A key component of demographic analysis is the cohort. Cohort-related factors might play a role in the strong net cohort effect reported for male baby boomers (born 1946–1966) in Canada, who have committed suicide at an unusually high rate. This study examines the impact of relative cohort size on suicide mortality in Canada and compares this effect in the province of Quebec to the effect observed in the rest of Canada and tests concurrent demographic theories of Easterlin and Preston. A Hierarchical Age-Period-Cohort Cross-Classified Random Effect Model (HAPC-CCREM) was used to assess the impacts of interest. The results in Canada support Easterlin’s paradigm: large cohorts commit suicide at higher rates than small cohorts. However, the relationship appears to be specific to males, as female cohort sizes do not have significant effects on suicide mortality rates. Our findings also suggest that the effect of relative cohort size on suicide mortality is significantly greater for males in Quebec than for males in the rest of Canada.

Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are known to have extremely low fertility rates that are lower than the level to reproduce their populations. In this study, we discuss how and why this happened, utilizing a comparative analysis among the three East Asian countries (Japan, South Korea and Taiwan) and six Western countries (the U.S., the U.K., France, Germany, Italy and Spain). Different economic structures and social systems might explain why East Asian countries generally have lower fertility rates than their Western counterparts. We first attempt to show that even among the six Western countries and three nations in East Asia, the differences in social and economic circumstances have led to different trends in fertility rates in the past 30 years. We then argue that women’s welfare in all nine countries is the key factor to explain differences in fertility rates among these societies.

High levels of child mortality in the developing countries led the United Nations to include a significant reduction of under-five mortality rates among the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to be reached before 2015. In particular, the target of MDG 4 is to reduce the under-five mortality rates in every developing country by two thirds with respect to the levels reached in 1990. This article contributes to the debate on whether the target of MDG 4 will be reached by 2015; it also offers policy recommendations. We observe 110 countries defined by United Nations as “less” or “least” developed. The time-series-macro data used in the study come mainly from the United Nations “MDGInfo” database. Additional data come from WHO, UNICEF, UNDP and World Bank databases. The availability of a large amount of comparable data at the national level makes the quantitative cross-country approach particularly suitable for describing and comparing the intensity and main features of child mortality in different regions and countries. In our article, we: 1) provide an overview of the general context of developing countries; 2) analyze (using principal component analysis and cluster analysis) aspects of child mortality to highlight its different patterns and group together the considered countries in homogeneous clusters; 3) apply and update a methodology used by international agencies to monitor the outcomes obtained by each country in the reduction of child mortality and to estimate the chance each country has to reach MDG 4 (taking into account the trends shown since 1990); and 4) utilize linear regression models to identify the main social and economic determinants of the gaps that exist for each country in 2010 between the observed under-five mortality rates levels and those required to achieve the target. Our study shows that in 50 of 110 countries, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa, the average annual rate of reduction in under-five mortality rates observed so far will not be sufficient to meet MDG 4.

Using data from the Eurostat Database and European Value Surveys we assess if recent fertility trends in Europe are associated with a change in values. A special emphasis is given to Spain and Italy that, together with the other Southern European countries, are often seen as a homogeneous group sharing the same 'traditional' values and demographic behaviours -as opposed to Scandinavian countries which are seen as progressive. We show that Italy and Spain are not that similar in terms of values. We also show that similarities at the country level with respect to TFR hide considerable variation at the regional level. We argue that an analysis at the regional level, as carried out here, is crucial to better understand changes in fertility levels. Our analyses provide evidence that recent fertility trends are associated with value dynamics, namely that the highest increases in TFR happened in regions where both individualism with respect to relationships and individual autonomy grew at the same time that individualism with respect to children diminished. We also provide empirical evidence in support of McDonald's theory that both gender equity in market-oriented and family-oriented institutions is necessary for fertility to rise.

