A case study of the labour market status of recent mainland Chinese immigrants,metropolitan Toronto

"This article focuses on an analysis of the labour market status of recent MCIs [mainland Chinese immigrants to Canada], taking into account such factors as gender, educational attainment, language proficiency and period of arrival (or length of residence in Canada), and uses Metropolitan Toronto as a case study. The effect of each factor on MCIs' labour market status will be analysed separately, followed by two logit models examining the simultaneous effects of the factors and their relative importance." (SUMMARY IN FRE AND SPA)     

Sex preference versus number preference: the case of Korea

The author argues that the effect of sex preference must be disentangled from the effect of number preference in Korea. This study tests--with hazard models--the effect of the number of previous children on the next birth according to the sex composition of previous children. Data were obtained from the 1974 Korean Fertility Survey. This paper also analyzes the timing of childbearing in recent periods in order to determine whether replacement-level fertility is temporary or permanent. The ideal number of children declined from 3.9 children in 1965 to 2.1 in 1991. The age-specific fertility rates for ages 20-24 years declined rapidly during the late 1980s. The fertility rates among women aged 25-29 years and 30-34 years increased during 1985-90. The proportion of fertility among women aged 20-29 years increased from 67.9% in 1975 to 86.6% in 1984. Women born in the late baby boom period of the late 1950s to mid-1960s reached prime reproductive age during the late 1980s and 1990s, but the crude birth rate remained about the same during 1985-92. A higher percentage of women (22.4%) born during 1955-59 remained single in 1990. During 1960-90, the percentage of women aged 20-24 years who were married declined. These trends indicate later age at childbearing and an explanation for the temporary nature of below-replacement fertility in the late 1980s. Korean women did not want to have more than 2 children, and the interval between first and second births increased since 1985. Among pregnancies of parity 2 conceived since 1985, over 90% of women with at least one son ended subsequent pregnancies by abortion compared to only 59% without sons. Hazard models of 1974 data reveal that son preference had an important effect on fertility. Fertility was higher among women with only daughters. Findings suggest that the value of sons must be measured at the societal and not at the individual level.     

Marriage selection and age patterns of mortality: a mathematical investigation

"In this paper, we use simulation models to demonstrate the complexity of the relationship between the marriage selection process and the resulting RMRs [relative mortality ratios]. In particular, we show that marriage selection alone can produce a relative mortality ratio which remains large and relatively constant at ages far beyond the marriage span....Our general objective...is to determine the range of age patterns of relative mortality which could, in theory, result from marriage selection on the basis of health characteristics. We also evaluate the effects of variations in the marriage selection mechanisms on the resulting mortality patterns....We develop and apply several simple mathematical models of the marriage selection process. In order to distinguish the potential consequences of marriage selection from marriage protection, we consider hypothetical populations in which causal effects are absent....We begin by considering an extremely simple marriage selection process and subsequently explore a more realistic selection model based on recent death and marriage rates for Japan."     

Immigration and ethnic origin: the effect of demographic attributes on earnings of Israeli men and women

"The present article examines the separate effects of ethnicity and immigration on earnings by studying a sample of Israeli workers. The results indicate that immigrant status constitutes a major handicap in the Israeli labor market. Ethnicity, on the other hand, plays a minor role in the earnings determination process. The consequences of these results for labor market policies are discussed."     

Major obstacles to control of irregular migrations: prerequisites to policy

This paper examines 3 basic obstacles thwarting all attempts to reduce irregular migration. The 1st, rather well known and analyzed, underscores the dependency of all regulation of migratory flows on the system of economic and political relations between developed and developing countries. The 2nd obstacle resides in the persistance and growth of subsequent dependent irregular migration. This obstacle also reveals the relative autonomy of population movements compared with the employment situation in the labor market. The 3rd generally ignored obstacle is the role played by migration itself, particularly the discriminatory status of foreign workers in the labor market, in producing irregular migration.     

On changes in the age composition of the population and policy options for population planning

This analysis, based on 1978 data from official household registers, suggests that the 1983-2000 period will be critical for China's efforts to control population growth. If declines in the fertility rate are maintained, the possibility of stabilizing China's population at 800-900 million in the next century is feasible. If the population is to be kept under 1.2 billion by the year 2000, the general fertility rate must be lowered to 1.8 in 1985 and must decline 0.1 each 5 years thereafter until it reaches 1.5 in the year 2000. Once population growth is brought under control, it will be necessary to address consequent increases in the median age of the population. Those over 65 years of age will comprise 7.1-7.8% of the population in the year 2000, depending on whether fertility rates are low or high. The medium projection includes a population of 1.211 billion in the year 2000, approaching the peak value but allowing the fertility rate to rise slowly to guard against excessive aging of the population. The proportion of those over 65 years of age reaches a peak value of 20.2% in the year 2040. Overall, these projections suggest a "golden age" continuing until about 2020 in which the proportion of those both over 65 years and under 15 years will be rather low. The dependency ratio should begin to climb after 2020, reaching a peak in 2040 and stabilizing by 2070 at a level slightly higher than that existing today in developed countries. Since a rational age composition and a suitable decrease in the proportion of dependents are essential for economic growth, future analyses should focus on the quality of the population and not just population size. As long as birth rates continue to fall, the proportion of the dependent population will also fall and have a beneficial effect on China's economic development.     

Perceived morbidity, utilisation of health services and factors affecting it in a rural area

A survey of perceived morbidity was carried out in rural population in eight villages and four wards of Saoner town, covering a total population of 8,876. The nature of illness was assessed by weekly visits to the families. History regarding treatment taken for disease and its source was taken. The overall incidence of perceived morbidity was 176.35 spells of sickness per 1000 population per month. Health care agency was contacted for 36.7 per cent spells of sickness. Utilisation of health services was found to be affected significantly by factors like age (chi 2 = 138.36), literacy (chi 2 = 14.123), type of occupation (chi 2 = 433.74), nature of illness (chi 2 = 83.578) and accessibility of health services. A health behaviour model of the population has also been discussed in this paper.     

A gold key to initiate a new situation in family planning work]

Because of the popularization of a responsible agricultural production system, the livilihood of peasants has been improving greatly, while the demands and needs of the general public are also increasing at the same time. Still under the influence of the traditional belief of carrying on one's family line and emphasis on having male children, married people prefer to have more childre, and the birth rate is now rising again. In order to solve this new problem, we need to teach the peasants national policies on population, land utilization, and food supply. In order to initiate a new situation in family planning work, we need to control this "gold key" of ideological education and propaganda. The emphasis should be placed on ideological education for cadres at all levels as well as the general public in order that they may understand the Party's strategy. Education on the national strategy should be combined with material interests of the peasants, and reward and punishment in production should also be linked up with that of family planning. Social measures are needed to reduce economic burdens of the peasants, offer better treatment for single-child households, and provide adequate care for old and retired people. Family planning projects should be consolidated and improved. Scientific management, facilities and techniques for birth control, compensation for working personnel in family planning, and other practical problems deserve immediate attention and solution.