Nominal comparability is not enough: (In-)equivalence of construct validity of cross-national measures of educational attainment in the European Social Survey

Educational attainment is a core social background variable covered in each and every survey of individuals. Since educational institutions and qualifications are difficult to compare across countries, cross-national surveys pose a particular challenge to the measurement of educational attainment. This study performs a comparative construct validation of a number of cross-national measures of education using the European Social Survey. The measures comprise two versions of the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED), the education scheme developed in the project ‘Comparative Analysis of Social Mobility in Industrial Nations’ (CASMIN) and hypothetical as well as actual years of education. The first ISCED measure corresponds to the well-known main ISCED levels. The second one, the European Survey Version of ISCED (ES-ISCED) developed for this study, represents an effort to reflect different types of education within levels of education by considering ISCED sub-dimensions, most importantly ‘programme orientation’. Using linear regression models, it is shown how much explanatory power educational attainment loses when different cross-national variables are used, as compared to country-specific educational attainment variables (CSEVs), and how these losses vary across measures and countries. The dependent variable used for the construct validation is social status as measured by the International Socio-Economic Index (ISEI). Results suggest that harmonisation always entails some loss of explanatory power for at least a few countries. However, there are clear performance differences between the comparable measures in terms of both the average amount of losses as well as the distribution of losses across countries. The use of actual years of education as well as the levels-only ISCED strongly attenuates the education-social status association on average, but also to very different degrees across countries. CASMIN and ES-ISCED fare considerably better: they show the lowest losses of explanatory power and the lowest variation of losses across countries. Hypothetical years of education lie in between. Some practical implications are then proposed, e.g. on how to implement cross-national measures of educational attainment in international surveys.     

Heterogeneity in the intergenerational transmission of educational attainment: evidence from Switzerland on natives and second-generation immigrants

This study applies rich data from the 2000 Swiss census to investigate the patterns of intergenerational education transmission for natives and second-generation immigrants. The level of secondary schooling attained by youth aged 17 is related to their parents’ educational outcomes based on data on the entire Swiss population. Extending economic theories of child educational attainment, we derive hypotheses regarding the patterns of intergenerational education transmission. The data yield substantial heterogeneity in intergenerational transmission across population groups. Only a small share of this heterogeneity is explained by the predictions of economic theory.

Sibship size and educational attainment. A joint test of the Confluence Model and the Resource Dilution Hypothesis

Studies on family background often explain the negative effect of sibship size on educational attainment by one of two theories: the Confluence Model (CM) or the Resource Dilution Hypothesis (RDH). However, as both theories - for substantively different reasons - predict that sibship size should have a negative effect on educational attainment most studies cannot distinguish empirically between the CM and the RDH. In this paper, I use the different theoretical predictions in the CM and RDH on the role of cognitive ability as a partial or complete mediator of the effect of sibship size to distinguish the two theories and to identify a unique RDH effect on educational attainment. Using sibling data from the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study (WLS) and a random effect Instrumental Variable model I find that, in addition to a negative effect on cognitive ability, sibship size also has a strong negative effect on educational attainment which is uniquely explained by the RDH.     

论畲族婚育文化的特点、成因及借鉴

本文揭示了生活于浙江省丽水地区畲族文化的特点 ,如男女平等、婚嫁方式实用灵活、生育性别偏好较弱、早婚现象严重等。文章继而从畲族文化的历史渊源、生存环境、妇女在生产劳动中的地位等方面进行了剖析 ,指出应吸取其精华 ,为构建塑造各民族新婚育文化而努力     

Apostles and Zionists: The influence of religion on demographic change in rural Zimbabwe

Religion has acted as a brake on demographic transition in a number of historical and contemporary populations. In a study in two rural areas of Zimbabwe, we found substantial differences in recent demographic trends between Mission and Independent or `Spirit-type' churches. Birth rates are higher in some Spirit-type churches and, until recently, infant mortality was also higher. Recent increases in mortality were seen within Mission churches but not in Spirit-type churches. Missiological and ethnographic data indicate that differences in religious teaching on healthcare-seeking and sexual behaviour and differences in church regulation could explain this contrast in demographic patterns. More restrictive norms on alcohol consumption and extra-marital relationships in Spirit-type churches may limit the spread of HIV and thereby reduce its impact on mortality. These contrasting trends will influence the future religious and demographic profile of rural populations in Zimbabwe.     

