Gender bias in China, the Republic of Korea, and India 1920-90 - effects of war, famine, and fertility decline

Kinship systems in China, the Republic of Korea, and North India have similar features that generate discrimination against girls, and these countries have some of the highest proportions of girls"missing"in the world. The authors document how the excess mortality of girls was increased by war, famine, and fertility decline - all of which constrained household resources - between 1920 and 1990. Of the three countries, China experienced the most crises during this period (with civil war, invasion, and famine). The resulting excess mortality of girls in China offset the demographic forces making for a surplus of wives as overall mortality rates declined. India had the quietest history during this period, and consequently followed the expected pattern of a growing surplus of available wives. These changes in sex ratios had substantial social ramifications. The authors hypothesize that these demographic factors: 1) Encourages the continuation of bride-price in China, while in India there was a shift to dowry. 2) Influenced the extent and manifestations of violence against women. An oversupply of women is the worst scenario for women, as there are fewer constraints to domestic violence. A shortage of women leads to better treatment of wives, as people become more careful not to lose a wife. However in situations of shortage, a small proportion of women may be subject to new types of violence such as being kidnapped for marriage. Ironically, then, higher levels of discrimination against girls can help reduce violence against women. When women are in short supply, their treatment improves. But their autonomy can increase only with fundamental changes in their family position, changes that are taking place only slowly.Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Public Health Promotion,Population&Development,Anthropology,Demographics,Health Monitoring&Evaluation,Population&Development,Anthropology,Demographics,Adolescent Health

Marriage Squeeze, Never-Married Proportion, and Mean Age at First Marriage in China

China’s sex ratio imbalance and the surplus of males have received a great deal of attention, but measures of the extent of the marriage squeeze do not take into account the marital status of population. In this paper, we devise an index of the marriage squeeze for the never-married population and use it to project the male marriage squeeze from 2000 to 2060. From the predicted population and nuptiality tables, we estimate trends in the proportion of men that never marry by age 50 and the mean age at first marriage. We find that the marriage squeeze is much more intense if only the never-married population is considered, rather than including all people without distinguishing their marital status. As the lifelong never-married proportion increases, mean age at first marriage rises first and then declines

HOUSEHOLDS' RISK MANAGEMENT STRAGIES AND VULNERABILITY TO POVERTY IN RURAL CHINA

N° ISBN - 978-2-7380-1284-5International audienceThis article concerns the effectiveness of risk management strategies adopted by Chinese rural households, in western China where the economic and social context has changed greatly since the late 1990s. Drawing on an existing framework of risk management and vulnerability to poverty, we propose a new model based on qualitative data analysis and test it using quantitative data. We find that risk management strategies include selfinsurance instruments, which involve households' assets and income diversification, and a risk-sharing strategy. Income diversification, precautionary financial saving, and informal social supports are major risk management strategies, which can be effective in reducing vulnerability. Compared with results of previous studies, we find risk management strategies have been revised; the revisions are caused by the rapid social and economic changes that have taken place since the late 1990s

Natural capital informing decisions: from promise to practice

This is the accepted manuscript of a paper that will be published in PNAS. It is currently under an infinite embargo.The central challenge of the 21st century is to develop economic, social, and governance systems capable of ending poverty and achieving sustainable levels of population and consumption while securing the life-support systems underpinning current and future human well-being. Essential to meeting this challenge is the incorporation of natural capital and the ecosystem services it provides into decision-making. Here, we explore progress and crucial gaps at this frontier, reflecting upon the 10 years since the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment. We focus on three key dimensions of progress and ongoing challenges: raising awareness of the interdependence of ecosystems and human well-being; advancing the fundamental, interdisciplinary science of ecosystem services; and implementing this science in decisions to restore natural capital and use it sustainably. Awareness of human dependence on nature is at an all-time high, the science of ecosystem services is rapidly advancing, and talk of natural capital is now common from governments to corporate boardrooms. However, successful implementation is still in early stages. We explore why ecosystem service information has yet to fundamentally change decision-making and suggest a path forward that emphasizes: 1) developing solid evidence linking decisions to impacts on natural capital and ecosystem services, and then to human well-being, 2) working closely with leaders in government, business, and civil society to develop the knowledge, tools, and practices necessary to integrate natural capital and ecosystem services into everyday decision-making; and 3) reforming institutions to change policy and practices to better align private short-term goals with societal long-term goals.http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.150375111

7. Improving Girl Child Survival in Rural China: Research and Community Intervention Projects

As a part of Chinese culture, strong son preference and discrimination against girls have always existed. In contemporary China, especially in the rural areas, it has not disappeared. Son preference results in a disadvantage for female survival, especially for infants and children. The fundamental reason causing excess female child mortality is the combination of son preference and fertility decline, as the result of the government-guided family planning policy. Accordingly, son preference has been intensified with the persistent low fertility after the 1980s, which leads to a continuous increase in the sex ratio at birth (SRB) and excess female child mortality, suggesting the existence of an abnormal intrusion in girl’s survival and development rights, especially in rural China.Since the mid-1990s, with support from the Ford Foundation, the authors have cooperated with the China National Population and Family Planning Commission (NPFPC) to examine excess female child mortality in China and implement intervention practices. They analysed the relationships between regional gender differences of child mortality and women’s social status, son preference, socio-economic and family planning factors in their study, “Gender Differences in Child Survival in Rural China: Policy Implications”.La préférence pour les fils et son corollaire, la discrimination des filles, sont un trait constant de la culture chinoise, qui se perpétue aujourd’hui, en particulier dans les régions rurales. Cette préférence pour les fils dans un contexte de baisse rapide de la fécondité, elle-même suscitée par une politique draconienne de limitation des naissances, résulte dans une surmortalité infantile et juvénile des filles. Ainsi, l’expression de la préférence pour les fils s’est intensifiée avec la baisse continue de la fécondité depuis les années 1980, se traduisant par un déséquilibre croissant du rapport de masculinité des naissances et une mortalité infantile des filles supérieure à la normale.Depuis le milieu des années 1990, avec le soutien de la Fondation Ford, les auteurs ont collaboré avec la Commission nationale de planification des naissances afin de mener une étude sur la surmortalité infantile des filles. Ils ont analysé les relations entre les variations régionales des niveaux de mortalité infantile et des facteurs tels que le statut de la femme, la préférence pour les fils, le contexte socioéconomique et les mesures de limitation des naissances, dans le cadre d’une étude intitulée « Différences dans la survie des enfants en Chine rurale : implications politiques »