International Journal of Population Research

Fertility Decline in Rwanda: Is Gender Preference in the Way?

Ignace Habimana Kabano, Annelet Broekhuis, and Pieter Hooimeijer — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 09:40:20 +0000

In 2007 Rwanda launched a campaign to promote 3 children families and a program of community based health services to improve reproductive health. This paper argues that mixed gender offspring is still an important insurance for old age in Rwanda and that to arrive at the desired gender composition women might have to progress beyond parity 3. The analyses are twofold. The first is the parity progression desire given the gender of living children. The second is gender specific replacement intention following the loss of the last or only son or daughter. Using the Demographic and Health Surveys of 2000, 2005, and 2010, we show that child mortality does not lead to extra parity progression beyond three, while having single gender offspring does and even more so when this is the result of the loss of the last son or daughter.

Unintentional Injuries among School-Aged Children in Palestine: Findings from the National Study of Palestinian Schoolchildren (HBSC-WBG2006)

Christine Jildeh, Ziad Abdeen, Haleama Al Sabbah, and Anastas Philalithis — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 13:46:28 +0000

Purpose. This study describes the nonfatal injuries among adolescents in Palestine. Methods. The 2006 Palestinian Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) is a cross-sectional survey. Students of grades 6, 8, 10, and 12 completed a modified version of the international HBSC questionnaire, resulting in 15,963 students (47.3% boys and 52.7% girls) included in this study (56.9% from the West Bank and 43.1% from Gaza). Results. Of the total 15,963 adolescents, 47.6% were injured, with boys (53.5%) being statistically higher than girls (42.1%) (). The prevalence of those injured more than once decreased by age and was also found significantly higher in boys than in girls (27.3% and 17.9%, resp.) (). Children living in low FAS families showed significantly lower ratios of injuries than those living in moderate and high FAS families (). Injuries while biking were significantly higher among boys (46.3%) than girls (41.7%) (), and injuries while walking/running were more prevalent among girls (32.5%) than boys (28.0%) (). Conclusion. Despite these considerably high rates, injury remains relatively underappreciated. Results of this study are useful to develop a national injury prevention program aimed at enhancing the safety of Palestinian adolescents.

Cultural Inheritance and Fertility Outcomes: An Analysis from Evolutionary and Interdisciplinary Perspectives

Li Zhang, Dudley L. Poston Jr., Michael S. Alvard, and Christopher Cherry — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 16:15:33 +0000

Taking evolutionary and interdisciplinary perspectives, this study views the reproductive result as an evolutionary outcome that may be affected by parental characteristics through cultural inheritance. We hypothesize that inheriting more cultural traits from parents leads to a greater resemblance between fertility outcomes of the offspring and their parents. In societies that experience a demographic transition, a greater resemblance can be indicated by a higher level of fertility of the offspring and a sooner transition from union formation to childbearing. We operationalize inheriting cultural traits from parents as reporting a religious affiliation the same as those of their parents. Through analyzing data from the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) Cycle 6, our results show that inheriting the same religious traits from parents does have an effect on one’s fertility. In particular, women who reported the same religious affiliations as those of their parents reported a greater number of children. They tend to have births inside, rather than outside, of marriage. Inside marriage, they are also more likely to give births sooner, rather than later. These findings support our hypotheses and help to build a theoretical framework that explains the changes in fertility outcomes from an interdisciplinary perspective.

Health and Well-Being of Immigrant Children and Youth

Cherylynn Bassani — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 10:35:52 +0000

Forecast Accuracy and Uncertainty of Australian Bureau of Statistics State and Territory Population Projections

Tom Wilson — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 08:03:35 +0000

Errors from past rounds of population projections can provide both diagnostic information to improve future projections as well as information for users on the likely uncertainty of current projections. This paper assesses the forecast accuracy of official Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) population projections for the states and territories of Australia and is the first major study to do so. For the states and territories, it is found that, after 10-year projection durations, absolute percentage errors lie between about 1% and 3% for the states and around 6% for the territories. Age-specific population projections are also assessed. It is shown that net interstate migration and net overseas migration are the demographic components of change which contributed most to forecast error. The paper also compares ABS projections of total population against simple linear extrapolation, finding that, overall, ABS projections just outperformed extrapolation. No identifiable trend in accuracy over time is detected. Under the assumption of temporal stability in the magnitude of error, empirical prediction intervals are created from past errors and applied to the current set of ABS projections. The paper concludes with a few ideas for future projection rounds.

