Showing papers in "Population Research and Policy Review in 2019"
TL;DR: In this paper, the mean intended number of children among young women aged 20 to 24 (born in the early 1970s) was measured during the 1990s in the Fertility and Family Surveys, with data on completed fertility in the same cohorts around age 40.
Abstract: We study the aggregate gap between intended and actual fertility in 19 European countries and the US based on a cohort approach. This complements prior research that had mainly used a period approach. We compare the mean intended number of children among young women aged 20 to 24 (born in the early 1970s), measured during the 1990s in the Fertility and Family Surveys, with data on completed fertility in the same cohorts around age 40. In a similar manner, we compare the share who state that they do not want a child with actual cohort childlessness. Our exploration is informed by the cognitive–social model of fertility intentions developed by Bachrach and Morgan (Popul Dev Rev 39(3):459–485, 2013). In all countries, women eventually had, on average, fewer children than the earlier expectations in their birth cohort, and more often than intended, they remained childless. The results reveal distinct regional patterns, which are most apparent for childlessness. The gap between intended and actual childlessness is widest in the Southern European and the German-speaking countries and smallest in the Central and Eastern European countries. Additionally, we analyze the aggregate intentions-fertility gap among women with different levels of education. The gap is largest among highly educated women in most countries studied and the educational gradient varies by region, most distinctively for childlessness. Differences between countries suggest that contextual factors—norms about parenthood, work–family policies, unemployment—shape women’s fertility goals, total family size, and the gap between them.
76 citations
TL;DR: Analyzing data from decennial censuses and the American Community Survey, it is found that that disparities have generally narrowed over the period, but there also are still significant portions of the gaps that remain unexplained, especially for blacks and American Indians.
Abstract: This paper examines patterns and trends in racial inequality in poverty and affluence over the 1959 to 2015 period. Analyzing data from decennial censuses and the American Community Survey, I find that that disparities have generally narrowed over the period. Nevertheless, considerable disparities remain, with whites least likely to be poor and Asians most likely to be affluent on the one hand, and blacks and American Indians much more likely to be poor and less likely to be affluent on the other-and Hispanics somewhat in between. Sociodemographic characteristics, such as education, family structure, and nativity explain some of the disparities-and an increasing proportion over the 1959 to 2015 period, indicative of the growing importance of disparities in human capital, the immigrant incorporation process, and the interaction between economic conditions and cultural shifts in attitudes towards marriage in explaining racial inequality in poverty and affluence. There also are still significant portions of the gaps that remain unexplained, especially for blacks and American Indians. The presence of this unexplained gap indicates that other factors are still at work in producing these disparities, though their effects have declined over time.
33 citations
TL;DR: The authors argue that racial and ethnic inequality does not fully explain racial inequality in poverty and affluence because the manuscript follows conventional approaches to the study of racial inequality that obscure racial domination and oppression in the US.
Abstract: In this essay, I respond to Racial and Ethnic Inequality in Poverty and Affluence, 1959–2015 (hereafter Racial and Ethnic Inequality). I argue that Racial and Ethnic Inequality does not fully explain racial inequality in poverty and affluence—particularly among black Americans and American Indians compared to white Americans—because the manuscript follows conventional approaches to the study of racial inequality that obscure racial domination and oppression in the US. These conventional approaches include (1) highlighting the racial gap in a given outcome without conceptualizing and historicizing the social construction of race, (2) theorizing human capital as race-neutral to account for racial inequality, and (3) employing data analyses that reflect analytic bifurcation, which treat racial groups as real essences, monolithic, and position white Americans as the standard against which people of color are measured. These conventional approaches are not unique to Racial and Ethnic Inequality. My goal is to use Racial and Ethnic Inequality as an illustrative example of how conventional approaches address the idea of “race” in sociological research, and whether these approaches provide readers with the most optimal ways to understand racial inequality in the US. I make several recommendations to move research on racial inequality forward. My intention is to spark a conversation about what can be considered “best practices” in addressing the role of race in racial inequality research.
31 citations
TL;DR: It is suggested that the current U.S. social environment generates high levels of abortion stigma, which yields abortion underreporting, and survey self-reports of abortion need to be evaluated, contextualized, and used with caution.
Abstract: Well-documented, large-scale abortion underreporting on U.S. surveys raises questions about the use of abortion self-reports for statistical inference. This paper is the first to evaluate the completeness of the abortion data in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health). Comparisons of Add Health’s estimated abortion rates to external sources show that the Add Health data capture 35% of expected abortions. Thus, Add Health performed no better than other surveys in collecting abortion data. Further, no differences in underreporting by race/ethnicity or age at abortion were found. We suggest that the current U.S. social environment generates high levels of abortion stigma, which yields abortion underreporting. We conclude that due to underreporting, survey self-reports of abortion need to be evaluated, contextualized, and used with caution.