Cross-sectional data on the role of education show that low-educated Italian women have one of the lowest rates of participation in Europe, and that their gap vis à vis the highly educated is very wide. Also wide is the gap in the shares, between high and low educated working women, of those employed in the public sector. By adopting a life-course perspective and using retrospective longitudinal data from the last wave of ILFI (2005), this study analyses how in Italy education and public employment differentiate women's entries into and exits from paid work, observing three cohorts of women born between 1945 and 1974 from the time they leave fulltime education to their forties. The findings confirm for Italy what has been shown for many other countries, namely that highly educated women have more continuous careers around motherhood than do low educated women, regardless of their occupational position, their contract, and their employment position in family-friendly sectors such as the public sector. However, we also find that in Italy highly educated women tend to be over-concentrated in the public sector and that, when they work in that sector, they tend to have more children and to bear them earlier compared with equally highly educated women in the private sector. In the Italian context where protection in the public sector has also been used as a surrogate measure for universal work-family reconciliation policies, and where traditional gender norms still persist, these results are consistent with the possibility that education is so important for women's labour market continuity because it represents an investment in 'reconciliation' and 'work legitimacy' over and above investment in human capital.

The benefits of breast-feeding are well-documented in literature, especially in terms of the growth of the child during the first few months of life. However, a close examination of the literature related to extended breast-feeding suggests that breast-feeding beyond 12 months of age in developing countries is associated with a greater risk for under-nutrition, as defined by lower weight-for-age, height-for-age and weight-for-height. The central hypothesis of this study is to determine the effects of extended breastfeeding on the anthropometric measurements of children in India and its regions using cross-sectional National Family Health Survey-2 data. A simulative approach has been adopted in the paper to find out the effects of extended breast-feeding. Results suggest that extended breast-feeding without supplementary diet was not beneficial for children of all the regions of India. The effect of different extended durations (12-17 months and 18-23 months) of breast-feeding with supplements did not show any significantly different impact on the anthropometric measurements of child health. Further, results suggest that breast-feeding beyond 23 months, along with supplements, has a significantly negative impact on child health. The magnitude of different anthropometric measurements according to different durations of breast-feeding suggests that breast-feeding beyond 23 months is not beneficial.

Bangladesh and Italy, while being different in terms of terms of socio-economic context, population growth, fertility rate, and religious background, among others, share a common goal of lowering fertility to reach replacement level of fertility. On this point, both countries have promoted new norms of family size, cultural values, and even curbed influences of religious institutions. This paper presents an overview of each country's efforts to reach replacement level of fertility, details problems each country has encountered in attempting to reach replacement level of fertility, and puts forth a sociological explanation that explains their attempts to reach replacement level of fertility.

Several studies have shown that early motherhood is associated with less utilization of maternal health care services as well as increased risk of maternal and child health outcomes. The present study advances our knowledge in Indian context. Adverse impacts of teenage childbearing on low weight at birth, infant mortality rate, and on mother's anaemic conditions is examined using data of third round of National Family Health Survey conducted during, 2005-06. Bivariate and multivariate analysis is employed in the study. Result indicates that risk of poor health is higher among teenage mothers than in the comparison group. However, differences are more pronounced for infant mortality. Multivariate analysis shows that teenage mothers are significantly and negatively associated with risk of low birth weight, infant mortality, and prevalence of anaemia after adjusting other confounders.

Every child deserves an opportunity of quality education. If a child's access to education depends on circumstances such as caste, religion, gender, place of birth, or other parental characteristics, then it leads to disparity in access based on circumstances which are beyond the control of a child. This unacceptable disparity (inequality of opportunity) needs to be measured and addressed by policy interventions. Using two rounds of Indian National Family Health Surveys, and concepts of Inequality of Opportunity and Human Opportunity Indices this paper measures inequality arising out of unequal access to primary education for Indian children. The results suggest overall high level of inequality of educational opportunity with substantial geographical variations. Inequality of opportunity in access to primary education reduced during 1992-93 to 2005-06 but the reduction varied considerably across different geographical regions, which calls for regional focus apart from national level policy revisions.

In this article we explore the association between the time spent in formal childcare by very young children (0-2 years old) and the socio-economic characteristics of their households. The paper aims to evaluate the different impact of important household determinants of childcare use, given different policy measures in support of families, childcare and family-work reconciliation in France, Italy, Spain and UK. We use data from the EU-SILC. Our analyses show that employment status and economic condition are important factors that influence parental decision-making on the use of formal childcare. The effect of these factors differs by country and type of childcare arrangement (part- or full-time), and reflects cultural and institutional differences in childcare and family policies and labour market regulations. France, Italy and Spain follow a similar pattern: women are seen as the principal caregivers. In these countries, the mother's characteristics (i.e. education and employment) are identified as key factors. The results for the UK are not as straightforward. Apart from the mother's employment status, in the UK both the father's and the mother's earnings are relevant.