Transnational Involvement: Reading Quantitative Studies in Light of Qualitative Data

Erlend Paasche and Katrine Fangen — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 16:08:12 +0000

Studies of migrant transnationalism are dominated by qualitative case studies. To take the field further, there is a need for more quantitative studies and for connecting quantitative and qualitative studies through a reiterative feedback loop. In order to contribute to this, we take two refined and original quantitative studies, one by Snel et al. and one by Portes et al., as a vantage point, commenting on the authors’ organization of analytical categories and their operationalization of key concepts, in light of our own, qualitative data. These data come from a research project, EUMARGINS, where we analyze processes of inclusion and exclusion of young adult immigrants and descendants in seven European countries, using participant observation and life-story interviews in combination with statistical data. We conclude that the process whereby young migrants identify themselves in terms of ethnicity and belonging is context-specific, multidimensional, and hard to study quantitatively.

Mapping Heat Health Risks in Urban Areas

Margaret Loughnan, Neville Nicholls, and Nigel J. Tapper — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 15:53:53 +0000

Periods of extreme heat pose a risk to the health of individuals, especially the elderly, the very young, and the chronically ill. Risk factors include housing characteristics, and socioeconomic factors, or environmental risk factors such as urban heat islands. This study developed an index of population vulnerability in an urban setting using known environmental, demographic, and health-related risk factors for heat stress. The spatial variations in risk factors were correlated with spatial variation in heat-related health outcomes in urban Melbourne. The index was weighted using measured health outcomes during heatwave periods. The index was then mapped to produce a spatial representation of risk. The key risk factors were identified as areas with aged care facilities, higher proportions of older people living alone, living in suburban rather than inner city areas, and areas with larger proportions of people who spoke a language other than English at home. The maps of spatial vulnerability provide information to target heat-related health risks by aiding policy advisors, urban planners, healthcare professionals, and ancillary services to develop heatwave preparedness plans at a local scale.

Budgetary Expenditure on Health and Human Development in India

Brijesh C. Purohit — Tue, 18 Sep 2012 08:15:59 +0000

This study aims at analyzing the differentials across rich and poor states and across rich and poorer strata and rural urban segments of 19 major Indian states. The study indicates that besides individual health financing policies of the respective state governments, there are significant disparities even between rural and urban strata and rich and poorer sections of the society. These are indicated by high inequality coefficients and an emerging pattern of life style second generation health problems as well as levels of utilization of both preventive and curative care both in public and private sectors. Our results emphasise that there is a need to increase public expenditure on health, improve efficiency in utilization of existing public facilities, and popularize government run health insurance schemes meant primarily for the poor. These steps may help to mitigate partly the inequitable outcomes.

Circular Temporary Labour Migration: Reassessing Established Public Policies

Sun, 16 Sep 2012 13:30:58 +0000

Circular Temporary Labour Migration (CTLM) is being promoted as an innovative and viable way of regulating the flow of labour migrants. Based on a specific empirical case study, we identify an unexpected outcome of CTLM programmes: the emergence of a new empirical migrant category, the circular labour migrant, which is as yet theoretically unnamed and lacks recognition by public institutions. We argue that, to date, there have been two historical phases of circular labour migration: one with total deregulation and another with partial regulation, involving private actors supported by public institutions. In a developed welfare state context, it would be normatively pertinent to expect a step towards a third phase, involving the institutionalization of this new trend in mobility by the formulation of a public policy. Current legal, political, social, and economic frameworks have to be reassessed in order to recognise the category of the circular labour migrant.