24 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors assess the levels and patterns of segregation in the environments where people spend their workday, for white, black, Hispanic, and Asian workers, using commuting data from the Census Transportation Planning Package, and compare metropolitan-level segregation in places of work and home.
Abstract: Racial segregation has long characterized urban life in the U.S., with research consistently showing that minority groups occupy different social spaces than whites. While past scholarship has focused largely on residential contexts, a considerable portion of individuals’ days is spent outside of the home and existing research misses the potential for cross-group contact in non-residential contexts. In this paper, we assess the levels and patterns of segregation in the environments where people spend their workday, for white, black, Hispanic, and Asian workers. Using commuting data from the Census Transportation Planning Package, we construct measures of racial composition in “workhoods” and compare metropolitan-level segregation in places of work and home. Results indicate that workhood segregation is substantially lower than residential segregation. Black-white segregation in work settings is, for example, half the level of black-white segregation in residential settings. Multivariate analyses also reveal that workhood segregation, for all groups, is higher in metropolitan areas with greater residential segregation. For Hispanic workers, areas with larger immigrant populations have higher workhood segregation, and for blacks, workhood segregation is lower in metropolitan areas with large military populations. Our findings also consistently show that black and Hispanic workhood segregation is lower in areas where minority groups are more occupationally disadvantaged.
21 citations
TL;DR: It is argued that innovation in the characterization of fecundity is crucial for expanding knowledge of the fetal origins of later life health, and prenatal selection in particular, and that moderately sized true effects are missing from scientific knowledge because they do not clear statistical significance filters.
Abstract: Prenatal exposures have meaningful effects on health across the lifecourse. Innovations in causal inference have shed new light on these effects. Here, we motivate the importance of innovation in the characterization of fecundity, and prenatal selection in particular. We argue that such innovation is crucial for expanding knowledge of the fetal origins of later life health. Pregnancy loss is common, responsive to environmental factors, and closely related to maternal and fetal health outcomes. As a result, selection into live birth is driven by many of the same exposures that shape the health trajectories of survivors. Lifecourse effects that are inferred without accounting for these dynamics may be significantly distorted by survival bias. We use a set of Monte Carlo simulations with realistic parameters to examine the implications of prenatal survival bias. We find that even in conservatively specified scenarios, true fetal origin effects can be underestimated by 50% or more. In contrast, effects of exposures that reduce the probability of prenatal survival but improve the health of survivors will be overestimated. The absolute magnitude of survival bias can even exceed small effect sizes, resulting in inferences that beneficial exposures are harmful or vice-versa. We also find reason for concern that moderately sized true effects, underestimated due to failure to account for selective survival, are missing from scientific knowledge because they do not clear statistical significance filters. This bias has potential real-world costs; policy decisions about interventions to improve maternal and infant health will be affected by underestimated program impact.
19 citations
TL;DR: In the US there appears to be a ‘stalled’ second demographic transition as single young adult women have stronger expectations to marry than cohabit and the vast majority expects to, or has, already married.
Abstract: Cohabitation has surpassed marriage as the most common union experience in young adulthood. We capitalize on a new opportunity to examine both marital and cohabitation expectations among young single women in recently collected, nationally representative data (National Survey of Family Growth 2011–2015) (N = 1467). In the US there appears to be a ‘stalled’ second demographic transition as single young adult (ages 18–24) women have stronger expectations to marry than cohabit and the vast majority expects to, or has, already married. Among young women expecting to marry, the majority (68%) expect to cohabit with their future spouse but about one-third expect to follow a traditional relationship pathway into marriage (to marry without cohabiting first). In addition, women from disadvantaged backgrounds report the lowest expectations to marry, but there is no education gradient in expectations to cohabit. Marriage expectations follow a “diverging destinies” pattern, which stresses a growing educational divide, but this is not the case for cohabitation expectations. Our results, based on recently collected data, provide insight into the contemporary context of union formation decision-making for the millennial generation.
19 citations
TL;DR: The value of considering stratification by skin color and gender in conjunction with race/ethnicity is demonstrated, and significant gradients in Body Mass Index (BMI), obesity, self-reported health, and depressive symptoms by interviewer-ascribed skin color are found.
