and early-childhood mortality. We estimate that improvements in early-life conditions contributed more than five years or about a third to the rise in women’s life expectancy at age 30. Improvements in early-life conditions contributed almost three years or more than a quarter to the rise in men’s life expectancy at age 30. Height appears to be the more important of the two proxies for early-life conditions.     

Analytical problems in the measurement of the quality of life

The absence of an explicit theoretical framework seems to have led to a number of objectionable features — empirical as well as conceptual — in previous attempts to construct and apply QOL measures. This paper presents a theoretical framework for QOL measurement based on individual utility maximization. Without severe restrictions on the form of the utility function, however, this framework does not lead to meaningful average or aggregate QOL measures. Furthermore, our empirical analysis indicates that attempts to use currently available QOL measures — despite their conceptual inadequacy — in the analysis of migration have been ill conceived.     

Analysis on Factors Affecting Decision-making of Migrant Population in Large Cities of China

In this paper, based on survey data of four cities,migrant population in 2008, we use multi-level Logit model to analyze the factors of individual and areas of destination which have impact on migration behavior of migrant population in large cities.We find that there are large changes in the behavior of migrants:Firstly,the rise in the proportion of migrant citizens has led to the effects of gender, marital status and household type and other factors on the probability of migration are not significant,and the migration is appearing to base on the family unit;Secondly,due to the discrimination against migrants in employment and wage income, and the upgrade of industrial structure,the attractiveness of the increasing jobs to the migrant population has declined, and migrants,expected income is detaching from the income level of urban residents;Thirdly,the growth of urban ladors,average wage has extrusion effect on the employment of the migrant labors in the informal sector, which reduces the probability of potential migrant population.     

Assessing Quality in Higher Education: Some Caveats

The technology of cognitive and non-cognitive skills formation is characterized by the cumulative nature of learning processes and by the presence of significant complementarities and irreversibilities in the acquisition of such skills. From this it follows that, in order to evaluate the quality of individual phases of skills formation, it is necessary to take account of the quality of the human capital entering the training process. It is evident that this aspect is more important, the more advanced the level of education. This paper evaluates the effects of the quality of Italian matriculants at 24 engineering faculties measured with the results of a standardized test on the regularity of university studies. The preliminary results confirm that failing to take account of the incoming quality of students may give rise to significant distortions in the evaluation of the academic productivity of universities. Meritocratic criteria in the allocation of public funds among schools and universities which do not take account of these considerations, in the absence of effective means to support the right to study (especially in the form of grants) would exacerbate the polarization of the educational systems and penalize the less mobile and more talented students. The same outcome can be generated by a misuse of university rankings based on unadjusted performance measures.     

“逆向选择”下的个人人力资本投资

在中国高等教育实行收费制、高校毕业生就业率下降的条件下 ,为什么居民的高等教育投资需求还是这么强劲 ?本文用一个“逆向选择”下人力资本投资的博弈假说解释了上述现象。本文的基本结论是 ,在劳动力岗位实行竞争性配置、教育筛选机制不规范的前提下 ,人力资本的创造性替代导致了低能者的防御性反应 ,从而出现人力资本市场的“逆向选择” ;而“逆向选择”又进一步导致文凭的过度投资     

Coastal settlement patterns and exposure to sea-level rise in the Jaffna Peninsula,Sri Lanka

The Jaffna Peninsula in Sri Lanka has a generally flat topography with a median elevation of 2.72 m, and thus faces a high risk from sea-level rise that has the potential to have adverse impacts on the livelihoods of coastal communities. Understanding these risks and identifying the regions that could be adversely impacted is critical for planning future settlements and developing preventative protocols where possible. The aim of this study was to analyze the exposure of coastal settlements of the Jaffna Peninsula to climate risks, particularly to sea-level rise, and to identify the areas that are likely to be impacted under different sea-level rise scenarios. Raster-based sea-level rise modeling was performed with a digital elevation model produced with topographic contours and spot heights. The spatial distribution of individual residential houses for the entire Jaffna Peninsula was obtained through manual digitization using virtual globe platforms and high-resolution satellite images, and the houses exposed to inundation under various Representative Concentration Pathways from 2025 to 2100 were identified. The results showed that a majority (55.5%) of the residential buildings in the Jaffna Peninsula are located within 3 m above sea level. Approximately 5554 (5.6%) of the houses were projected to be inundated by 2100, and this projection increased to approximately 25,074 (25.4%) under high tide scenarios. This study highlights the coastal communities with a high level of exposure to coastal inundation where adaptation planning is essential. These results provide insights for coastal managers and policy makers for future planning of new settlements and urban expansion.

