1,721,098 research outputs found
Have lifetime fertility intentions declined during the Great Recession?
Full text linkUsing several rounds of the Eurobarometer [EB] survey, we examine the relationship between lifetime fertility intentions and the 'Great Recession' in Europe. We suppose that the increase in unemployment rates observed between 2006 and 2011, the years in which the two EB surveys were conducted, are key driving forces behind the decline of fertility intentions observed in some EU countries, like Greece, over the 5-year period. Our findings reveal that the increasing uncertainty attached to the reported fertility intentions substantially contributes to the declining pattern observed over the five years and that people who negatively assess the country economic situation are more likely to plan smaller family sizes than those who have a more optimistic view of the country past shortterm economic trend. Eventually, the aggregate negative changes occurred in fertility intentions between 2006 and 2011 are positively correlated with the increase of youth unemployment rates. We might expect a similar declining trend in lifetime fertility intentions also in other countries - such as Spain, Italy, Ireland and Portugal - in the years to come if the economic crisis starts to be perceived as heavily as in Greece in such countries
Certainty of meeting fertility intentions declines in Europe during the 'Great Recession'
Full text linkBackground: Relatively little research has been conducted on how economic recessions impact fertility intentions. In particular, uncertainty in reproductive intentions has not been examined in relation to economic shocks. Objective: The purpose of this paper is to estimate the impact of individuals' perception of negative changes in both their own and their country's economic performance on reproductive intentions in Europe during the time of the 'Great Recession' (2006-2011). Crucially, we examine both intentions and stated certainty of meeting these intentions. Methods: Using the 2011 Eurobarometer survey for 27 European countries, fertility intentions and reproductive uncertainty are regressed on individuals' perceptions of past trends in country's economic situation, household's financial situation, and personal job situation. Multilevel ordinal regressions models are run separately for people at parities zero and one as well as controlling for a set of socio-demographic variables. Results: A worsening in the households' financial situation, as perceived in the years of the economic crisis, does not affect people's fertility intentions but rather the certainty of meeting these intentions. This relationship holds true at the individual-level for childless people. The more negative the individual's assessment of the household's financial situation, the higher the reproductive uncertainty. While this works exclusively at the country-level for people at parity one, the higher the share of people‟s pessimism on households' financial situation in the country the more insecure individuals of such a country are about having additional children. Conclusions: The empirical evidence suggests that individuals' uncertainty about realising their fertility intentions has risen in Europe and is positively linked to people's perceived household financial difficulties. If European economies continue to fare poorly, fertility intentions could eventually start to decline in response to such difficulties
Population - The long view
No full textThis special issue of Population Studies is the outcome of invitations to a number of scholars in demographic and related sciences to contribute to an exploration of large-scale, long-term, interdisciplinary population problems. In planning the issue, the editors hoped to help put the ‘population’ back into ‘population studies’. They were concerned that the population dimension had become hidden in recent demographic research, which has mostly become focused on micro-level analyses that often do not adequately engage with the relevance of the ‘micro’ for the ‘macro’ level of population behaviour
Baby longing and men’s reproductive motivation
No full textChildbearing in low-fertility societies some times results from a strong desire to have a(nother) child. Since women tend to dominate discussions on ‘baby longing’ or ‘baby fever’, it is not clear whether men also feel the powerful urge to have a child. Moreover, the demographic importance of baby longing has yet to be assessed. Using cross-sectional surveys from contemporary Finland and focusing on men, we analyse gender differences in baby longing. Both sexes report having felt an intense longing to have a child of their own at least once or a few times in their lives. A higher proportion of men say they have never longed for a child, while a higher proportion of women report having felt this longing frequently. Baby longing figures at different stages of the Traits-Desires-Intentions-Behaviour scheme of reproductive behaviour. For a small minority of men, longing first appears in youth. Baby longing among men most commonly plays into childbearing desires preceding attempts to achieve pregnancy. However, about every third man reports having first felt this longing only when trying to have a child. Baby longing among men is unrelated to economic and educational status, but it is associated with marital status, fertility intentions and the number of lifetime unions. Compared to its effects on women, baby longing among men is reported to result in having a child less often and to have less influence on childbearing decisi ons. We conclude that women’s longing shapes the couple’s fertility behaviour to a slightly higher degree than men’s longing does, especially with regards to higher parities. Men’s baby longing may be especially important for sustaining proceptive behaviour and preparing for fatherhoo
Health of midlife and older adults in China: the role of regional economic development, inequality, and institutional setting
Full text linkObjectives; To document the association between economic development, income inequality, and health-related public infrastructure, and health outcomes among Chinese adults in midlife and older age.
Methods: We use a series of multi-level regression models with individual-level baseline data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Survey (CHARLS). Provincial-level data are obtained both from official statistics and from CHARLS itself. Multi-level models are estimated with different subjective and objective health outcomes.
Results: Economic growth is associated with better self-rated health, but also with obesity. Better health infrastructure tends to be negatively associated with health outcomes, indicating the likely presence of reverse causality. No supportive evidence is found for the hypothesis that income inequality leads to worse health outcomes.
Conclusions: Our study shows that on top of individual characteristics, provincial variations in economic development, income inequality, and health infrastructure are associated with a range of health outcomes for Chinese midlife and older adults. Economic development in China might also bring adverse health outcomes for this age group; as such specific policy responses need to be developed
Both babies and work? women's employment status, husbands' housework and fertility in South Korea
No full textThis thesis investigates (in)compatibilities between remaining in continuous employment and childbearing for married women in South Korea, which has the lowest fertility rate in the world and a low female labour force participation rate relative to most post-industrialized states. Using longitudinal data from the KLoWF survey, the research investigates whether being in non-standard versus standard employment affects the probability of having a first and second child, whether this effect is explained by differences in access to maternity leave, and whether a husband's greater contribution to the household mediates these effects. Non-standard employment (such as temporary, contract-based or non-waged work) has become increasingly prevalent in South Korea since the Asian Financial Crisis, particularly amongst women. On the one hand, non-standard employment offers the possibility for part-time and flexible work hours, which could better enable women to combine work with childbearing. This may be particularly important in light of a persistent gender division of labour in the home. On the other hand, however, non-standard employment is generally non-permanent, and unlikely to offer long-term career prospects or fringe benefits such as maternity and childcare leave. Results from event history models show that women who work in standard employment are more likely to have a child than those who work in non-standard employment, but that maternity leave access fully explains this effect. Moreover, women with access to maternity benefits have a similar probability of parity two progression as women who drop out of the labour force. Husband’s greater contribution to the household is strongly linked to the probability of a second birth, but this effect holds regardless of whether or not a woman is working. The study highlights the importance of permanent employment opportunities with access to family benefits, as well as flexible work arrangements, which can help women to combine work with family.</p
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
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