Abstract: Researchers typically identify health disparities using self-reported race/ethnicity, a measure identifying individuals’ social and cultural affiliations. In this study, we use data from Waves 1, 3, and 4 of Add Health to examine health disparities by interviewer-ascribed skin color, a measure capturing the perceptions of race/ethnicity ascribed to individuals by others. Individuals with darker-skin tones may face greater exposure to serious stressors such as perceived discrimination, poverty, and economic hardship which can accumulate over the lifecourse and increase the likelihood of poor health. We found significant gradients in Body Mass Index (BMI), obesity, self-reported health, and depressive symptoms by interviewer-ascribed skin color but results differed by gender. Associations of BMI, obesity, and fair/poor health among women were only partially mediated by discrimination, self-reported stress, or low socioeconomic status and persisted after controlling for race/ethnicity. Among men, initial associations between skin color and both fair/poor health and depressive symptoms did not persist after controlling for race/ethnicity. This study demonstrates the value of considering stratification by skin color and gender in conjunction with race/ethnicity.
19 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examined the differences between male and female migration, alongside any significant sociodemographic factors that might contribute to their motivation for moving to the city and found that a majority of women (64.8%) migrated for family purposes, for example, joining husbands or in-laws, or parents/children.
Abstract: Mass migration is increasing urban populations globally. One country where urban migration is significantly increasing is Bangladesh, where systematic research will explore the reasons for urban migration in order to devise policies in this area, including maintaining the balance of urban–rural developments. This study used the Urban Health Survey (UHS) 2013 to ascertain the reasons for urban migration in large divisional cities in Bangladesh. The 2013 survey examined the differences between male and female migration, alongside any significant sociodemographic factors that might contribute to their motivation for moving to the city. The survey revealed that a majority of women (64.8%) migrated for family purposes, for example, joining husbands or in-laws, or parents/children. However, in recent years, female migrants have been involved in income-generating activities mostly due to a recent garment-making boom in Dhaka and its suburbs. A higher proportion of men (85.3%) moved to urban areas for work-related reasons: searching for new jobs, better income, or transfer in services. Among the sample in this study, 77% of the respondents (79.3% female and 73.5% male) migrated from villages. This migration mostly centered on Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, where 68.1% of the total study sample migrated followed by 15.7% who went to Chittagong. The results indicate that the contemporary urban-centered economic policy in Bangladesh might require revision to accommodate the increased migrants from rural areas.
19 citations
TL;DR: For girls, teens’ attitudes toward adolescent childbearing capture an internalization of social schema about childbearing, childrearing, and sequencing with other life outcomes but do not reflect overall preferences about having children, and more work is needed to understand the psychosocial factors that influence men’s fertility.
Abstract: Teens’ attitudes about adolescent childbearing predict childbearing in the short term. If these attitudes reflect persistent goals and values, they may also be linked to later outcomes. To test long-term linkages, we analyze the association of adolescent fertility attitudes with actual and prospective fertility in adulthood using Waves I (1994–1995) and IV (2007–2008) of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health and focusing on men (N = 4275) and women (N = 4418) without a teen birth. For women, we find that more negative teen attitudes predict lower hazards of a first birth up to around age 30 but that teens’ attitudes are unrelated to planned childlessness among those who have not yet had children. Men’s adolescent attitudes are unrelated to actual fertility or prospective intentions. For both men and women, more advantaged individuals are less likely to have had a child by around age 30; socioeconomic advantage is also related to postponement of childbearing rather than planned childlessness, though more so for women than men. We interpret the findings as evidence that, for girls, teens’ attitudes toward adolescent childbearing capture an internalization of social schema about childbearing, childrearing, and sequencing with other life outcomes but do not reflect overall preferences about having children. More work is needed to understand the psychosocial factors that influence men’s fertility.
17 citations
TL;DR: Wang et al. as discussed by the authors developed a fertility simulation model to explore the effects of the two-child policy on women's total fertility rate, and employed Cohort Component Method in population projections to examine China's demographic future with different fertility regimes.
Abstract: China implemented the two-child policy in 2016, however, potential impacts of this new policy on its population reality have not been adequately understood. Using population census data and 1% population sampling data during the period of 1982–2015, this study develops a fertility simulation model to explore the effects of the two-child policy on women’s total fertility rate, and employs Cohort Component Method in population projections to examine China’s demographic future with different fertility regimes. The fertility simulation results reveal that the two-child policy will make significantly positive effects on China’s total fertility rate through increasing second births, leading to a sharp but temporary increase in the first 5 years after the implementation of the new policy. In addition, population projections using simulated total fertility rates show that the Chinese population would reach its peak value around the middle 2020s and be faced with the reduction of labor force supply and rapid aging process, featured with remarkable increases in both size and share of the elderly population. The findings suggest that the two-child policy would undoubtedly affect China’s fertility rates and demographic future; however, the effects are mild and temporary.
TL;DR: In this article, the association between the Colombian Armed Internal Conflict (AIC) and fertility for women in the first decade of the 21st century when the conflict underwent a strategic change after the escalation of armed action by outlaw groups and frontal response by the Colombian government.