     

Is Low Fertility a Temporary Phenomenon in the European Union?

This article addresses two questions: (i) will the mere end of further postponement of fertility in the EU-countries lead to an appreciable rise in European fertility and bring total fertility rates closer to replacement level, as witnessed in the United States? and (ii) what are the chances that such a stop to postponement is imminent? The answer to the first question is positive, but only if there is enough recuperation of fertility at older ages. Translated in the Bongaarts–Feeney framework, this condition means that the birth-order-specific TFRs would indeed remain constant. In the absence of full recuperation at older ages, the induced rise in the national TFRs would be trivial and by no means restore period and cohort TFRs to replacement levels. Hence, caution is needed when using the Bongaarts–Feeney adjusted TFRs for pro-jective purposes. With respect to the second question, female education and employment trends in tandem with ideational and family disruption data are used to speculate about the prospects for such an end to further fertility postponement and for fertility increases at older ages. Strikingly, EU-countries that have the greatest potential for still later fertility are also the ones with very low TFRs (below 1.5) at present. The overall conclusion is that low to very low fertility in the EU is unlikely to be a temporary phenomenon     

Before and After “I Do”: Marriage Processes for Mid-Life Gay and Lesbian Married Couples

ABSTRACT

This qualitative study examines how mid-life gay and lesbian married individuals articulate their decision to marry. Using 2013 data from 30 mid-life couples in Massachusetts, this study challenges previous literature that conceptualized marriage as entirely positive or negative for same-sex individuals. Mid-life individuals’ unique social and historical context influence their experiences of marriage, as mid-life individuals have witnessed the rise and feasibility of marriage equality, have formed relationships outside of the bounds of marriage, and have been in committed relationships long before they married. Using the framework of ambivalence, our findings provide three main contributions to the literature. First, we show that marital ambivalence is a common experience in our sample. Second, we detail how marital ambivalence is indicative of the age, life-course stage, and length of relationship for mid-life lesbian and gay individuals. Third, we explore ambivalence at the level of the relationship, not just as an individual experience. This study provides new insight into how sexuality shapes both intimate relationship dynamics as well as the effect of same-sex marriage on LGBT communities and identities.     

HIV and fertility in Africa: first evidence from population-based surveys

The historical pattern of the demographic transition suggests that fertility declines follow mortality declines, followed by a rise in human capital accumulation and economic growth. The HIV/AIDS epidemic threatens to reverse this path. We utilize recent rounds of the demographic and health surveys that link an individual woman’s fertility outcomes to her HIV status based on testing. The data allow us to distinguish the effect of own positive HIV status on fertility (which may be due to lower fecundity and other physiological reasons) from the behavioral response to higher mortality risk, as measured by the local community HIV prevalence. We show that although HIV-infected women have significantly lower fertility, local community HIV prevalence has no significant effect on noninfected women’s fertility.     

The Role of Ethnicity in Father Absence and Children’s School Enrollment in Guatemala

Despite the historical prevalence of single motherhood in Latin America and its rise in recent years, there is limited knowledge on the magnitude and consequences of father absence as experienced by children. Using a nationally representative sample from the 2002 Guatemalan Reproductive Health Survey, this study provides unprecedented documentation on the national prevalence of children’s separate living arrangements from their biological fathers and nonresident fathers’ paternity establishment and child support payments. Using random-intercept models, this study further demonstrates that father absence has a negative effect on the school enrollment of indigenous children of both sexes and Ladino male children. Increased poverty in father-absent households explains a smaller proportion of this adverse effect on indigenous children, suggesting that their fathers, when present, play a stronger social, rather than economic, role compared to their Ladino counterparts. Finally, child support payments attenuate the negative effects of father absence, particularly among Ladino male children.     

