Inequality in the family: The institutional aspects of wives' earning dependency

This paper examines the effect of family-oriented policies on wives economic dependency within the household. Using national samples of working-age couples in 19 countries (obtained from the Luxembourg Income Study) we employed Hierarchical Linear Models in order to separate the effects of individual and country level variables on women's economic dependency. We distinguish between two types of policies: those which could potentially challenge the traditional division of labor between the genders (e.g., child-care arrangements) and those which preserve it (e.g. maternity leave). The findings suggest that in general, generous maternity leave and child-care facilities reduce women's economic dependency through their effect on female labor force participation. Similarly, part-time employment reduces women's economic dependency inasmuch as it facilitates the incorporation of women to the labor force. However, among dual-earner families, higher rates of child-care facilities had no effect on women's dependency level, while part time employment increased it. Contrary to our expectations, highly developed maternity leave policies were found to reduce women's economic dependency level. Our findings support the general assertion that increasing the level of women's economic activity improves their standing within the household. Nonetheless, the relatively high levels of women's economic dependency among those who already decided to participate in market work, suggest that in order to increase gender equality within the household, policies should aim not only at facilitating women's employment per se but also at equalizing the conditions under which men and women work

Sexuelle Permessivität: ein deutsch-israelischer Vergleich

'Nicht erst seit Freud und der psychoanalytischen Schule geht die Wissenschaft davon aus, daß gesellschaftliche Liberalisierungsprozesse sich immer auch in Form einer Lockerung der Moralstrukturen auswirken. Das Ausmaß sexueller Permissivität in der Bevölkerung eines Landes gilt als Indikator für Offenheit und Toleranz sowie bei Zeitreihenuntersuchungen als Maß sozialen Wandels. Mit dem vorliegenden Beitrag widmen wir uns diesem Konstrukt und betrachten es unter verschiedenen Gesichtspunkten: zum einen sollen methodisch - anhand der Überprüfung von Boden- und Deckeneffekten - Qualität und Adäquanz der häufig und interkulturell verwendeten Items zur Messung sexueller Permissivität analysiert werden. Dazu vergleichen wir sexuell permissive Einstellungen in Deutschland und Israel. Zum anderen replizieren wir das Vorgehen früherer, zumeist amerikanischer Studien auf diesem Gebiet und testen den diesbezüglichen Einfluß soziodemographischer Merkmale in den genannten Ländern. Darüber hinaus wenden wir uns der Frage eventueller systembedingter Unterschiede in den sexuellen Haltungen zu, indem wir die Antworten der Ostdeutschen und die der jüdischen Immigranten aus den Staaten der ehemaligen UdSSR nach Israel denen der westdeutschen und denen der übrigen israelischen Bevölkerung gegenüberstellen.' (Autorenreferat)'Even before the appearance of Freudian psychoanalysis, scientist have held that processes of societal liberalisation tend to contribute to a loosening of morals. The degree of sexual permissiveness in a society is often regarded as an indicator for openness and tolerance. In diachronic terms - from a temporal perspective - it is also taken as a measure of social change. The article investigates the construct of sexual permissiveness from different vantage points. From a methodological standpoint we examine bottom and ceiling effects and their consequences for the quality and adequacy of these indicators for comparative (cross-cultural) research. The substantive perspective is pursued in replicating other, mostly American studies in this area. The countries chosen are Germany and Israel. We examine the influence of socio-demographic variables in the two countries. In particular, we address the question of system-related differences in the attitudes towards sexuality and compare responses from Eastern Germans and Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Republics to Israel with responses from Western Germans and the remaining Israeli population.' (author's abstract)

The skill divide in post-unemployment job quality

With increasing demand of high-skilled labor and the educational expansion in many OECD countries, low-skilled workers are increasingly forced into low-skilled, low-paid and insecure jobs. Scholars have pointed to a strong skill divide in job quality. We examined whether unemployment promoted the skill divide in job quality with a variety of post-unemployment job-quality indicators. Using a large German panel survey, we found that high-skilled respondents were more prone to decreased post-unemployment job quality with regard to financial and job security aspects, yet more likely to experience better skill-matches. Further analyses revealed that this finding can be attributed to a considerable post-unemployment downward mobility of the high-skilled respondents. We discuss a possible 'floor-effect' for low-skilled workers

Age At Marriage, Sex-Ratios, and Ethnic Heterogamy

This paper focuses on the effects of age at marriage and the sex-ratio on patterns of ethnic homogamy among Israeli women. We hypothesize that later marriages are more likely than early marriages to be heterogamous as the 'marriage market' shifts from school to the work-place. By the same token, when facing severe marriage squeezes women will be forced to out-marry. Employing data from the 1983 census, we model mate selection of women from Afro-Asian and Euro-American origin in various birth-cohorts. The results do not fully support our hypotheses: we find that in and of itself, age at marriage does not enhance ethnic heterogamy. Women of both ethnic groups who marry later are more likely to marry men of Euro-American origin than those who marry early but this seems to reflect educational rather than ethnic assortative mating. We also find that Afro-Asian women born to cohorts which face severe marriage squeezes are more likely to stay single and those who marry are more likely to out-marry

Homeownership in later life:Does divorce matter?

This paper evaluates whether the experience of marital breakdown during the life course is associated with the likelihood of exiting from homeownership, and whether this association varies across Europe. In line with previous research on the short- and medium-term housing and economic consequences of divorce, we find that for European men and women alike, this life event is associated with a lower likelihood of being a homeowner in later life. This negative association furthermore varies across institutional contexts, as indicated by: the housing regime (in particular access to mortgage credit); welfare state support; and female employment. In a context of increasing divorce rates and a stronger reliance on housing wealth as a form of welfare provision, our findings may have important policy implications. In many countries, homeownership forms part of the pension mix and hence contributes to economic security. Other benefits relate to housing quality, security of tenure and independence. Keywords: Consequences of divorce, Homeownership, Housing regimes, Life courses, Well-being in later lif