Abstract: This paper looks at the association between the Colombian Armed Internal Conflict (AIC) and fertility for women in the first decade of the 21st century when the conflict underwent a strategic change after the escalation of armed action by outlaw groups and frontal response by the Colombian government. We fit a Poisson model that incorporates spatial and temporal information, using individual-level data from the Colombian Demographic and Health Surveys from 2000 to 2010 and novel information, for the Colombian case, on the number of armed actions. In rural areas, we find that the AIC had a significant positive association with fertility and non-significant relationship in urban areas, of any size with robust and consistent estimators. Two possible explanations may clarify these results for a long-term conflict such as that in Colombia: (i) women’s responses to higher mortality levels and (ii) the weakening of local institutions assumed to provide protection and health-related services to women. Other than the improvement of health-related services in areas affected by the conflict, we also suggest data collection on these latter conditions directly from the population involved to facilitate future research on the connection between conflicts and demographic outcomes.
TL;DR: The Abortion Incidence Complications Method (AICM) as discussed by the authors is a widely applied indirect method that has produced robust estimates of abortion incidence in a range of contexts, including countries where abortion is broadly legal but unsafe abortion remains common.
Abstract: Induced abortion is a reproductive behavior that remains difficult to measure in countries where the procedure is highly restricted by law. Additionally, in some countries where abortion is broadly legal, a high proportion of abortions are carried out by illegal and untrained providers. In these contexts, official statistics are non-existent or highly incomplete. Measurement of the incidence of induced abortion is essential to inform sexual and reproductive health policies and programs. Researchers have developed diverse methodologies over the years. Direct methods, such as population-based surveys that ask women about their abortion experience, generally are subject to high levels of underreporting. A range of indirect methods have been developed to obtain more accurate estimates. Created in the early 1990s, the Abortion Incidence Complications Method (AICM) is a widely applied indirect method that has produced robust estimates of abortion incidence in a range of contexts. This paper presents the original AICM methodology used in countries where abortion is highly restricted. It also highlights modifications made for two situations, one of which is newly emerging. First, the methodology has been adapted recently for countries where, despite the restrictive abortion laws, a new, relatively safe method—medication abortion (mainly misoprostol alone)—is increasingly used. Second, it has been adapted for countries where abortion is broadly legal but unsafe abortion remains common. The paper also assesses performance of the methodology to the extent available data permit. The paper provides guidance to researchers who want to conduct abortion incidence studies using the AICM and to further advance the measurement of abortion incidence.
TL;DR: This first study that systematically compares mortality estimates from several widely used survey-linked mortality files and U.S. vital statistics data shows that mortality rates and life expectancies from the National Health Interview Survey Linked Mortality Files, Health and Retirement Study, Americans’ Changing Lives study, and U
Abstract: Social surveys prospectively linked with death records provide invaluable opportunities for the study of the relationship between social and economic circumstances and mortality. Although survey-linked mortality files play a prominent role in U.S. health disparities research, it is unclear how well mortality estimates from these datasets align with one another and whether they are comparable with U.S. vital statistics data. We conduct the first study that systematically compares mortality estimates from several widely used survey-linked mortality files and U.S. vital statistics data. Our results show that mortality rates and life expectancies from the National Health Interview Survey Linked Mortality Files, Health and Retirement Study, Americans’ Changing Lives study, and U.S. vital statistics data are similar. Mortality rates are slightly lower and life expectancies are slightly higher in these linked datasets relative to vital statistics data. Compared with vital statistics and other survey-linked datasets, General Social Survey-National Death Index life expectancy estimates are much lower at younger adult ages and much higher at older adult ages. Cox proportional hazard models regressing all-cause mortality risk on age, gender, race, educational attainment, and marital status conceal the issues with the General Social Survey-National Death Index that are observed in our comparison of absolute measures of mortality risk. We provide recommendations for researchers who use survey-linked mortality files.
TL;DR: Wang et al. as discussed by the authors found that children continue to be important to the mental health of their older parents in contemporary China and that what matters most when it comes to understanding the influence that children have on parents' mental health are their perceived accomplishments in life and their meaningful presence in the day-to-day lives of their parents.
Abstract: China is witnessing several major demographic, socioeconomic, and cultural trends that likely intersect in unique and significant ways to influence the health and well-being of its older adult population. Concerns that such trends may be eroding traditional family structures and values raise questions about the continued importance and impact of children on the lives of their older parents. Do children matter and, if so, what is it about having children that makes a difference to the mental health of their parents? This study addressed these issues using baseline data drawn from the Chinese Longitudinal Aging Social Survey, conducted in 2014. Multivariate OLS regression analyses revealed the importance of having children for parental mental health. This relationship was found to be mediated by economic/utilitarian factors (co-residence, the receipt of financial, and instrumental support) as well as psychological/emotional factors (companionship, emotional support), and social/traditional factors (children’s socioeconomic status achievements). These findings support the view that children continue to be important to the mental health of their older parents in contemporary China. Further, what matters most when it comes to understanding the influence that children have on parents’ mental health are their perceived accomplishments in life and their meaningful presence in the day-to-day lives of their parents.