家庭子女养老与个人养老“互补替代”效应：理论与实证

依据生命周期均衡收入分配原理,构建家庭子女养老和个人养老收入分配适度水平及其"互补替代"数理模型,从理论和实证角度研究家庭子女养老和个人养老经济结构优化。研究发现:(1)家庭子女养老和个人养老收入分配存在"替代"关系,而在退休年龄延长的条件下,二者存在"互补"关系;(2)家庭子女养老和个人养老替代的均衡点是家庭有2个子女,随着子女数量的增加,家庭子女养老与个人养老边际替代率递减;(3)伴随老年人寿命的延长,家庭子女养老收入再分配系数下降,个人养老收入分配系数上升且上升幅度大于前者下降幅度;(4)家庭子女养老与个人养老之间的"互补替代"效应呈现为"倒V形"曲线,且其替代的均衡点与总和生育率2.1的更替水平存在契合效应。     

Endogenous age discrimination

This paper shows that hiring discrimination against old workers occurs in imperfect labour markets even if individual productivity does not decrease with age and in the absence of a taste for discrimination. Search and informational frictions generate unemployment, with less productive workers facing higher risks of unemployment. Therefore, the employment status provides a signal for expected productivity. This stigma of unemployment becomes stronger with individual age and reduces the hiring opportunities of older workers. Political measures such as a reduction in dismissal protection can help to restore efficiency.     

Understanding the demographic implications of climate change: estimates of localized population predictions under future scenarios of sea-level rise

Significant advances have been made to understand the interrelationship between humans and the environment in recent years, yet research has not produced useful localized estimates that link population forecasts to environmental change. Coarse, static population estimates that have little information on projected growth or spatial variability mask substantial impacts of environmental change on especially vulnerable populations. We estimate that 20 million people in the United States will be affected by sea-level rise by 2030 in selected regions that represent a range of sociodemographic characteristics and corresponding risks of vulnerability. Our results show that the impact of sea-level rise extends beyond the directly impacted counties due to migration networks that link inland and coastal areas and their populations. Substantial rates of population growth and migration are serious considerations for developing mitigation, adaptation, and planning strategies, and for future research on the social, demographic, and political dimensions of climate change.     

A study of the correlation bias of unrecorded events by two independent enumeration systems

Summary In this paper the allegation that, when using the Chandrasekar-Deming technique with two independent enumeration systems to record the incidence of vital events and migrations, each individual system misses the same type of event is investigated. If this correlation bias were to occur frequently enough, it could result in a serious underestimation of a given type of event. Using vital events and migrations data derived from a longitudinal survey conducted in Liberia between 1969 and 1973, the estimated number of recorded events is tabulated into homogeneous groups that are demonstrated to affect omission rates. The proportion of missed eyents is computed separately for each enumeration system, and the presence or absence of a significant correlation mathematically determined. The results of this study suggest that no significant correlation could be demonstrated in the type of birth, death or infant death that was commonly missed by each individual enumeration system. This indicates that the omission of a birth, death or infant death was apparently a random occurrence as far as the individual casefinding systems were concerned. The authors conclude that any underestimation of vital events from this type of correlation bias may not be as serious as originally imagined. In contrast to this observation, the omission of particular types of migrations by each enumeration system was apparently not a random occurrence, but was associated with the direction of migration. This implies that selected migration rates in the liberian survey were probably understated and this could happen in other longitudinal surveys, unless specific precautions are taken to avoid it.     

Introducing the female condom to drug users in Brazil

Brazil is currently the number two country in the world for reported cases of AIDS, and the rate of heterosexually acquired cases is on the rise. Moreover, because of the changing focus of the epidemic, the ratio of male to female cases dropped from 28 : 1 in 1984 to 2.7 : 1 in 1997. While women's risk of infection continues to grow, there is evidence to suggest that traditional approaches to HIV risk reduction have not effectively addressed women's special needs. Within such a setting this study sought to introduce drug-involved women to the female condom – a female-controlled method of protection from HIV. As part of a larger HIV/AIDS intervention study targeting low-income, cocaine users, the primary aim of this initiative was to assess the level of acceptability of this new device among women at high-risk for HIV infection in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. In conjunction with individual pre-test HIV prevention counseling, clients participated in a detailed education/demonstration session with the female condom. Women were asked to try the female condom with their partners and to report their experiences at two points of contact. Outcome data indicate that a sizable proportion (71.1%) of the sexually active women used the female condom during vaginal sex on one or more occasions. In addition, many women continued to use the female condom as a method of risk reduction over the three-month follow-up period. These data suggest that the female condom can have an important role in HIV prevention efforts in Brazil.     