The development of social statistics and indicators on the status of women

In developing social statistics and indicators on the status of women, three requirements must be satisfied. First, existing measures of prevalent demographic, socio-economic, and socio-cultural conditions must be more fully utilized. Second, some improvements in these measures, together with certain new measures and data sets are needed. Finally, agreed standards of comparison for gauging the relative status of women must be established. In each of the above subject-areas, some widely available statistics and derived measures are examined with respect to their adequacy for describing women's living conditions and assessing their status. Proposals are then offered for additional measures and new data collection efforts designed to reduce the deficiencies or gaps in existing data and provide a sounder basis for assessing the status of women in different societies.     

人力资本对我国区域经济发展影响之实证研究

本文分析了我国的人口素质存量现状、各省时人力资源的利用效率以及净迁移率、人口年龄结构和人力资本等与人均GDP的关系。使用了横截面回归和1990年、2000年两次人口普查面板数据分析相结合的方法．研究发现：其一,人力资本教育投资发挥着重要效应,平均受教育年限对提高人均GDP有明显的促进作用。同时8年平均受教育年限是个基本分界点：其二,区域间存在较大的人力资本利用效率的差异,有10个省市人力资本利用效率较高．其中90％集中在东部地带。其三。人口迁移对人均GDP即经济效率的提高有显著性影响。文章呼吁重视9年义务教育、鼓励人口自由迁移和充分把握我国的人口机会窗口期。     

Birth order matters: the effect of family size and birth order on educational attainment

Using the British Household Panel Survey, we investigate if family size and birth order affect children’s subsequent educational attainment. Theory suggests a trade-off between child quantity and “quality” and that siblings are unlikely to receive equal shares of parental resources devoted to children’s education. We construct a new birth order index that effectively purges family size from birth order and use this to test if siblings are assigned equal shares in the family’s educational resources. We find that the shares are decreasing with birth order. Ceteris paribus, children from larger families have less education, and the family size effect does not vanish when we control for birth order. These findings are robust to numerous specification checks.

教育与医疗保险对老年人健康状况的影响

使用2006年CHNS数据,分析了老年人健康的影响因素,使用了工具变量法解决了教育年限和是否参加医疗保险两个变量的内生性问题,回归结果显示,教育和医疗保险并不会负作用于老年人健康,这否认了描述分析、初步回归得出的教育和医疗保险显著负作用于老年人健康的结论。在总结分析结果的基础上,论述了研究不足,对一些问题进行了解释,并针对研究结论提出了若干思考。     

Selections and social selectivity on the academic track: A life-course analysis of educational attainment in Germany

Graduating from university is just the final step of an extended educational career. Sociological transition research has revealed that final educational attainment must be understood as the result of a sequence of successive decisions. With regard to graduation from university, one has to take into account that upper secondary school qualifications are required for enrolling in the first place, and in Germany, the decision for this kind of schooling is at a much earlier age. So where on the long way to the university degree does Germany ‘lose’ its potential academics and in particular its lower class children?     

日本改善生态环境和实施可持续发展战略的经验启示

日本随着改善生态环境和可持续发展战略的实施,其环境保护职能在以环境省为主体的环保组织体系的成功运作下,取得了良好的成效,获得了许多先进经验。本文在此基础上针对我国现实,对我国实行生态环境保护和实施可持续发展的可能性、必要性及初步的操作设想作了探讨。     

城镇家庭住房困难影响因素研究——基于广东省调查数据的发现

利用2010年广东家庭追踪调查城镇部分数据,研究转型期城镇家庭住房困难状况,结果发现：城镇家庭收入与住房困难成“倒U”关系,其他因素如家庭规模、户籍分割及高房价背景均与住房困难存在明显关系,但住户特征与住房困难的关系较弱。显然,理解转型期城市住房困难现象不能仅从市场的收入逻辑进行解释,住房市场嵌入在各种制度因素之中,旧的分配制度与新的市场因素均会左右城镇家庭的住房状况,住房困难是家庭特征、市场环境及国家力量共同作用的结果。     

The influence and meaning of the birth environment for nulliparous women at a hospital-based labour ward in Sweden: An ethnographic study

