Integration into the Social Democratic Welfare State

This article examines the assumption that the social democratic welfare state is better than others in integrating immigrants into society, or at least that the comprehensive welfare state should compensate for the problems of labour market entry. A number of key indicators from The Living Conditions Survey are used to show that this assumption is inherently wrong. Immigrants do not have the same possibilities to enter the labour market, which is shown to have severe affects on other important areas of social and political citizenship. It stands clear that the social democratic welfare state, built and expanded on grounds of homogeneity, is insufficient to deal with changing circumstances in a plural society.     

A Conceptual-Referent Theory of Happiness: Heterogeneity and its Consequences

This paper puts forward The Conceptual Referent Theory of Happiness (CRT), which states that a person’s conceptual referent for a happy life plays a role in the judgment of her life and in the appraisal of her happiness. A typology of eight conceptual referents for happiness is made on the basis of a review of philosophical essays on happiness.The theory contributes to the understanding of happiness by focusing on a cognitive factor involved in the judgment process: A person’s notion of what a happy life is, of what she understands for being well. Thus, CRT complements previous research by studying what a person thinks, rather than what she feels, at the time of appraising her life. CRT also stresses the importance of heterogeneity; this is: the conceptual referent is not the same for every person; people have different conceptions of what a happy life is. Hence, the investigation studies the issue of superiority in the conceptual referent for happiness. It shows that no conceptual referent can be considered as superior in the sense of being associated to greater happiness. However, there are a few conceptual referents that are clearly inferior. The investigation also studies the influence of socioeconomic and demographic variables in the conceptual referent a person holds. It shows that the probability of embracing a particular conceptual referent for happiness is contingent on a person’s socioeconomic and demographic situation. The empirical investigation is based on data from a large survey applied in Mexico.     

Does Development Make You Happy? Subjective Wellbeing And Economic Growth In Developing Countries

The evidence for any relationship between GDP/capita growth and growth in subjective wellbeing (SWB) in wealthier countries is disputed, at best. However, there are a number of reasons commonly articulated for thinking the relationship should be stronger in less developed countries (LDCs). This paper looks at both reasons for expecting the relationship to be stronger in developing countries, and those for a weak link that might still apply in LDCs. Finally, it turns to a limited data set to see what that might tell us. The results suggest that, at least in middle-income countries, there is little strong evidence in favor of a connection between economic growth and SWB.     

Subjective Residential Environment and its Implications for Quality of Life Among University Students in Hong Kong

This paper reports the results of a convenient sample survey of 500 Hong Kong university students conducted in May 2003. The main aim of the survey was to investigate the respondents’ perception of the residential environment and its implications for the quality of life (QOL). Results indicated that the respondents were generally satisfied with the residential environment, scoring a mean satisfaction rating of 3.32, on a 5-point Likert scale. The type, size and age of a respondent’s home, years of occupancy and attending university were found to be significantly related to the overall satisfaction. Transport (4.37), environmental quality (4.30), and public utilities (4.25) were reported to be the most important infrastructures for the QOL, but environmental quality (3.21), education (3.11) and greening (2.98) were considered to be the least satisfactory ones. The desirable distribution of facilities and services was defined by their functions and the new urban designs were appreciated by the respondents. Although available space was less than the ideal and public transport was a serious concern, the respondents had adapted well to the high-density environment and enjoyed the urban life in Hong Kong. It is hoped that the results and findings of this study can provide a reference for the formulation of future development strategy in Hong Kong.     

Assessing the effects of an early retirement program

We investigate induced retirement effects of the Norwegian early retirement program AFP and emphasize effects caused by relocations of some individuals from disability pension and unemployment to AFP. Theoretical considerations predict that AFP unambiguously induces more early retirement. Analyzing Norwegian register data 1994–96 with parametric and non-parametric methods, we demonstrate that i) economic incentives influence the retirement decision, ii) there is a significant net induced retirement effect, iii) by a conservative judgment, at least 50% of the AFP retirees would have stayed in the labor force without the scheme.All correspondence to Espen Bratberg. We are indebted to the referees for detailed remarks, which significantly improved the paper. Financial support from the Norwegian Research Council and the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs is greatly appreciated. We are grateful for valuable comments from Erik Hernæs and Astrid Grasdal, seminar participants at the Norwegian School of Management in Oslo, the Institute for International Economic Studies in Stockholm, and the University of Linz, the 2000 Conference of the European Society for Population Economics in Bonn, and the German-Norwegian Seminar on Social Insurance in Berlin, 2000. Bratberg would also like to thank the Humboldt University for its hospitality during a stay in the winter of 2003. Responsible editor: Christoph M. Schmidt.     

Economic growth and stagnation with endogenous health and fertility

This article offers a theory of economic growth, stagnation, and demo-economic transition that originates from external effects of child-bearing, health expenditure, and education under endogenous mortality. Facing a hierarchy of needs, parents always consume and want to have a family. Child quality, measured as a two-dimensional vector of child health and schooling, becomes only affordable when uncontrollable mortality is sufficiently low. Child quality expenditure initiates an economic take-off and convergence towards perpetual growth while its absence may cause convergence towards an equilibrium of economic stagnation and high fertility. This way, the article provides an explanation for diverging growth rates from a cross-country perspective.I would like to thank Noël Bonneuil, Piero Manfredi, Nikolaus Siegfried, Richard Tol, and two anonymous referees for useful comments. Responsible editor: Alessandro Cigno.     

Clustering to reduce regional heterogeneity: A spanish case-study

Statistical methods of dimension reduction and classification are used to obtain homogeneous local-area clustering with regard to the most relevant demographic parameters. The dimension reduction is conducted in two stages using Principal Component Analysis and a modified k-mean procedure is proposed to determine the final clusters. This clustering will be useful in future demographic studies at a local level, in particular to obtain forecasts of demographic rates and population projections. The region of Castile and León in Spain is used to illustrate the method. A Poisson model is used to explore the advantages of the new clustering over the more conventional classification based on provinces.     

Population and Upland Crop Production in Nang Rong,Thailand

This paper estimates village-level models of the effects of population variables on the area devoted to upland crop production in Nang Rong district, Thailand. The expansion of upland crops is part of the growth of market agriculture in Nang Rong, and a correlate of deforestation in this setting, The results show that population density (measured as density of village settlement) negatively affects area in upland crops while population growth has a positive effect. Changes in land use associated with population change appear to radiate outward from nuclear village centers. As cash economies are established in rural settings, household formation requires a source of income as well as a subsistence stake. Growth in the population of households is a stronger predictor of the area in upland crops than growth in the number of persons.     

Multi-scale Analysis of Collaborative National Forest Planning Contexts in the Rural US Mountain West

This research analyzes regional and sub-regional contexts of the United States Mountain West where community-based forms of national forest planning are emerging to ameliorate conflict related to New West rural transformations characterized by high population growth and increasing service and amenity-based economies. A county-level typology is developed using cluster techniques applied to demographic, economic, and environmental indicators and a novel measure of spatial accessibility to forest lands. Results identify three types of contexts with differential characterestics relevant to community-based forest planning. A local scale analysis compares characteristics for counties surrounding a national forest with an ongoing community-based collaboration and its participant characteristics. Results show some key differences between participants and their ambient contexts as well as local-scale contextual heterogeneity. A framework for incorporating multi-scale data and analyses to address current research needs for the emergent topic of community-based collaboration is presented.Please address correspondence to Thomas W. Crawford, Department of Geography, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27858, USA; crawfordt@mail.ecu.edu     

Gambling Accessibility: A Scale to Measure Gambler Preferences

Geographic closeness of gambling venues is not the only aspect of accessibility likely to affect gambling frequency. Perceived accessibility of gambling venues may include other features such as convenience (e.g., opening hours) or “atmosphere”. The aim of the current study was to develop a multidimensional measure of gamblers’ perceptions of accessibility, and present evidence for its reliability and validity. We surveyed 303 gamblers with 43 items developed to measure different dimensions of accessibility. Factor analysis of the items produced a two factor solution. The first, Social Accessibility related to the level at which gambling venues were enjoyed because they were social places, provided varying entertainment options and had a pleasant atmosphere. The second factor, Accessible Retreat related to the degree to which venues were enjoyed because they were geographically and temporally available and provided a familiar and anonymous retreat with few interruptions or distractions. Both factors, developed as reliable subscales of the new Gambling Access Scale, demonstrated construct validity through their correlations with other gambling-related measures. Social Accessibility was moderately related to gambling frequency and amount spent, but not to problem gambling, while, as hypothesised, Accessible Retreat was associated with stronger urges to gamble and gambling problems.