The Value of a Statistical Life in Transport: Findings from a New Contingent Valuation Study in Sweden

This article presents the results of a contingent valuation study from Sweden aimed at estimating the value of a statistical life (VOSL) in road traffic safety. Data on respondents' own subjective risk was collected by use of visual aids presented in a mail questionnaire. The relationship between willingness-to-pay (WTP) and absolute risk reduction was estimated by using a non-linear, least absolute deviation estimation method. This study generated an income-adjusted VOSL of SEK22.3 million (US$2.6 million). Analysis of WTP's sensitivity to probability variation indicates that in future studies, valuing risk reductions in road traffic, the magnitude of absolute risk and relative risk reductions to consider should be in perceptible range. On addition it should also be possible for respondents to compare the magnitudes of different risk reductions.     

A Note on Immigrant Representation in Temporary Agency Work and Self‐employment in Sweden

Abstract. This is a note on the immigrant representation in two forms of atypical employment in Sweden: self‐employment and temporary agency work. The employment rate among non‐western immigrants is substantially lower than among natives and using register data for the population in Sweden who were employed in 1999, we find that immigrants are over‐represented in both these forms of atypical employment. Immigrants from Asia are over‐represented in both forms of employment, whereas immigrants from South America are over‐represented among temporary agency workers but underrepresented among the self‐employed. These findings can be interpreted as an indication of that temporary agency work and self‐employment are used as alternatives to regular employment by groups in which unemployment is high.     

Return to work still possible after several years as a disability pensioner due to musculoskeletal disorders: a population-based study after new legislation in Sweden permitting "resting disability pension"

Different strategies have been used to stimulate a return to work (RTW) among individuals suffering from long-term ailments. In Sweden a new law on "resting disability pension" permits disability pensioners to go back to work without jeopardising their benefits. In this study different variables related to RTW during 2000 by means of this legislation were identified among disability pensioners with musculoskeletal disorders. Individuals in the study group, when compared to a control group, had more often been disability pensioners for several years, had additional education, estimated their previous job to have been physically strenuous to a lesser degree, were more satisfied with the treatment at the social insurance office and had a more positive self-image. This study shows that it may be meaningful to continue/resume rehabilitation efforts and to try to motivate an individual suffering from musculoskeletal disorders to return to work even after several years as a disability pensioner.     

Childbearing Trends in Sweden 1961--1997

The purpose of this paper is to update a system of annual indices of birth rates and to display trends in childbearing for Swedish women over the years since 1961. Our indices are produced by applying indirect standardization to register data. They enable us to decompose the overall fertility trends, as measured by the period TFR, into its birth-order specific components. Swedish fertility has shown strong fluctuations during our study period and these fluctuations have been particularly dramatic during recent years. A postponement of the age at first birth and a sudden shift to shorter birth intervals are important components in the fertility trends. A peak in the level of childbearing at the beginning of the present decade has now been followed by a sharp drop in the propensity to give birth. This change in behaviour pertains to women of all parities.     

Childbearing after Migration: Fertility Patterns of Foreign‐born Women in Sweden1

The present study provides an investigation of patterns in childbearing among foreign‐born women in Sweden from the 1960s to the 1990s. Event‐history techniques are applied to longitudinal population register data on childbearing and migration of 446,000 foreign‐born women who had ever lived in Sweden before the end of 1999. Period trends in parity‐specific fertility appear to be quite similar for Swedish‐ and foreignborn women, but important differences exist in levels of childbearing propensities between women from different countries of origin. Most immigrant groups tend to display higher levels of childbearing shortly after immigration. We conclude that migration and family building in many cases are interrelated processes and that it is always important to account for time since migration when fertility of immigrants is studied.     

The Impact of Labour-Force Participation on Childbearing Behaviour: Pro-Cyclical Fertility in Sweden during the 1980s and the 1990s

During the last two decades, Sweden has experienced strong fluctuations both in its economy and in its level of childbearing. A period of high employment and increasing fertility has been followed by a period of lower employment and decreasing fertility since the beginning of the 1990s. In this paper, we use register data for Swedish women in order to examine how various types of attachment to the labour market affect women's propensity to give birth at different parities. Specifically, we show what impact changes in women's employment status have had on recorded fertility trends in Sweden. We find that women who have relatively low levels of income and women who are enrolled as students generally have lower fertility than other women. We also find that a rise in the number of women with such characteristics can explain part of the decrease in fertility during the 1990s. It is evident, however, that other factors, working at the macro level, also have to be considered when one wants to explain the fluctuating fertility of Sweden. Social policy is one such factor. In sum, we find a pattern of pro-cyclical fertility, where levels of female earnings are positively related to levels of childbearing.     

Genetic and environmental effects on sexual excitation and sexual inhibition in men

The Sexual Inhibition and Sexual Excitation Scales (SIS/SES) measure the propensity for sexual inhibition and excitation in men. According to the theoretical model underlying the SIS/SES, sexual response and associated behavior depend on dual control mechanisms in the brain involving the balance of excitatory and inhibitory systems which impinge on sexual response. Previous research with the SIS/SES has indicated one higher-order excitatory factor and two higher-order inhibitory factors affecting sexual response. The present study analyzed the item structure and the psychometric properties of the instrument in a population based sample of Finnish male twins (N = 1,289), and, including 37 out of 45 items of the original scales, estimated the heritability of and the environmental influences on the excitatory and inhibitory mechanisms. The twin correlations and the structural equation modeling suggested modest heritability for both inhibitory mechanisms. Sexual excitation, in contrast, was not influenced by genetic effects and similarities between twins for this mechanism seemed to be caused by the common environment of the twins.     

The Exigent Study of Nonprofit Organizational Evolution: Illuminating Methodological Challenges and Pathways Using a Nonprofit Entrepreneurship Lens

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - The study of how nonprofits evolve is fundamental to gaining an appreciation of dynamic nonprofit organizational life, and...     

VOLUNTAS Virtual Issue: Social Enterprise

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations -