Showing papers in "Population Bulletin in 1990"

America's children: mixed prospects.

Abstract: The prospects of US children are uneven and uncertain. Todays youngsters are more apt to have fewer siblings come from a broken home have a working mother and pass time as a "latchkey kid." More children are in child care than in the past and there has been a significant move toward center-based care. Increasingly preschool-age children particularly from relatively well-off families are enrolled in prekindergarten educational settings. Declining family size and recent American prosperity have created material well-being for most of todays children. But the development of an underclass has also increased the number of children trapped in poverty. The stagnant wages of the "working poor" and the growing number of mother-only households have exacerbated income inequality among children from different family circumstances. The decline in educational achievement scores which characterized the 1970s has for the moment at least ended and the average school performance even improved slightly in the 1980s. In addition more students especially black students completed high school in the 1980s. And the physical health of the average American child has improved dramatically since 1960. Most American children lead happy healthy lives and several trends portend well for the future of most youngsters. But the picture is marred by the problematic future of the children of the underclass and the uncertain psychological impact of Americas transformed family life. (authors)

Metropolitan America: beyond the transition.

Abstract: Americans have always gravitated toward cities, and for most of this century, urban growth has continued at a fast pace. During the 1970s, however, nonmetropolitan area grew at the expense of many large metropolitan areas, especially those in the industrial Northeast and Midwest. New patterns of population distribution appeared to be emerging. This Bulletin analyzes the trends of the 1970s, the shifting patterns of the 1980s, and likely prospects for future growth in metropolitan areas. The "rural renaissance" resulted from a combination of forces, including improved infrastructure in nonmetropolitan area, growing demand for retirement and recreation spots, the entrance of the large baby-boom cohort into the labor force, and the economic situation both at home and abroad. Some of these same forces have shifted settlement patterns in the 1980s, helping create "World Cities," like New York and San Francisco, and regional "Command and Control Centers" such as Atlanta and Minneapolis-St. Paul, that will continue to gain in both population and influence. Yet nonmetropolitan areas still attract retirees and other former urbanites. The distribution of minority groups among metropolitan populations is also undergoing significant change. The heavy immigration of Hispanics and Asians in the 1980s has increased the proportion of these groups, particularly in metropolitan areas in the South and West. More black Americans are moving to the suburbs formerly dominated by whites. Yet large pockets of poverty--of both black and whites--remain in both suburban and central city areas.

The international family planning movement.

Abstract: The authors discuss worldwide trends in family planning over the past 30 years. They trace "the progression of this movement from early opposition in developed as well as developing countries to the present day when birth control is practiced by a slight majority of the worlds women of childbearing age....International organizations played a crucial role in the spread of family planning by providing training for developing country professionals funding actual family planning programs and helping to evaluate programs. But the success of a countrys family planning program also was dependent upon a national commitment and often on a strong socioeconomic setting. The private sector has had a limited role except in some countries notably in Latin America but its involvement is likely to expand in the future. Also as financial support from the United States and international organizations wanes national governments will cover a larger share of the cost." (EXCERPT)