Estimating Maternal Mortality Level in Rural Northern Nigeria by the Sisterhood Method

Henry V. Doctor, Sally E. Findley, and Godwin Y. Afenyadu — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 11:59:04 +0000

Maternal mortality is one of the major challenges to health systems in sub Saharan Africa. This paper estimates the lifetime risk of maternal death and maternal mortality ratio (MMR) in four states of Northern Nigeria. Data from a household survey conducted in 2011 were utilized by applying the “sisterhood method” for estimating maternal mortality. Female respondents (15–49 years) were interviewed thereby creating a retrospective cohort of their sisters who reached the reproductive age of 15 years. A total of 3,080 respondents reported 7,731 maternal sisters of which 593 were reported dead and 298 of those dead were maternal-related deaths. This corresponded to a lifetime risk of maternal death of 9% (referring to a period about 10.5 years prior to the survey) and an MMR of 1,271 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births; 95% CI was 1,152–1,445 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. The study calls for improvement of the health system focusing on strategies that will accelerate reduction in MMR such as availability of skilled birth attendants, access to emergency obstetrics care, promotion of facility delivery, availability of antenatal care, and family planning. An accelerated reduction in MMR in the region will contribute towards the attainment of the Millennium Development Goal of maternal mortality reduction in Nigeria.

Transnationalism of Burundian Refugees in The Netherlands: The Importance of Migration Motives

Peter Mascini, Alfons Fermin, and Hilde Snick — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 14:30:41 +0000

It is equivocal whether the transnationalism of refugees differs significantly from that of labor and family migrants. On the basis of a strategic case study of Burundian refugees in The Netherlands we demonstrate that migration motives undeniably matter for transnationalism. Transnationalism is not self-evident for Burundians, as they are driven by a motive of flight. Moreover, transnationalism is not automatically oriented towards compatriots and manifests itself differently in The Netherlands than in Belgium. Therefore, we conclude that the study of refugees is an essential complement to the prevailing research on the transnationalism of settled labor and family migrant communities.

A Note on Child Policy and Fertility in an Overlapping Generations Small Open Economy: When the Labour Market Institutions Matter

Luciano Fanti and Luca Gori — Wed, 29 Aug 2012 07:18:22 +0000

We examine how fertility reacts to the public provision of child allowances in a small open economy with overlapping generations. When the labour market is competitive, we find that a child allowance policy acts as a fertility-enhancing device. In contrast, when the labour market is unionised the child policy may be ineffective.

Marital Status, the Economic Benefits of Marriage, and Days of Inactivity due to Poor Health

Jim P. Stimpson, Fernando A. Wilson, and M. Kristen Peek — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 09:22:20 +0000

Purpose. This study explored whether the economic benefits of marriage mediate the association between marriage and health and if that relationship is conditional on the level of shared economic resources. Methods. Pooled, cross-sectional data from NHANES 2001–2006 were analyzed using multivariate zero-inflated negative binomial regression for the number of days of inactivity due to poor physical or mental health. Results. Persons that were divorced/separated reported the highest average number of days of inactivity (mean = 2.5) within a 30 day period, and married persons reported the lowest number of days of inactivity (mean = 1.4). Multivariate results indicated that widowed persons did not report significantly more days of inactivity than married persons. Income to poverty ratio reduced the size and eliminated statistical significance of the difference between divorced/separated and never married marital statuses compared to married persons. The interaction effect for marital status and income to poverty ratio was statistically significant suggesting that the relationship between marital status and inactivity is conditional on shared income. Conclusion. Marriage confers health protective benefits in part through pooled income relative to other marital statuses.

Unintended Pregnancy and Abortion Access in the United States

Marshall H. Medoff — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 07:22:30 +0000

This study examines the relationship between state restrictive abortion laws and the incidence of unintended pregnancy. Using 2006 data about pregnancy intentions, the empirical results found that no Medicaid funding, mandatory counseling laws, two-visit laws, and antiabortion attitudes have no significant effect on the unintended pregnancy rate, unwanted pregnancy rate, unintended pregnancy ratio, or the unwanted pregnancy ratio. Parental involvement laws have a significantly negative effect on the unintended and unwanted pregnancy rates and ratios. This latter result suggests that parental involvement laws alter teen minors' risky sexual activity and that behavioral modification has a cumulative effect on the pregnancy avoidance behavior of adult women of childbearing age. The empirical results remain robust even after controlling for regional effects, outliers, and the two different types of parental involvement laws.

