Wealth stratification and reproduction in Northeast China, 1866–1907

Although the importance of material wealth to population growth is the core of Malthusian theory about population dynamics in pre-transitional societies, our understanding of the relationship between wealth and reproductive success in China is still limited. Until recently, there was little in the way of relevant data. In the absence of empirical evidence to the contrary, conceptions of the Chinese demographic regime were largely Malthusian, in that they did not account for the possible role of a fertility-based preventive check. In this study, we examine wealth differentials in reproduction in historical rural China by using newly available longitudinal individual level demographic and household level land holding data for 108,100 immigrants and their descendants living in 120 villages in Shuangcheng, Northeast China, between 1866 and 1907. Our study demonstrates a positive correlation between land holding status and marital fertility among the population under study. In addition, there is also a clear pattern of fertility differentials according to household context and other measures of socioeconomic status. Our findings suggest that these fertility differentials are not only results of certain social institutions and customs but also the consequences of couple's behavior of fertility control in response to socioeconomic and other household conditions.     

Paying the levy: Taxable wealth in Bridgetown,Barbados, 1680–1715

Differential fertility can be attributed to economic and cultural factors, but the family also plays an important role. Fertility behavior may be transmitted from parents to children through heritable dispositions or via socialization. Previous research has shown, however, that the expression of genetic effects depends on the interplay with the environment. In this article we take a long-term view and examine how the different mechanisms shifted over time and across social and local contexts on the basis of a large-scale database containing 100 thousand sibling pairs born between 1810 and 1870 in the Dutch province of Zeeland, a society undergoing demographic transition and industrialization. Corroborating earlier research, we find a significant increase in the expression of heritabilities and a fading of social influence for women born after the 1840s, who started their reproductive careers during the historical fertility decline in this region. Our study points out that the ‘social control’ of fertility was particularly reduced for women born in towns, women originating from the urban or rural laboring classes, and women from communities with a relatively liberal religious climate. Our findings are in line with research emphasizing the important role played by women in decision-making processes around childbearing, and could indicate the conditions that enhanced women's position in household bargaining during the historical fertility decline.     

Child fosterage in the United States: Signs of an African Heritage

In the course of the twentieth century, African American families have been the objects of a great deal of debate and commentary in social science fields, as well as in popular discourse. The article considers the basis for this discussion: the presence of significant numbers of family and household structures among African Americans that differ from traditional Euro-American models. Western nuclear families are typically centered around marriage, while African, and to a significant degree African American, families are structured around children. The recently developed U.S. Census public use samples and measures oriented to the practices of informal child fosterage are used to examine and compare these different bases of family life. Data from the turn of the century provide some historical distance from previous explanations of difference centered on slavery, or explanations that focus on contemporary social issues such as urban problems or the welfare state. Comparisons with studies of the contemporary U.S., Africa, the Caribbean, and historical materials give broader scope to fosterage analysis and to the consideration of cultural family differences.     

‘Were women present at the demographic transition?’ A question revisited

In this contribution I argue that the future of historical demography has much to gain from the incorporation of women and gender into research on the (first) fertility decline in the Western world. Gender, as an explanatory concept, can help construct more complex models for fertility decline in which economic, social and cultural explanations can be connected and which are more sensitive to diversity, to historical context, and to contingency. By perceiving men and women as gendered identities who may have different interests in reproductive outcomes, we will not only restore the necessary agency to historical actors, but we will also see more clearly how many important questions on the fertility decline still remain unanswered.     

True or false? Nineteenth-century Sápmi fertility in qualitative vs. demographic sources

There is limited knowledge about childbirth and childcare among Arctic indigenous peoples in historical times, and the Swedish Sami are no exception. The main aim of the present study is to investigate whether the Sami experienced fertility trends parallel to those of the rest of the population in the area and in Sweden as a whole. Digitized parish records offer a unique possibility to include comparisons from ethnic, cultural, geographical and long-term perspectives. The present study compares the statements about fertility and childcare provided by qualitative sources with data from quantitative demographic investigations. This comparison reveals a contrasting picture, from which it is evident that contemporary observers’ impressions of the Sami and their childbirths were somewhat inaccurate. Opposite to what the qualitative sources claimed Sami fertility was higher than the national average rates. Moreover, crude birth rates were high and the average number of children in families exceeded what was generally claimed. We can conclude that the statements made by clergy, physicians and travelers concerning childbirth among the Sami did not correspond particularly well with the demographic reality.     

