Search

What insights can studies of son preference in Asia offer European historical demographers? Research on Asia is far easier than on historical Europe, given the scope for in-depth studies of a contemporary phenomenon instead of using available historical data. Levels of sex-selection have also been high in Asia, which makes it easier to analyze its correlates. This enables developing hypotheses that might be useful in studies of historical Europe. Studies in Asia indicate that, in rigidly patrilineal societies, son preference forms part of households' strategy for managing their assets and risks. The extent of sex-selection varied enormously over time within a given setting, rising sharply when households faced heightened risk --- such as war, or the unwinding of Communist regimes that offered communal access to resources --- and decreasing as modern state pension systems mature. These household strategies also affect the life-chances of other household members, including marriage restriction to reduce asset fragmentation. Kinship systems shape the rights of different categories of household members and the norms of cooperation between them — including between generations, spouses, and siblings of different genders and birth orders. This paper offers some hypotheses on the implications of variations in patrilineal kinship systems in Europe for the life-chances of different categories of household members. For purposes of constructing hypotheses that can be tested if data permit, the European kinship systems are contrasted in a stylized way, as those based on a 'lifeboat' ethic of jettisoning non-heirs from the household, versus those based on a more 'corporate' ethic in which the household seeks to support all its members. Historical demographers working on Europe have rich fields to explore, given the region's diversity: of kinship systems, of economic opportunities, and of exposure to major risks such as wars, famine, and the establishment and dis-establishment of Communism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discrimination towards females – a trait of regional demography so far deemed unique to Asian countries – has inspired historians to revisit demographic series to look for instances of gender imbalances within Europe. In this paper, we show why a proper appreciation of Europe's experience of gender discrimination in the past may help us to understand the future of contemporary sex selection throughout Asia. We stress in particular how the demographic discrimination of females appeared to have vanished during the 20th century from all areas where it was reported earlier. We examine the main factors that may explain the gradual disappearance of the 'missing girls' from Europe. We finally discuss the best ways to identify the potential micro- or macro-mechanisms accounting for the transformations observed in Europe, using, in particular, the distinct trajectories of countries in Southeastern Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses the population transition model for Vietnam, based on Grover's five stages of population transition. Compatible with the transitional model of Western Europe and other advanced Asian countries, this process in Vietnam has some significant differences: (a) the initial shift or transition of fertility of the population in Vietnam is later than in Asian countries by about 13 years while compared to Europe it is nearly 108 years later; and (b) while the period of initial transition of mortality in Vietnam may not be very different from other Asian countries, it is more than 100 years later than in European countries, especially those in Western Europe. One of the main factors influencing the late transition of Vietnam's population process is, of course, colonialism and the consecutive wars (1945–1954 and 1955–1975). After 1975, Vietnam's population was stable as industrialisation and urbanisation led to the development of health services, education and an urban lifestyle, as well as effective population policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, one driver behind the promotion of home ownership in Western countries has been the belief that owner-occupied housing assets provide a means to build up individual welfare security, potentially offsetting pension shortfalls in retirement. In contrast, many developed East Asian societies have both long focussed on advancing ‘asset’ or ‘property-based welfare’ systems as well as experienced the late-1990s Asian Financial Crisis which forced changes in housing and welfare practices. This paper examines how home ownership and asset-based welfare fared in these contexts and the lessons to be learned. It begins by considering the role of owner-occupied housing assets in different welfare regimes before empirically examining how asset-based welfare systems have been realized. It then considers how East Asian home ownership and asset-based welfare systems have stood-up to economic crises. The final section considers what the East Asian experiences contribute to an understanding of the housing assets–welfare relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the influence of the economic, social, and cultural variables on life satisfaction in Asia and Europe. The second section sets a unifying theoretical framework for all three domains by defining life satisfaction as a function of aspirations and expectations which in turn are affected by micro- and macro-level variables. On the micro-level, economic capital is a resource for the actor. On the macro-level, societal economic capital improves the opportunity structure for the individual under certain conditions. Thus, economic capital on both levels positively affects the perceived chances of fulfilling aspirations. As long as the latter remain unchanged life satisfaction will increase. Social and cultural factors partially follow the same logic, as indicated by the terms social and cultural capital. Under a set of assumptions, the hypotheses derived are that personal and societal economic capital, national pride and national integration, religiosity, and societal religious integration, all positively affect the life satisfaction of the individual. A multi-level analysis of data from the European Values Study and the AsiaBarometer confirms the micro-level hypotheses. The economic macro-level indicators also display the theoretically expected positive effect on life satisfaction in the multivariate analysis of Asian and European data. By contrast, the direct cross-level effects of a society’s national integration and particularly of religion do not become significant in Europe, yet they are highly significant in Asia. This strong influence of the social and cultural context in Asia can be interpreted in two different ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]