Internal Migration and Fertility in Turkey: Kaplan-Meier Survival Analysis

Mehmet Ali Eryurt and İsmet KOÇ — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 07:49:22 +0000

Starting from the mid-twentieth century, Turkey has experienced a remarkable fertility decline. Total period fertility declined from the level of 6 or 7 to the almost replacement level by 2003. Similarly, in the 1950s onwards internal migration gathered speed and transformed Turkey from a predominantly rural country to a mainly urban one in less than half a century. Fertility and migration were mutually reinforcing processes in Turkey. Considering this relationship, the study aims to compare fertility behaviours of migrants with those of nonmigrants at both origin and destination areas. The data source is the 2003 Turkey Demographic and Health Survey. A nonparametric descriptive survival analysis technique, Kaplan-Meier survival analysis, was employed. Kaplan-Meier survival curves of transition to first, second and subsequent births were compared by migration status. Survival curves of second and subsequent births for rural-to-urban and urban-to-rural migrant women are similar to the curves at the place of destination rather than place of origin. This result reveals that adaptation theory, rather than socialization theory, is more explanatory in the case of Turkey. Kaplan-Meier survival estimates showed that rural native and rural-to-rural migrant women experience all the events related with family formation earlier in their life cycle.

When Do People Become Adults? The Uruguayan Case

Natalia Melgar and Máximo Rossi — Thu, 26 Jul 2012 13:04:46 +0000

This paper explores the key experiences that Uruguayans consider relevant for becoming an adult in Uruguay. In particular, we assess the linkages between adulthood and income; labor market participation and marital status, among other transitions that have been found to be associated with the attainment of adulthood. With the aim of identifying attitudinal patterns, we use the 2008 International Social Survey Program in Uruguay and estimate ordered probit models to examine the importance individuals assign to a series of hypothetical transitions. We discover that gender, age, and educational level are viewed as critical determinants in the passage to adulthood. Moreover, we find that Uruguay may have a different constellation of beliefs pertaining to adult transitions than has been found in similar studies conducted in the United States.

Transnational Social Workers: Making the Profession a Transnational Professional Space

Allen Bartley, Liz Beddoe, Christa Fouché, and Phil Harington — Wed, 18 Jul 2012 11:43:56 +0000

This paper draws on research conducted in New Zealand from 2009 to 2011 with overseas-qualified social workers as members of a global profession experiencing both great international demand for their skills and unparalleled flows of professional transnationalism. In line with the international social work literature, this cohort of migrant professionals offers a range of needed skill and expertise as well as unique challenges to local employers, client communities, and the social work profession as a whole. With a specific focus on mixed-methods data dealing with participants' induction experiences and engagement with professional bodies, this paper argues that migrant social workers have created in New Zealand a transnational professional space that demands a response from local social work stakeholders.

A Qualitative Study of Barriers to Effectiveness of Interventions to Prevent Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV in Arba Minch, Ethiopia

Adebola Adedimeji, Nareen Abboud, Behailu Merdekios, and Miriam Shiferaw — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 11:40:11 +0000

Objectives. Despite the availability of services to prevent mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) of HIV, socio-cultural, health system and operational factors constrain many pregnant women from accessing services or returning for followup thereby increasing the risk of vertical transmission of HIV to newborns. We highlight and describe unique contextual factors contributing to low utilization of PMTCT services in Arba-Minch, Ethiopia. Methods. Qualitative research design was utilized to obtain data through focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with antenatal clinic attendees, health workers health facilities in the study area. Results. Awareness of PMTCT services and knowledge of its benefits was nearly universal, although socioeconomic, cultural and health system factors, including stigma and desire to prevent knowledge of serostatus, impede access to and utilization of services. Health system factors—lack of appropriate followup mechanisms, inadequate access to ARV drugs and poorly equipped manpower also contribute to low utilization of services. Conclusion. Reducing mother-to-child transmission of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa will be more effective when unique contextual factors are identified and addressed. Effectiveness of PMTCT interventions rests on a well functioning health system that recognize the importance of social, economic, cultural contexts that HIV positive pregnant women live in.