TL;DR: In this paper, the availability of reserved paternity leave and couples' conjugal union type affect the probability of fathers taking leave and the duration of leave and they find that paternity leave is negatively associated with fathers' duration and mothers' education levels.
Abstract: In 2006, Quebec became the first Canadian province to offer non-transferable paternity leave to fathers. The availability of this five-week leave distinguishes the province from the rest of the country, where only maternity and parental leave are available. Using data from Statistics Canada’s 2011 General Social Survey, the authors investigate to what extent the availability of reserved paternity leave and couples’ conjugal union type affect the probability of fathers taking leave and the duration of leave. Among couples in which at least one parent took leave, descriptive analysis shows that 75% of Quebec fathers took leave, whereas only 50% of fathers elsewhere in Canada took leave. Both parents received wage replacement benefits in nearly 60% of cases in Quebec, but in only 8% of cases in other provinces. Multivariate analysis confirms that the availability of paternity leave is positively linked to the higher likelihood of Quebec fathers taking leave compared to fathers in other provinces. However, paternity leave is negatively associated with fathers’ duration of leave, as well as that of mothers. Married fathers were more likely than cohabiting fathers to take parental leave in provinces outside Quebec, but not in Quebec. Among other variables, we find that education levels of mothers, gender-role attitudes (approached through sharing of housework), number of children, and family type significantly affect the likelihood of fathers taking leave. Duration of leave appears more closely associated with differences between partners in terms of age and income for mothers, and of education for both parents.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors used Young Lives data on 7687 children from Ethiopia, India, Peru, and Vietnam to undertake ordinary least squares estimates of associations between age-1 height-for-age z-score (HAZ) and age-15 cognitive outcomes (math, reading, vocabulary), controlling for child and household factors.
Abstract: There has been little examination of: (1) associations of early-life nutrition and adolescent cognitive skills, (2) if they vary by gender, (3) if they differ by diverse contexts, and (4) contributions of post-infancy growth to adolescent cognitive attainment. We use Young Lives data on 7687 children from Ethiopia, India, Peru, and Vietnam to undertake ordinary least squares estimates of associations between age-1 height-for-age z-score (HAZ) and age-15 cognitive outcomes (math, reading, vocabulary), controlling for child and household factors. Age-1 HAZ is positively associated with cognitive scores in all countries. Child gender-specific estimates for these coefficients either do not differ (math, reading) or favor girls (vocabulary). Augmenting models to include growth in HAZ between ages 1 and 15 years that was not predicted by HAZ at age 1 reveals that such improvements are associated with higher cognitive scores, but that sex-specific coefficients for this predictor favor boys in India and Peru. The results suggest that nutritional indicators at age 1 have gender-neutral associations with math and reading and favor girls for vocabulary achievement at age 15, but unpredicted improvements in HAZ by adolescence are associated with higher cognitive scores for boys than for girls. This evidence enriches our understanding of relationships between children’s nutritional trajectories during childhood and adolescent cognitive development, and how these associations vary by gender in some contexts to the possible disadvantage of girls.
TL;DR: This article found that exposure to paternal incarceration is associated with risk behaviors in adolescence, such as early sexual onset, and that these associations are concentrated among boys living with their fathers prior to his incarceration.
Abstract: Despite a growing literature documenting deleterious intergenerational consequences of incarceration, relatively little is known about how exposure to paternal incarceration is associated with risk behaviors in adolescence. In this article, we use data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (N = 3405)—a cohort of urban children born around the turn of the twenty-first century and followed for 15 years—to examine the relationship between paternal incarceration and one indicator of adolescent risk behavior, early sexual onset. Results from adjusted logistic regression models show that paternal incarceration is associated with a greater likelihood of initiating sexual activity before age 15, in part resulting from externalizing problems that follow paternal incarceration. We also find that these associations are concentrated among boys living with their fathers prior to his incarceration. Given that paternal incarceration is a stressor concentrated among already vulnerable children, paternal incarceration may exacerbate inequalities in adolescent sexual risk behavior.
TL;DR: It is argued that future research on evaluations of birth timing should be expanded beyond mistimed and unwanted births to include later-than-desired births, due to their conceptual commonalities and their ties to poorer health indicators.
