Changes in an intellectual elite 1960–1990: The Royal Society revisited

This paper has attempted a partial replication of Porter's study of an anglophone intellectual elite, i.e. Section II of the Royal Society. It has found continuing, albeit reduced, institutional domination by the University of Toronto, along with a notable decline in the role of Oxford. It has also found that foreign influence has increased with possible negative implications for the mobility opportunities of Canadians born in Canada¹⁰ and for the elite's performance of its social role of articulating and advancing the interests of Canadian society. While the domination of those of British ancestry has declined, the elite remains unrepresentative in terms of many of its ascribed social characteristics. In particular, a seemingly low representation of females, Jewish people, and Canadians born in Canada is evident. While Canadian intellectuals are now much more critical of the status quo than they were when Porter wrote, the separation between anglophone and francophone intellectuals appears to be as great as ever. All this may help to explain a number of the weaknesses which characterize Canadian society.     

Becoming Poor: The Experiences of Elders1

Elderly Americans residing in nonmetropolitan (nonmetro) areas have higher poverty prevalence than their metropolitan (metro) counterparts. Data from both the response and nonresponse files of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (1988 wave) are analyzed to establish the extent to which this disadvantage also occurs in the length of poverty spells and the risk of becoming poor at older ages. Specifically, for individuals aged 55 and older Kaplan-Meier survival functions and multivariate discrete-time hazards models are estimated to document residential differences in the poverty risks of metro and nonmetro men and women. Nonpoor nonmetro elders are much more likely to become poor than metro elders. These results hold when controlling for race, education, marital status, age, change in work effort, becoming widowed, and types of income received.