Estimating mortality in Benin from a multi-round survey (1981-83)

"We shall in the present study proceed as follows: first, present the methodology used for the Benin Multi-Round Survey (BMRS); second, analyse the quality of the data, by evaluating the impact of mobility on the results, by a critical assessment of the levels obtained for several mortality indicators and by using indirect methods to estimate the coverage of deaths occurring between rounds; third, construct the first life tables for Benin based on raw data. We shall then consider in what these life tables are specific, and where they diverge from the standard life tables."

Analyses of public use decennial census data with multiply imputed industry and occupation codes

"This paper gives a brief introduction to multiple imputation for handling non-response in surveys. We then describe a recently completed project in which multiple imputation was used to recalibrate industry and occupation codes in 1970 U.S. census public use samples to the 1980 standard. Using analyses of data from the project, we examine the utility of analysing a large data set having imputed values compared with analysing a small data set having true values, and we provide examples of the amount by which variability is underestimated by using just one imputation rather than multiple imputations."

Regression of area mortality rates on explanatory variables: what weighting is appropriate?

"One can often gain insight into the aetiology of a disease by relating mortality rates in different areas to explanatory variables. Multiple regression techniques are usually employed, but unweighted least squares may be inappropriate if the areas vary in population size. Also, a fully weighted regression, with weights inversely proportional to binomial sampling variances, is usually too extreme. This paper proposes an intermediate solution via maximum likelihood which takes account of three sources of variation in death rates: sampling error, explanatory variables and unexplained differences between areas. The method is also adapted for logit (death rates), standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) and log (SMRs). Two [United Kingdom] examples are presented."

The effect of war on marriage, divorce and birth rates

The impact of war on marriage, divorce, and birth rates in the United States from 1933 to 1986 is explored. The author concludes that "the involvement of the nation in military activities was accompanied by a decrease in marriage and birth rates but not by any change in divorce rates. Mobilization of the armed forces and demobilization had no discernible impact on divorce, marriage or birth rates."

[Confronting the statistics on intra-European migration: toward greater harmonization?]

"Each international migration stream can be enumerated twice: at the time of departure from the country of emigration and at the time of arrival in the country of immigration. In practice, errors in international migration statistics are a major obstacle to the accurate analysis of migration flows. In connection with the process of harmonization set in train by Eurostat several years ago, a method of correcting defective migration data is proposed here, which makes use of this double enumeration. The method is applied to available data in a preliminary analysis. The correction factors presented here through this mathematical approach should turn out to be useful in more than one respect: to illuminate substantial problems of incompatibility of migration data and to follow the progress of the harmonization of those data." (SUMMARY IN ENG)

Fertility, sex role attitudes, and labor force participation

Data from the 1970 National Fertility Study were used to investigate the relationships between sex role attitudes and the childbearing and labor force participation of women. While several relevant dimensions of sex role attitudes were identified, it was found that the most crucial aspect for working and fertility was the extent to which the woman identified the female role as that of housewife and homemaker. Those having traditional definitions concerning this role were less likely to be working, and had fewer plans to work in the future. In addition, as expected, women with traditional sex role definitions had more children than others. While the orientation of the woman toward the home was the primary correlate of work and fertility, those who felt that women had little control over their lives had higher fertility than others—a relationship which could be explained partially, but not entirely, in terms of unplanned childbearing.

Demographic event history analysis: a selective review

This is a selective review of the literature concerning demographic event history analysis. "We have attempted to emphasize work that we consider to be particularly important or innovative, to note some of the difficulties that may arise with the use of event history analysis, and to point to several substantive areas where research is still poorly developed."

Interregional migration of labor in Ghana, West Africa: determinants, consequences and policy intervention

This article examines the determinants, consequences and policy intervention measures of the movement of labor within Ghana's administrative regions. The study concludes that the economic inequalities brought about by the uneven distribution of development projects in favor of urban areas causes depressed rural economic conditions, thus spurring rural to urban migration. Migration to the urban places of Ghana is therefore caused by individuals and families seeking better economic opportunities to improve the quality of their lives. Secondary determinants are varied, ranging from family obligations to the quest for adventure. The benefits of migration for the rural areas lie mainly in returned migrants’ contributions to the economic development of those areas. Migrants also contribute to the urban areas’ economic development, but their presence in large numbers has caused problems in the housing and in the delivery of social services. Rural development policies and land settlement schemes have been unsuccessful, due mainly to the lack of a comprehensive national development effort.

[An analysis of Korean women's reproductivity]

An analysis of reproductivity is mainly concerned with the measurement of net force of fertility expressed in terms of a generation rather than in a given year. The present study examined current trends of Korean Women's reproductivity interpreting general reproduction and net reproduction rates, intrinsic rate of natural increase and mean length of gestation. The data used for this analysis were drawn from the national fertility surveys from 1970 through 1990 conducted by the Korea Institute for Population and Health. The figures of the present study revealed that the reproduction rates of Korea during the last 20 years decreased from 2.22 in 1970 to 0.71 in 1990 and net reproduction rates also dropped from 1.9 to 0.69 during the same period of time. Furthermore, from this study, it is noticed that the replacement level of fertility had been reached since the early 1980s. The intrinsic rate of natural increase as measure of population growth under existing conditions of fertility and mortality and free of the influence of the current age distribution, is computed. The level of rate was not much changed and was 0.3 in 1970 compared with 0.25 in 1990, which is still higher than other developed countries. The mean age of mother at the birth of their daughters defined as the length of generation has been slightly changed from 23.9 in 1971 to 25.8 in 1990.