Abstract: Prior literature examining women’s evaluations of pregnancy timing has focused on pregnancies that are mistimed (i.e. earlier-than-desired) and unwanted (i.e. not wanted at any time), and has not addressed pregnancies that arrive later-than-desired. However, fertility postponement is widespread, so pregnancies that arrive later-than-desired may be common in the U.S. Using data from the 1995–2015 National Survey of Family Growth (N = 15,065), we investigate the prevalence and characteristics of later-than-desired pregnancies that end in birth. We find that nearly 10% of births are categorized as later-than-desired and these babies are more likely to be low birth weight, compared to on-time births (controlling for sociodemographic characteristics). Further, having a later-than-desired birth positively predicts that the next birth will be mistimed, rather than being on-time. These findings underscore the heterogeneity of pathways that can lead to mistimed births. Future research should explore the pairing of later-than-desired-births followed by mistimed births to identify mechanisms and evaluate how these births may differ from other mistimed births. We conclude that later-than-desired births warrant further study considering the elevated risk of low birth weight and the current progression of fertility postponement in the U.S. Further, we argue that future research on evaluations of birth timing should be expanded beyond mistimed and unwanted births to include later-than-desired births, due to their conceptual commonalities and their ties to poorer health indicators.
TL;DR: The authors examined how parenthood transitions affect wives' and husbands' provisions of household labor and how their employment status moderates this relationship, finding that household labor was gendered even prior to the birth of the first child.
Abstract: Recent research from the gender revolution perspective suggests that men’s increasing involvement in the family domain accounts for the positive association between fertility and female labor force participation in developed Western countries. However, little relevant evidence exists on their Asian counterparts, where lowest-low fertility, low levels of women’s employment, and traditional family values prevail. Using the 2007, 2008, and 2010 waves of the Korean Longitudinal Survey of Women and Families (N = 10,263 couple-waves), we examine how parenthood transitions affect wives’ and husbands’ provisions of household labor and how their employment status moderates this relationship. Focusing on comparisons between first and additional children, we estimate couple fixed-effects regressions. The dependent variables are the time that each spouse spends on household labor and the husband’s share of the couple’s total time spent on this labor. The key independent variables are the number of children and the number interacted with each spouse’s employment status. The results show that household labor was gendered even prior to the birth of the first child. Inequality in household labor increased significantly further with first children, but not with additional children. This increase persisted regardless of women’s employment status, thereby implying that first children might exacerbate the double burden on employed women. Policy lessons are drawn regarding how to raise fertility and female labor force participation in Korea and other countries where women have difficulty reconciling work and family life.
TL;DR: The authors examined the impacts of the 2010 and 2011 Canterbury earthquakes on demographic composition and occupational structure in the Greater Christchurch construction industry using customized data from New Zealand Census of Populations and Dwellings conducted in 2006 and 2013.
Abstract: Post natural disaster immigration has potential to significantly impact labor markets, possibly affecting local workers’ employment opportunities and thereby community recovery. However, research is limited. This study examines the impacts of the 2010 and 2011 Canterbury earthquakes on demographic composition and occupational structure in the Greater Christchurch construction industry using customized data from New Zealand Census of Populations and Dwellings conducted in 2006 and 2013. Replication of the discrete dependent variable regression methods used by Sisk and Bankston III (Popul Res Policy Rev 33(3):309–334, 2014) enables comparison with outcomes in New Orleans post-Hurricane Katrina. The increased presence of migrant construction workers did not reduce employment of New Zealand-born workers, both non-immigrant and immigrant participation in the construction industry increased post-earthquakes. After the earthquakes, there was increased worker participation at the lowest-skill end of the occupational structure, but there were few significant changes in occupational distributions of non-immigrant and immigrant workers. Non-immigrant workers still dominated all occupational levels post-earthquakes. Construction workers’ education levels were higher post-earthquakes, particularly among migrant workers. Overall, migrant workers in the Greater Christchurch construction industry were more diverse, better educated, and participated at higher occupational levels than migrants assisting in the New Orleans rebuild, possibly due to differences in immigration policies.
TL;DR: This article explored the extent to which distinctive neighborhood types give rise to social patterning that produces variation in the odds of child obesity and found lower-SES children benefit, but to a lesser degree, from neighborhood advantages and higher SES children are negatively influenced, to a larger degree, by neighborhood disadvantages.
Abstract: The literature on neighborhoods and child obesity links contextual conditions to risk, assuming that if place matters, it matters in a similar way for everyone in those places. We explore the extent to which distinctive neighborhood types give rise to social patterning that produces variation in the odds of child obesity. We leverage geocoded electronic medical records for a diverse sample of over 135,000 children aged 2 to 12 and latent profile modeling to characterize places into distinctive neighborhood contexts. Multilevel models with cross-level interactions between neighborhood type and family socioeconomic standing (SES) reveal that children with different SES, but living in the same neighborhoods, have different odds of obesity. Specifically, we find lower-SES children benefit, but to a lesser degree, from neighborhood advantages and higher-SES children are negatively influenced, to a larger degree, by neighborhood disadvantages. The resulting narrowing of the gap in obesity by neighborhood disadvantage helps clarify how place matters for children’s odds of obesity and suggests that efforts to improve access to community advantages as well as efforts to address community disadvantages are important to curbing obesity and improving the health of all children.