Assessing Vulnerability to Chronic Undernutrition among Under-Five Children in Egypt: Contextual Determinants of an Individual Consequence

Sumit Mazumdar — Sun, 01 Jul 2012 15:12:00 +0000

Nutritional outcomes remain an important development indicator and reflect a household's vulnerability to improved quality of life. Drawing upon recent household survey data from Egypt, this paper applies hierarchical models to test the effect of contextual factors on chronic undernutrition among under-five children and identifies the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics that underscore such vulnerability. Results indicate considerable neighborhood effects influencing a household’s nutritional choices. However, no significant effect could be identified for mother’s education and women’s decision-making power, but a clear positive association is evident between nutritional status and better health service utilization as well as child care and feeding practices. Focused intervention strategies need to augment household level behavioral change for these identified factors and supplement such individual efforts with targeted strategies aimed at vulnerable Egyptian communities to reduce child undernutrition.

Resilience and Its Association with Depression, Emotional and Behavioural Problems, and Mental Health Service Utilisation among Refugee Adolescents Living in South Australia

Wed, 20 Jun 2012 11:04:45 +0000

Background. Despite the frequency of traumatic or stressful events experienced by refugee children and adolescents prior to migration and following resettlement, the majority do not experience mental health problems emphasising the critical nature of resilience. While a host of factors deemed to be protective of mental health in young refugees have been identified, there has been little research exploring the role of resilience as a distinct psychological construct. This study aimed to explore the nature of psychological resilience in refugee adolescents and the relationship between resilience and depression, other emotional and behavioural problems, and mental health service uptake. Method. One hundred and seventy multiethnic refugee adolescents aged 13–17 from South Australia were administered a survey comprising the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), Children’s Depression Inventory (CDI), and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Results. Females tended to have higher resilience, as did those adolescents who had been living in Australia longer. Adolescents suffering from depressive symptoms or other emotional or behavioural problems had lower resilience. There was little evidence of an association between resilience scores and exposure to trauma or service utilisation. Discussion. Fostering resilience may be critical to efforts to prevent or reduce mental health problems in refugee adolescents.

Spatial Divisions and Fertility in India

Vijayan Pillai and Mashooq Salehin — Tue, 12 Jun 2012 11:53:22 +0000

The Indian subcontinent can be divided into four geographical divisions. In this paper, we characterize three of the four divisions; the Northern Plains, the Deccan Plateau, and the Northern Mountains or the Himalayan as regions with dissimilar climatic and physical resources. It is argued that human adaptations to these variations would be varied by differences in social organization of production and consumption resulting in differences in fertility differences across the three divisions. We found significant differences in the median age at motherhood as well as in the total family size. The effects of the three selected fertility determinants, age at marriage, years of woman's education, and level of child loss on family size also varied significantly across the three divisions. There is considerable homogeneity with respect to fertility levels within the zones considered in this study.

Employment Assimilation of Immigrants in The Netherlands: Dip and Catchup by Source Country

Aslan Zorlu and Joop Hartog — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 09:12:53 +0000

Using two Dutch labour force surveys, we compare employment assimilation of immigrants by source country, after ranking countries by presumed social-cultural distance to The Netherlands. We test this ranking of human capital transferability on the ranking by initial performance dip at entry as an immigrant and speed of assimilation as measured by the slope on years-since-migration. We also test the predicted association between entry gap and speed of assimilation (faster assimilation if the initial dip is larger). Both hypotheses are largely supported. Most immigrant groups never reach parity with native Dutch, neither in (un-)employment probability nor in job quality, and certainly not within 25 years after arrival.