BackgroundLabour and birth are sensitive physiological processes substantially influenced by environmental and psychosocial factors.AimTo explore the influence and meaning of the birth environment for nulliparous women giving birth in either one of two differently designed birthing rooms at a hospital-based labour ward.MethodsFive months of ethnographic fieldwork was conducted at a labour ward in Sweden, consisting of participant observations of 16 nulliparous women giving birth in either a ‘Regular’ birthing room (n = 8) or a specially designed, ‘New room’ (n = 8). Data included field notes, informal interviews, reflective notes, and individual interviews with eight women after birth. The data was analysed through an ethnographic iterative hermeneutic analysis process.FindingsThe analysis identified the birth environment as consisting of the physical space, the human interaction within it, and the institutional context. The analytic concept; Birth Manual was conceived as an instrument for managing labour in accordance with institutional authority. Significant to the interpretation of the influence and meaning of the birth environment were two abstract rooms: an Institutional room, where birth was approached as a critical event, designating birthing women as passive; and a Personal room, where birth was approached as a physiological event in which women’s agency was facilitated.ConclusionInstitutional authority permeated the atmosphere within the birth environment, irrespective of the design of the room. A power imbalance between institutional demands and birthing women’s needs was identified, emphasising the vital role the birth philosophy plays in creating safe birth environments that increase women’s sense of agency.     

远迁移民的人际互动与其返迁意愿的相关研究

工程性移民是一种非自愿性移民 ,它的可持续安置和发展一直是衡量移民工作成功与否的重要指标。本文从移民与安置区原有居民互动的角度 ,对丹江口水库远迁移民的返迁原因进行研究 ,并提出了一些合理化的建议     

论消费--环境研究与人口--环境研究的融合

消费—环境研究和人口—环境研究从不同的角度对人类环境问题进行探讨,并给我们研究和解决环境问题提供了很多启发。但是由于二者研究的背景不同,其研究框架和研究成果均缺乏整体性和全面性。本文在考察消费—环境研究和人口—环境研究各自优势及其缺陷的基础上,梳理出二者融合的衔接点,提出把二者融合起来的理论框架及其研究重点,并找出其中具有杠杆意义的支点———消费模式转变。     

我国水环境问题与人口、社会、经济因素的相关分析

我国各地区普遍存在水环境问题 ,且地区间的水环境状况差异显著。水环境问题与人口、社会、经济等因素在地区分布上很不协调 :水量丰富地区 ,水污染、水浪费十分严重 ;缺水地区 ,经济相对落后 ;缺水程度低的地区 ,人口密度较高 ,使水资源存在巨大的潜在压力。在影响水环境的相关因素中 ,人口因素的作用十分突出 ,社会经济因素也具有重要影响。     

青海民族地区人口与经济协调发展的几点思考

人口与自然是否相适应,直接影响人口与经济环境的发展。人口与环境不协调发展已成为当前制约青海全面推进小康进程的瓶颈。只有制定出符合青海民族地区实际的计生政策,才可能有效地、整体地推动青海民族地区的经济发展。     

贵州省环境人口容量现状及提高路径分析

本文使用“P—E—R”环境人口容量模型,利用1952-2002年的相关统计数据,从经济承载力和资源承载力两个角度,对贵州省环境的经济人口容量和资源人口容量进行了动态分析和综合描述。从可持续发展角度出发,针对贵州省环境人口容量的现状和问题,提出了提高环境人口容量的对策。     

The effects of female employment status on the presence and number of children

The main concern of this paper is to analyze the effects of female employment status on the presence and number of children in households in the Netherlands. For this purpose a hurdle count data model is formulated and estimated by the generalized method of moments. The hurdle takes explicitly into account the interrelationship between female employment status and timing of first birth. The number of children, once children are present in the household, is modeled conditional on female employment status. The empirical results show that female employment status is a major determinant of the presence and number of children in households: employed women schedule children later in life and have fewer children compared to nonemployed women, holding educational attainment constant. After controlling for female employment status, the educational attainment of both the woman and the man in the households are found to have relatively small effects on the presence and number of children. Received: 3 November 1998/Accepted: 22 September 1999     

西部大开发要注重无形资源开发和软件建设

西部大开发,要注重无形资源(人力资源、技术资源等)的开发和软件建设,把增加人民收入,扩大消费放到全局战略的角度来考虑.