Independence, Dependence, Interdependence: some reflections on the subject and personal autonomy

A sociology of disablement needs to redefine the meaning of independence. In Western industrial societies, independence is associated with being able to do things for oneself, to be self-supporting and self-reliant. The paper attempts to show that some of our understanding of independence is influenced by views of the subject and personal autonomy stemming from the Enlightenment philosophy. The main target of the paper is to show that the modernist view of the subject is inadequate. What is missing is the notion of interdependence. The paper suggests an understanding of the subject that recognises the human condition as one of interdependence. It is argued that a reformulation of the subject as both embedded and embodied, bears better to a sociology of disablement.     

Prenatal development in rural South Africa: relationship between birth weight and access to fathers and grandparents

Birth weight is an indicator of prenatal development associated with health in infancy and childhood, and may be affected by the family environment experienced by the mother during pregnancy. Using data from KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, we explore the importance of the mother's access to the father and grandparents of the child during pregnancy. Controlling for household socio-economic indicators and maternal characteristics, the survival and residence of the biological father with the mother are positively associated with birth weight. The type of relationship seems to matter: married women have the heaviest newborns, but co-residence with a non-marital partner is also associated with higher birth weight. Access to the maternal grandmother may also be important: women whose mothers are alive have heavier newborns, but no additional benefit is observed from residing together. Co-residence with any grandparent is not associated with birth weight after controlling for the mother's partnership.     

Consumption and population age structure

In this paper, the effects on aggregate consumption of changes in the age distribution of the population are analysed empirically. Economic theories predict that age influences individuals’ saving and consumption behaviour. Despite this, age structure effects are rarely controlled for in empirical consumption functions. Our findings suggest that they should. By analysing Norwegian quarterly time series data, we find that changes in the age distribution of the population have significant and life-cycle-consistent effects on aggregate consumption. Furthermore, controlling for age structure effects stabilises the other parameters of the consumption function and reveals significant real interest rate effects.      

Causes of Fluctuating Mortality in Romania

During the post-communist transition, Romanians experienced some of the highest mortality rates in eastern Europe, some of the greatest fluctuations in life expectancy and some of the greatest delays in recovery. This study examines the shifts in cause-specific mortality underlying these fluctuations. Using demographic methods to understand the peaks and troughs in life expectancy during the past twenty years, we explore several explanations for these fluctuations: changes in exposure and behaviour associated with the social, economic and political changes; changes in health care affecting amenable causes of death and the progression of the epidemiologic transition. Throughout this period, there is a continuing shift from infectious towards chronic diseases mortality. Psycho-social stress during the period of transition affected survival, evidenced by increases in suicides and differences in mortality between men and women. Amenable causes of death took a greater toll on life expectancy, and increases in tuberculosis and congenital heart abnormality mortality provide evidence of a weakening of health services. However, decreases in vaccine-preventable mortality demonstrate that the health system did not fully fail. Policy changes also affected survival, including decreasing abortion-related mortality and, after initial increases in accidental mortality, new improvements, especially in traffic fatalities.     

Region of Birth and Disability Among Recent U.S. Immigrants: Evidence from the 2000 Census

This study aimed to test the “healthy immigrant” hypothesis and assess health heterogeneity among newly arrived working-age immigrants (18–64 years) from various regions of origin. Using the 5% sample of the 2000 U.S. Census (PUMS), we found that, compared with their native-born counterparts, immigrants from all regions of the world were less likely to report mental disability and physical disability. Immigrants from selected regions of origin were, however, more likely to report work disability. Significant heterogeneity in disabilities exists among immigrants: Those from Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia reported the highest risk of mental and physical disability, and those from East Asia reported the lowest risk of physical disability. Furthermore, Mexican immigrants reported the lowest risk of mental disability, and Canadian immigrants reported the lowest risk of work disability. Socioeconomic status and English proficiency partially explained these differences. The health advantage of immigrants decreased with longer U.S. residence.     

Women’s Political Empowerment and Investments in Primary Schooling in India

Using a national district-level dataset of India composed of information on investments in primary schooling [data from the District Information Survey for Education (DISE, 2007/8)] and information on demographic characteristics of elected officials [data from the Election Commission of India (ECI, 2000/04)], we examined the relationship between women’s representation in State Legislative Assembly (SLA) seats and district-level investments in primary schooling. We used OLS regressions adjusting for confounders and spatial autocorrelation, and estimated separate models for North and South India. Women’s representation in general SLA seats typically was negatively associated with investments in primary-school amenities and teachers; women’s representation in SLA seats reserved for under-represented minorities, i.e., scheduled castes and scheduled tribes, typically was positively associated with investments in primary schooling, especially in areas addressing the basic needs of poor children. Women legislators’ gender and caste identities may shape their decisions about redistributive educational policies.