我国公共投资对就业影响的实证分析

本文运用向量自回归模型分析了中国的公共投资对就业总量和三次产业就业量的影响。经验分析表明增加公共投资能够带来就业增长,公共投资可调整就业结构。同时,公共投资对就业的影响存在2期滞后。而与非公共投资相比,公共投资在促进就业增长上的作用较小。     

A study of the correlation bias of unrecorded events by two independent enumeration systems

In this paper the allegation that, when using the Chandrasekar-Deming technique with two independent enumeration systems to record the incidence of vital events and migrations, each individual system misses the same type of event is investigated. If this correlation bias were to occur frequently enough, it could result in a serious underestimation of a given type of event. Using vital events and migrations data derived from a longitudinal survey conducted in Liberia between 1969 and 1973, the estimated number of recorded events is tabulated into homogeneous groups that are demonstrated to affect omission rates. The proportion of missed eyents is computed separately for each enumeration system, and the presence or absence of a significant correlation mathematically determined. The results of this study suggest that no significant correlation could be demonstrated in the type of birth, death or infant death that was commonly missed by each individual enumeration system. This indicates that the omission of a birth, death or infant death was apparently a random occurrence as far as the individual casefinding systems were concerned. The authors conclude that any underestimation of vital events from this type of correlation bias may not be as serious as originally imagined.

In contrast to this observation, the omission of particular types of migrations by each enumeration system was apparently not a random occurrence, but was associated with the direction of migration. This implies that selected migration rates in the liberian survey were probably understated and this could happen in other longitudinal surveys, unless specific precautions are taken to avoid it.     

A decomposition method based on a model of continuous change

A demographic measure is often expressed as a deterministic or stochastic function of multiple variables (covariates), and a general problem (the decomposition problem) is to assess contributions of individual covariates to a difference in the demographic measure (dependent variable) between two populations. We propose a method of decomposition analysis based on an assumption that covariates change continuously along an actual or hypothetical dimension. This assumption leads to a general model that logically justifies the additivity of covariate effects and the elimination of interaction terms, even if the dependent variable itself is a nonadditive function. A comparison with earlier methods illustrates other practical advantages of the method: in addition to an absence of residuals or interaction terms, the method can easily handle a large number of covariates and does not require a logically meaningful ordering of covariates. Two empirical examples show that the method can be applied flexibly to a wide variety of decomposition problems. This study also suggests that when data are available at multiple time points over a long interval, it is more accurate to compute an aggregated decomposition based on multiple subintervals than to compute a single decomposition for the entire study period.     

性别失衡对房价的影响 ——来自中国城市的证据

随着中国城市房屋价格持续快速上涨,其背后的深层次原因受到了全社会的广泛关注,现有关于其政策、制度以及经济属性的分析并不能对此做出完全解释。在传统房地产经济学中,住房一直被看作资产和消费品。而本文则从住房作为地位性商品属性的角度入手,讨论性别失衡条件下适婚男性通过购买住房以寻求自身社会地位的提高,进而对房价产生影响的过程与原理。文章在城市性别失衡数据缺失的情况下,依据全国人口普查结果对城市层面的适婚人口性别比做出科学的推算,将该数据与已有统计数据相匹配构建2000-2016年中国285个地级市的面板数据,再利用固定效应模型进行实证分析。研究结果显示,首先,基于地位寻求理论,性别比上升明确增强了住房需求并使之转化为中国实际房价上涨的动因之一。其次,性别失衡对房价的影响存在显著的地区性差异,在婚配市场竞争激烈、住房作为地位性商品特征更为明显的东部地区,性别失衡对抬高房价的影响更为强烈,而在西部地区,这一影响则相对较弱。此外,性别比失衡对房价的影响具有明确的门槛效应,随着房价收入比的提高,性别失衡对房价的影响会逐渐加大;同时,当房价超出绝大部分家庭的支付能力后,住房的地位性商品属性会进一步加强,这将导致房价的持续上涨。     

Sex selection and fertility in a dynamic model of conception and abortion

This paper investigates the effect of prenatal sex selection on fertility through a stochastic dynamic model with uncertainty in conception as well as in gender, where a woman makes decisions on conception and abortion with or without gender detection tests (i.e. sex-selective or sex-unselective abortion). The paper shows that, when the cost of gender detection test falls, the sex ratio at birth rises due to more selective abortions, but fertility can rise or fall with rising sex ratio. Fertility may rise (fall) if there are more (less) women giving up unselective abortions for selective abortions than women giving up childbirths without test for selective abortions. Similarly the paper shows that the sex ratio can rise or fall, when fertility decreases as the cost of children increases. I test these propositions as well as their implications against micro survey data on the pregnancy history of Korean women.Responsible editor: Junsen Zhang.