Maternal Characteristics and Temporal Trends in Birth Outcomes: Comparison between Spanish and Migrant Mothers

Carlos Varea, Cristina Bernis, and Antonio González González — Tue, 29 May 2012 11:56:57 +0000

Low birth weight and preterm babies have been increasing in Spain since 1980, coinciding with important changes in the social and demographic structure of childbearing populations—including the contribution of a 25% of foreign mothers—and with increasing medical intervention in births. This study, based on 5,990,613 births, compares the temporary trends in reproductive patterns and birth outcomes in Spanish and foreign mothers during the period 1996–2009 and evaluates for the years 2007 to 2009 the relative contribution of mother's origin and Caesarean section to birth weight variability. Foreign mothers maintain their own reproductive pattern, whereas negative birth outcomes increase in all groups. Results from logistic regression analysis show that besides late maternity and primiparity also Caesarean section increases the risk for low birth weight. The reduction in Caesarean section rates between 2007 and 2009 might explain the reduction of low birth weight detected. A change of tendency simultaneously appears in most maternal and newborn characteristics, and in the mode of delivery in all ethnic groups since 2008. Coincidence in the timing of the change of trends points to a common factor. We suggest that the current world financial crisis could be this common cause, a hypothesis to be contrasted in future research.

Addressing Inequities in Access to Health Products through the Use of Social Marketing, Community Mobilization, and Local Entrepreneurs in Rural Western Kenya

Mon, 28 May 2012 15:37:34 +0000

While social marketing can increase uptake of health products in developing countries, providing equitable access is challenging. We conducted a 2-year evaluation of uptake of WaterGuard, insecticide-treated bednets (ITNs), and micronutrient Sprinkles in Western Kenya. Sixty villages were randomly assigned to intervention and comparison groups. Following a baseline survey (BL), a multifaceted intervention comprising social marketing of these products, home visits by product vendors from a local women’s group (Safe Water and AIDS Project, or SWAP), product promotions, and modeling of water treatment and safe storage in was implemented in intervention villages. Comparison villages received only social marketing of WaterGuard and ITNs. We surveyed again at one year (FU1), implemented the intervention in comparison villages, and surveyed again at two years (FU2). At BL, <3% of households had been visited by a SWAP vendor. At FU1, more intervention than comparison households had been visited by a SWAP vendor (39% versus 9%, 𝑃<0.0001), and purchased WaterGuard (14% versus 2%, 𝑃<0.0001), Sprinkles (36% versus 6%, 𝑃<0.0001), or ITNs (3% versus 1%, 𝑃<0.04) from that vendor. During FU2, 47% and 41% of original intervention and comparison households, respectively, reported ever receiving a SWAP vendor visit (𝑃=0.16); >90% those reported ever purchasing a product from the vendor. WaterGuard (𝑃=0.02) and ITNs (𝑃=0.005) were purchased less frequently by lower-SES than higher-SES households; Sprinkles, the least expensive product, was purchased equally across all quintiles.

The Brain Drain Potential of Students in the African Health and Nonhealth Sectors

Jonathan Crush and Wade Pendleton — Sun, 27 May 2012 15:20:37 +0000

The departure of health professionals to Europe and North America is placing an intolerable burden on public health systems in many African countries. Various retention, recall, and replacement policies to ameliorate the impact of this brain drain have been suggested, none of which have been particularly successful to date. The key question for the future is whether the brain drain of health sector skills is likely to continue and whether the investment of African countries in training health professionals will continue to be lost through emigration. This paper examines the emigration intentions of trainee health professionals in six Southern African countries. The data was collected by the Southern African Migration Program (SAMP) in a survey of final-year students across the region which included 651 students training for the health professions. The data also allows for the comparison of health sector with other students. The analysis presented in this paper shows very high emigration potential amongst all final-year students. Health sector students do show a slightly higher inclination to leave than those training to work in other sectors. These findings present a considerable challenge for policy makers seeking to encourage students to stay at home and work after graduation.

Socioeconomic Position, Rural Residence, and Marginality Influences on Obesity Status in the Adult Mexican Population

P. Johnelle Sparks and Corey S. Sparks — Tue, 22 May 2012 11:25:38 +0000

This paper assesses individual and social environment determinants of obesity in the adult Mexican population based on socioeconomic position, rural residence, and areal deprivation. Using a nationally representative health and nutrition survey, this analysis considers individual and structural determinants of obesity from a socioeconomic position and health disparities conceptual framework using multilevel logistic regression models. We find that more than thirty percent of Mexican adults were obese in 2006 and that the odds of being obese were strongly associated with an individual's socioeconomic position, gender, place of residence, and the level of marginalization (areal deprivation) in the place of residence. Surprisingly, areas of the country where areal deprivation was highest had lower risks of individual obesity outcomes. We suggest that programs oriented towards addressing the health benefits of traditional food systems over high-energy dense refined foods and sugary beverages be promoted as part of a public health program aimed at curbing the rising obesity prevalence in Mexico.