‘Were women present at the demographic transition?’ A question revisited

In this contribution I argue that the future of historical demography has much to gain from the incorporation of women and gender into research on the (first) fertility decline in the Western world. Gender, as an explanatory concept, can help construct more complex models for fertility decline in which economic, social and cultural explanations can be connected and which are more sensitive to diversity, to historical context, and to contingency. By perceiving men and women as gendered identities who may have different interests in reproductive outcomes, we will not only restore the necessary agency to historical actors, but we will also see more clearly how many important questions on the fertility decline still remain unanswered.     

Sweden in 1930 and the 1930 census

The primary goal of censuses has always been to collect reliable information on the state’s population and provide a basis for governmental decision-making. This study examines the categories used in the 1930 census and links them to the context in which they were generated. We treat the census as a tool of state power, which can be discerned from the definitions of its categories and the way in which statistics are collected and used. The guiding question of the study was “how does the 1930 census differ from previous censuses and how can these differences and changes be explained?” We find that as in earlier censuses, Statistics Sweden used extracts from the parish books on the individual level to collect information for the 1930 census, but also used diverse supplementary sources including tax registers, income tax returns and language surveys. Thus, unlike in most countries, Sweden did not send out census takers or questionnaires to the population. Many of the new or updated variables we see in the 1930 census such as income, wealth, and number of children born, can be related to the political and social debate concerning the poor working class and the establishment of the welfare state. The inclusion of categories such as ethnicity, religion, and foreign nationality can be seen as part of a normative approach wanting to control, monitor and correct deviant elements of the Swedish population.

Sweden has several extraordinary longitudinal population databases built on the country’s excellent parish registers dating back to the 18th century. While the Swedish censuses have rarely been used as sources of data for historical analysis, this work demonstrates that the 1930 census has great potential to support new research.     

Reproductive health,birth control,and fertility change in Sweden,circa 1900–1940

This article deals with two aspects of reproductive health during the latter part of the Swedish fertility decline: failing health as a motive for birth control, and failing health as a possible consequence of illegal abortions. The main argument is that reproductive health was an important factor in most reproductive decisions during this period, a circumstance largely ignored by researchers of the fertility decline. Questions that are addressed include: How can aspects of reproductive health be viewed as explanatory factors of the fertility decline? How did men react to women's need to stop bearing children for health reasons? How did couples seeking abortion, sometimes for health reasons, perceive the risks associated with abortion? A source material mainly consisting of letters, written in the 1930s and sent to the Swedish Association for Sexuality Education, has been used to discern how aspects of health, contraception and abortion were experienced by ordinary men and women. The analysis shows that reproductive health became a motive for birth control, at this point in history, for at least two reasons. Firstly, the experience of childbirth had changed through institutionalization and secularization and, secondly, respectable masculinity was increasingly constructed to include sexual respect towards women. Still, when couples decided to abort, aspects of health were largely ignored. Often abortion was sought because the health risks associated with childbirth were perceived as larger than those associated with abortion. The connection between reproductive health and birth control was, therefore, of a rather complex kind.     

Accumulation of explosives in hair--Part 3: Binding site study

This study extends previous work on the sorption of explosives to the hair matrix. Specifically, we have studied the interaction of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT) and triacetone triperoxide (TATP) as a function of chemical pretreatment with acetonitrile, neutral and alkaline hydrogen peroxide, methanolic KOH and potassium permanganate, and the morphological changes that accompany these treatments. While differences in vapor pressure can account for quantitative differences between TNT and TATP sorption, both are markedly affected by the chemical rinses. Examination of the hair surface shows different degrees of smoothening following rinsing, suggesting that the attachment to hair is largely a surface phenomenon involving the 18-methyleicosanoic acid lipid layer. Density functional theory calculations were employed to explore possible nucleation sites of TATP microcrystals on the hair. We conclude that some of the sites on melanin granular surfaces may support nucleation of TATP microcrystals. Moreover, the calculations support the experimental finding that dark hair adsorbs explosives better than light hair.     