TL;DR: It is found that perceived social injustice is significantly correlated with the odds of designating the government, instead of family members, to shoulder eldercare responsibilities, and this correlation varies between urban and rural regions.
Abstract: China's large aging population poses grim challenges to eldercare provision. Against the background of withering traditional kinship-based eldercare and the increasing significance of government-sponsored support programs, this study draws on data from the 2013 Chinese General Social Survey to investigate not only the correlation between the sense of social injustice and the preference to allocate eldercare responsibilities between public and private agents but also how this correlation varies between urban-versus-rural regions. We find that perceived social injustice is significantly correlated with the odds of designating the government, instead of family members, to shoulder eldercare responsibilities. Further mediation analysis suggests that this correlation is mediated through concerns about eldercare. On average, the link between perceived social injustice and the preference for eldercare duty allocation is weaker in rural China than in urban China. Theoretical and policy implications are discussed.
TL;DR: This paper explored the determinants of ethnic minority identification with emphasis on the One-Child Policy, which raises the incentives to identify as a minority, and found that the policy significantly increases minority identity.
Abstract: Chinese ethnic minorities are enjoying an era of resurgence, as their share of the population has risen by 50% from 1964 to 2010. Demographic forces alone cannot account for the rise. In this paper, we describe trends in ethnic minority identification and explore the determinants of identity with emphasis on the One-Child Policy, which raises the incentives to identify as a minority. Using nationally representative census data, we find that the policy significantly increases minority identity. The effects are especially large for persons in households with low socioeconomic status. This paper contributes to research on the history and demography of Chinese ethnic minorities, the impact of fertility policies, and the social construction of ethnoracial identity.
TL;DR: The authors found that girls who state a preference against non-marital childbearing are relatively more likely to marry before first intercourse, to delay first intercourse while unmarried, and to use contraception consistently if they have sex while being never married.
Abstract: With nonmarital births comprising roughly 40% of all births, nonmarital childbearing has become a major part of the family formation landscape in the U.S. These elevated rates of nonmarital childbearing form the context in which young women both establish individual preferences about their own future family formation behaviors, and embark on their own sexual trajectories. Although previous research has shown that girls’ and young women’s attitudes about sex, contraception, and pregnancy predict their likelihood of having sex and using contraception, no research to date has investigated whether their preferences specifically about nonmarital childbearing may predict their sexual and contraceptive behavior. I use the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, with a total of 6288 observations, to address this question. I investigate marital versus nonmarital sexual debut, and consistency of contraceptive use when never married and sexually active, by whether girls state a preference against nonmarital childbearing at ages 11–16. I find that girls who state a preference against nonmarital childbearing are relatively more likely to marry before first intercourse, to delay first intercourse while unmarried, and to use contraception consistently if they have sex while being never married.
TL;DR: Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health and the UK Biobank is used to assess whether the effects birth weight on cognitive functioning, educational attainment, height, body mass index, smoking, and depression are biased by or moderated by each phenotype’s respective polygenic score.
Abstract: Birth weight has long been known to be a proxy for prenatal nutrition as well as social stress during pregnancy and, in this vein, has important associations with life outcomes ranging from infant mortality to cognition to adult stature. However, since birth weight and such developmental outcomes may share a genetic etiology, here we compare estimates of the effect of birth weight on traits with and without controls for genotype. Moreover, a recent literature has suggested that the effects of birth weight on later outcomes may be moderated by genotype. Namely, a handful of studies have assessed whether alleles putatively associated with neural plasticity interact with birth weight in twin and sibling models and have come to conflicting results. This confusion may result from the fact that these researchers have used only candidate gene markers—that is single alleles or a combination of a few alleles. Candidate gene studies, in turn, have failed to replicate and the general consensus in the genetics of behavior literature is that most published associations are false positives. To improve on this prior work, the present study uses well-validated, replicated polygenic scores that combine information across the entire genome by summarizing the effects of over one million individual alleles. Specifically, we use data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health and the UK Biobank to assess whether the effects birth weight on cognitive functioning, educational attainment, height, body mass index, smoking, and depression are biased by or moderated by each phenotype’s respective polygenic score. Results do not show any robustly significant interactions in cross-sectional models or in sibling and/or twin fixed effects models. Implications for future research are discussed.