Metropolitan USA: Evidence from the 2010 Census

John Rennie Short — Tue, 15 May 2012 15:41:13 +0000

I will review the major changes in the distribution of the metropolitan population of the United States (US), as revealed by the 2010 data recently released by the US Census. These data allow us to track recent changes and provide the basis for a discussion of longer-term trends identified in previous studies of US cities (Short 2006, 2007) and the city suburban nexus (Hanlon et al. 2010). In brief summary, the paper will show the continuing metropolitanization and suburbanization of the US population. A more nuanced picture will reveal evidence of stress in suburban areas and population resurgence in selected central city areas. Overall, the story is one of a profound revalorization and a major respatialization of the US metropolis.

No Longer Sojourners: The Complexities of Racial Ethnic Identity, Gender, and Generational Outcomes for Sub-Saharan Africans in the USA

Natasha M. Rivers — Mon, 14 May 2012 11:53:25 +0000

Through individual and group testimonies from newly arrived, 1.5 and second generation sub-Saharan Africans (For this study sub-Saharan African refers to the countries located under Northern African countries, for example, Egypt and Morocco and, includes South Africa. There are over 50 countries represented by this region; however, the most populous groups from this region in Africa in the USA are Nigerian, Ethiopian, Kenyan, Liberian, Ghanaian, Cape Verdean, South African, and Somalian.), the diversity and complexity linked to their migration and integration experiences in the USA reveal that there is a gendered and generational element to their self identity. These elements are compounded by perceptions of being African American in a racialized society and deciding whether or not to stay connected to Africa, a continent that needs their financial, political, and social resources accumulated in the USA These “new” African Americans expand the definition of blackness in the USA. Many have created a transnational relationship to Africa and the USA, which provides important implications for Africa’s potential “brain gain” as well as socioeconomic, infrastructural, and political development.

Financial Factors and Labour Market Transitions of Older Workers in Canada

Xuyang Chen, Maxime Fougère, and Bruno Rainville — Thu, 10 May 2012 11:00:43 +0000

This paper looks at the influence of financial factors on the labour market transitions of Canadian older workers. Also, in contrast to previous studies, the analysis focuses on transitions between full-time work, part-time work, and retirement. Sequential annual observations of employment and retirement choices are examined for samples of full-time and part-time workers, drawn from the Survey of Labour and Income Dynamics (SLID), 2001–2006. Measures of potential pension wealth and one-year and peak pension accruals are imputed using data from the Survey of Consumer Finances, 1973–1997, and the SLID, 1997–2006. Regression results indicate that financial factors influence workers to move from full-time to part-time jobs and support the evidence found in previous studies that retirement is usually a process, not a single event. Also, an increase in pension accruals increases the probability of working full-time for lower-income earners only. Among nonfinancial factors, a negative health shock increases the probability of working part-time or retiring for full-time workers but has little effect on the labour market transitions of part-time workers. Finally, these results suggest that policies to encourage phased retirement are unlikely to have a significant labour market effect since bridge employment is already a common transition process among older workers.

International Comparisons of Population Mobility in Russia

Timothy Heleniak — Thu, 10 May 2012 08:41:42 +0000

The population of Russia is regarded as being quite immobile compared to other countries. There have been some recent methodological advances and new datasets on internal migration which make cross-national comparisons, though these do not extend to Russia. This paper adds comparisons of levels of mobility in Russia with other countries. The study finds that the population of Russia is not significantly less mobile than other large countries and that part of the myth of immobility stems from a deterioration of the migration registration system in the post-Soviet period. There are inconsistencies between lifetime mobility derived from population censuses and annual mobility from a population register which originated during the central-planning period. Given changes in the economic structure at both national and regional levels during the period of economic transition, migration theory predicted significant migration movements, and it seems as if many were not captured by the statistical system.