Number of Childbearing Partners, Status, and the Fertility of Men and Women in the U.S.

Theory from evolutionary biology suggests that status and access to resources will influence the number of mating partners somewhat differently for men and women, yet little previous research has examined the relationship between status and number of childbearing partners for men and women in the U.S. This paper uses newly available data on a large probability sample of the U.S. population (the Survey of Income and Program Participation) to evaluate the relationship between the number of childbearing partners, socioeconomic status, and subsequent fertility for men and women in the U.S. Results show that education (net of income and net worth) is always negatively related to the number of childbearing unions and fertility for both men and women. For men, personal income and personal net worth are positive predictors of both number of childbearing partners and fertility, while for women personal income and personal net worth are negative predictors of number of childbearing partners and fertility. For men, the positive effect of income on number of childbearing partners is because low income men are more likely to have no childbearing partners at all and not because high income men are more likely to have multiple partners. Men with a higher net worth do have more childbearing partners than other men, all else being equal. Both men and women who have a larger number of childbearing partners do have more children, all else being equal, although this effect is stronger for men than for women. Of those with multiple childbearing unions, men and women with both very high and very low incomes have more children than those with middle incomes

The New South's New Frontier: A Social History of Economic Development in South-western North Carolina. By Stephen Wallace Taylor. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 2001. Pp. xi, 186. $55.00.

Economic development is a fragile thing. This book examines the transformation of the southwestern corner of North Carolina from a region with intermittent prosperity in the early part of the twentieth century to an economically stagnant region that has not shared in the tremendous recent economic growth in the southeastern United States. For much of the nineties, this southeastern region from North Carolina to Georgia was the fastest growing region in the United States. What happened to the mountain region and how did it get left out? Taylor rejects simplistic models of an isolated mountain region exploited by the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) and outside capitalists. Instead, he presents the process of economic change as similar to development in the rest of the South: that is, the result of an interplay between outsiders and mountain people who were never economically isolated from the rest of the country, and who were adept at taking advantage of whatever economic opportunities presented themselves. Many local residents, for example, were very keen about the establishment of a national park in this part of the Smoky Mountains because they thought it would bring in tourists and boost the local economy. Similarly, many locals supported the construction of the Fontana Dam on the Little Tennessee River; also hoping it would bring economic benefits to the region. Ultimately, however, the result was not one they wanted or intended.

Institute for Advanced Development Studies Development Research Working Paper Series No. 03/2011 Depressive mood and children: Europe and South Korea Depressive mood and children: Europe and South Korea

Abstract Using data for the third wave from the European Social Survey (ESS) and the Fourth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (K-NHANES), this research examines the relationship between having children at home and depression among men and women aged 18-75 years. Multilevel and probit regression models are applied. Our results show that there is a gender differential in depression. Having children at home improves psychological well-being for men only in 23 European countries and South Korea. In Europe we also find that depression tends to be lower in countries in which per capita income is higher. The results also show that household income is negatively associated with levels of depression in South Korea

Depressive mood and children: Europe and South Korea

Using data for the third wave from the European Social Survey (ESS) and the Fourth Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (K-NHANES), this research examines the relationship between having children at home and depression among men and women aged 18-75 years. Multilevel and probit regression models are applied. Our results show that there is a gender differential in depression. Having children at home improves psychological well-being for men only in 23 European countries and South Korea. In Europe we also find that depression tends to be lower in countries in which per capita income is higher. The results also show that household income is negatively associated with levels of depression in South Korea.Depression, Europe, Cross-national analysis, Children, Multilevel model, Probit model