Inconceivable? Deducting the costs of fertility treatment

This Article considers whether infertile taxpayers can deduct their fertility treatment costs as medical expenses under Internal Revenue Code section 213 and whether they should be able to deduct them. Internal Revenue Code section 213 defines medical expenses as "amounts paid-for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease, or for the purpose of affecting any structure or function of the body." This definition is interpreted by reference to a baseline of normal biological functioning, which includes reproductive functioning. Most people conceive and bear children without having to incur expenses for fertility treatment. Expenses incurred to approximate the baseline of normal reproductive health are deductible, even if the taxpayer winds up better off, with a child, after the fertility treatment. The medical profession recognizes that infertility is a disease or condition. Infertility is a loss, just as a broken leg is a loss. Fertility treatment costs are thus medical expenses under section 213. In addition, given the existence of the medical expense deduction, taxpayers should be able to deduct the cost of fertility treatments, including IVF, egg donor, and surrogate procedures, under either an "ability-to-pay" or consequentialist normative approach. Reproduction is extremely important to most people. In addition, allowing taxpayers to deduct the costs of fertility treatment will encourage infertile taxpayers to elect the most effective treatment option and reduce the rate of risky multifetal pregnancies. This Article concludes that fertility treatment costs are deductible as medical expenses under current law and should be deductible as medical expenses.     

Religion,masculinity and fertility decline

This paper provides the sketch of a new mechanism explaining the delay of Catholic fertility, namely the changing norms of masculinity and fatherhood, through a comparative study of the first fertility transition in Switzerland (1880–1930).

Comparative analysis of religious discourse attests to striking differences in norms of respectable masculinity. In the Protestant canton, men were especially targeted and strongly incited to change their sexual behaviour and limit their offspring in order to comply with a new model of the good husband and father. The religious teachings had an impact due to the social position of the persons enouncing the norms, to the efficient diffusion reaching the majority of men, and to the effective sanctioning, as the example of pastoral enquiries demonstrates. In the Catholic canton by contrast, men were not specifically addressed; the religious discourse supported the husband's rights to frequent sexual intercourse and encouraged him to trust Providence to bring up many children, thus sustaining high levels of fertility. The political repression of public discourse on sexuality defeated every attempt of contesting the husband's marital rights and the Catholic doctrine of procreation. Sexual taboos were particularly severe for women and their total ignorance of sexual matters weakened their bargaining power in fertility decisions.

In the last part of the paper, using quantitative methods, we tried to demonstrate that these norms and mechanisms did indeed influence men's behaviour in the Protestant sample. For this purpose, we measured comparatively the results of some indicators introduced to capture the impact of the norms of respectable masculinity, regarding men's responsibility in contraception and men's ability to maintain dependent children. We hope thus to strengthen the position of a growing number of scholars who state that historical demographers cannot avoid incorporating gender into their explanations of historical trends of fertility and who foster the bridging of qualitative and quantitative methods.     

The New York City Police Department,its Crime Control Strategies and Organizational Changes, 1970-2009

Over the last two decades, New York City has witnessed historic drops in crime. Numerous explanations for this crime decline have been discussed, and the New York City Police Department (NYPD) has been central to that debate, most notably because of the adoption of order maintenance policing and the implementation of Compstat. While those developments in the early 1990s are clearly important for understanding the potential role of the NYPD in the crime decline, those changes did not occur in a vacuum. This paper adopts an historical framework that places the role of the NYPD in the crime decline in the larger context of the department’s history, culture, and key events over a nearly 40-year span. This perspective suggests that many of the crime control strategies implemented by the NYPD over that time have been driven by internal and external crises, and that these strategies have also produced unintended consequences. With the historical analysis as a backdrop, the paper considers the ongoing debate over stop, question and frisk practices, and their disproportionate impact on minority residents, as the next potential crisis for the NYPD. The paper concludes with a discussion of the historical framework as a foundation for initiating a comparative dialog across law enforcement agencies regarding crime control strategies, their impact, and their consequences.     

Life histories of single parents and illegitimate infants in nineteenth-century Sweden

The importance of legitimacy and illegitimacy for differing levels of infant mortality has generally been left out of the discussion of historical demographers. This essay presents tentative findings for the Sundsvall area of Sweden, which is being studied in a recent project on the decline of infant and childhood mortality in the Nordic countries. The focus is on the complete reproductive histories of single mothers and the life expectancies among infants born to women who at least once in their reproductive life history experienced the birth of an illegitimate child. In Sundsvall, industrialization only temporarily affected the illegitimacy ratio, but its effect was obvious even in agrarian parishes. The number of illegitimate children per woman remained relatively stable over time, with the exception of the town of Sundsvall. It was more common in the urban environment to give birth to several illegitimate children. Mortality was also higher among these infants, but the negative effects can be seen equally among both legitimate and illegitimate children. Even if illegitimate births were more common in the town, there was no clear trend over time indicating the existence of “subcultures,” as proposed by Peter Laslett.     