TL;DR: For example, this paper found that white cohabiting women are more likely to use effective methods of contraception than married women and that black cohabitors are less likely to take effective contraception in co-habiting relationships, compared to whites.
Abstract: While cohabitation has been increasing and a growing context to have and raise children, there has been little attention to one of the key determinants of fertility and effective contraceptive use. Drawing data from the 2013–2015 National Survey of Family Growth (N = 2285), we provide a contemporary portrait of contraceptive use among cohabiting American women. Specifically, we were guided by two main goals. First, we compared cohabiting and married women’s contraceptive use patterns and the variation by race and ethnicity. Second, we focused solely on cohabiting unions; and examined the racial and ethnic variation among cohabiting women. We found that cohabiting women are more likely to use effective methods of contraception than married women. Nonetheless, our findings point to the fact that white cohabiting women are driving the higher patterns of contraceptive use among cohabiting women. Indeed, a further examination of the variation among women in cohabiting relationships shows that black cohabitors are less likely to use effective contraception in cohabiting relationships, compared to whites. Our findings contribute to understanding the reproductive behaviors among a growing set of couples, cohabitors.
TL;DR: Using data from a recent national survey of approximately 20,000 Chinese middle school students, this paper tested the difference in cognitive development between only-children and children with siblings using non-parametric matching method.
Abstract: Using data from a recent national survey of approximately 20,000 Chinese middle school students, we tested the difference in cognitive development between only-children and children with siblings using non-parametric matching method. We took advantage of the massive increase in involuntary only-child families in China under the one-child family planning policy (1979–2015) to reduce the bias introduced by the otherwise pervasive human tendency to avoid having only one child. Our average treatment effect for the treated estimates indicates no significant cognitive difference between only-children and children with siblings. Further subgroup analyses, however, suggest that such average effect estimates can conceal important population heterogeneities because the only-child effect on cognitive development changes drastically between subgroups of the same population. Among other potential moderating factors, birth order and gender play particularly important roles in this process.
TL;DR: It is argued that supplementing ‘quantitative’ mortality information (i.e., mortality rates) with the ‘qualitative' mortality information provides additional insight that can inform health and social policy and could be used to enhance the transfer of good practices between countries.
Abstract: Countries with different mortality patterns face different health and demographic challenges. Knowing a country’s position relative to other countries with respect to sex-age- and cause-specific mortality can be very helpful when deciding policy and trying to manage costs efficiently. We argue that supplementing ‘quantitative’ mortality information (i.e., mortality rates) with the ‘qualitative’ information (i.e., structure by causes of death) provides additional insight that can inform health and social policy. This new knowledge, which cannot be obtained simply by considering data about life expectancy at birth, could be used to enhance the transfer of good practices between countries. Using the Eurostat 2015 mortality data, which are grouped by sex, age and cause of death, we analysed similarities amongst the 28 EU countries using classical clustering methods, applying five-year age groups and organising causes of death into three main groups, namely neoplasms, diseases of the circulatory system and diseases of the respiratory system. To demonstrate the advantages of including additional information on mortality, we compared clustering based on the above data with the clustering based on life expectancy at birth, one of the most common demographic indicators. The clusters obtained using a sex-age-cause approach were more geographically coherent. We also identified the sex-age-cause combinations that discriminate best between the clusters of countries. The factor that discriminated best between the clusters was not overall mortality rate, but mortality from diseases of the circulatory system in people aged over 80 years.
TL;DR: Multivariable models adjusted for serious psychological distress, chronic health conditions, gender, age, race/ethnicity, income, health coverage, and survey year demonstrated that adults with obesity were more likely to wait too long to get an appointment, and in the waiting room.
Abstract: Few studies of disparities consider logistical hurdles faced by adults with obesity in obtaining needed healthcare. This study compared adults with obesity to adults without obesity on self-reported practical aspects of receiving healthcare including ease of seeing a doctor and wait times for appointments. Serious psychological distress and chronic health conditions are prevalent in adults with obesity. Because serious psychological distress and number of chronic health conditions can act as confounders in any observed differences between the adults with and without obesity in their use of healthcare, we have examined these differences independent of serious psychological distress and chronic health conditions. Adults 18 to 64 years sampled from the 2006–2015 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS) (n = 74,598) were examined on five self-reported indicators: does not need a doctor, waited too long in the doctor’s office, and to get an appointment, year since having seen a doctor, and saw a doctor ten times or more in the last 12 months. Multivariable models adjusted for serious psychological distress, chronic health conditions, gender, age, race/ethnicity, income, health coverage, and survey year demonstrated that adults with obesity were more likely to wait too long to get an appointment, and in the waiting room. Adults with obesity report not needing doctors despite seeing doctors frequently. Greater attention is needed to understand barriers to health care utilization in adults with obesity.