The cognitive distortions of child molesters are in need of treatment

Abstract

This paper forms the second part of a debate led by Marshall, Marshall, and Kingston (2011) regarding the need to address so-called cognitive distortions in sexual offender treatment. In their paper, Marshall et al. argue that so-called cognitive distortions may not necessarily require intense and focused attention or challenge throughout treatment. In evaluating Marshall et al.'s arguments, we highlight some inherent differences in how both Marshall et al. and ourselves choose to define the term “cognitive distortion”. We surmise that these key definitional differences appear to account for many of the issues that we “debate”. In particular, for example, Marshall et al. focus their arguments regarding cognitive distortions more explicitly upon excuses, denial and minimisations, whereas we choose to focus upon schemas and higher-order belief structures. Thus, we argue that the broadness and vagueness of the term “cognitive distortion” can lend itself to quite different interpretations and research foci. We offer some alternative views to Marshall et al.'s position and advocate the consideration of cognitions with an aetiological role in offending. We conclude with some suggestions for future research and treatment.     

Religion,masculinity and fertility decline: A comparative analysis of Protestant and Catholic culture (Switzerland 1890–1930)

This paper provides the sketch of a new mechanism explaining the delay of Catholic fertility, namely the changing norms of masculinity and fatherhood, through a comparative study of the first fertility transition in Switzerland (1880–1930).Comparative analysis of religious discourse attests to striking differences in norms of respectable masculinity. In the Protestant canton, men were especially targeted and strongly incited to change their sexual behaviour and limit their offspring in order to comply with a new model of the good husband and father. The religious teachings had an impact due to the social position of the persons enouncing the norms, to the efficient diffusion reaching the majority of men, and to the effective sanctioning, as the example of pastoral enquiries demonstrates. In the Catholic canton by contrast, men were not specifically addressed; the religious discourse supported the husband's rights to frequent sexual intercourse and encouraged him to trust Providence to bring up many children, thus sustaining high levels of fertility. The political repression of public discourse on sexuality defeated every attempt of contesting the husband's marital rights and the Catholic doctrine of procreation. Sexual taboos were particularly severe for women and their total ignorance of sexual matters weakened their bargaining power in fertility decisions.In the last part of the paper, using quantitative methods, we tried to demonstrate that these norms and mechanisms did indeed influence men's behaviour in the Protestant sample. For this purpose, we measured comparatively the results of some indicators introduced to capture the impact of the norms of respectable masculinity, regarding men's responsibility in contraception and men's ability to maintain dependent children. We hope thus to strengthen the position of a growing number of scholars who state that historical demographers cannot avoid incorporating gender into their explanations of historical trends of fertility and who foster the bridging of qualitative and quantitative methods.     

Low fertility and concurrent birth control policy in China

China’s one-child policy, introduced in the late 1970s, has been in effect for over three decades. This article reviews China’s low fertility rate and the implementation of this stringent birth control policy in the context of low fertility. First, China’s fertility intention, behavior, and low fertility level trend are presented. Then, the official response to the low fertility level and the consequent misguided policy-making are investigated. Next, various obstacles to the abolishment of the strict birth control policy are discussed, including national leaders’ authority, related family planning regulations and laws, the inertia of this basic state policy under the auspices of the common good, the displacement of the family planning systems, and the necessity for social maintenance fees to keep grassroots governments in operation. After discussing the recent reform of this birth control policy in 2013 and the subsequent results, the incentives for a universal two-child policy are elucidated. These include the official acknowledgment of low fertility, the effect of birth control policy on fertility decline, the reactions of the general public, the attitudes of grassroots family planning cadres, the appeal from scholars, international experiences, the merging of population and family planning commissions, and national leaders’ attitudes. The paper concludes with an analysis of the cost of this birth control policy over the past decades.     

Differences in intergenerational fertility associations by sex and race in Saba,Dutch Caribbean, 1876–2004

This study examines the intergenerational transmission of fertility behavior in Saba, Dutch Caribbean from 1876 to 2004 using reconstituted genealogies. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients of several fertility measures and event-history models of age at first birth are used to explore relationships between the fertility of mothers and their children. The strength of intergenerational fertility ties varies by race and gender. Individuals that are better positioned to realize their fertility preferences have the strongest intergenerational associations, while individuals with the most limited reproductive options have the weakest intergenerational associations. This evidence supports hypotheses that posit the intergenerational transmission of attitudes, goals, and behaviors and the ability to act on those preferences as drivers of the presence or magnitude of links between the fertility of parents and their children.