The legacy of Corrado Gini in population studies

This volume contains 12 papers that range over many different research subjects, taking in many of the population questions that, directly or indirectly, absorbed Corrado Gini as demographer and social scientist over several decades. They vary from the analysis of the living conditions and behaviours of the growing foreign population (measurements and methods of analysis, socio-economic conditions and health, ethnic residential segregation, sex-ratio at birth), to studies on the homogamy of couples; from population theories (with reference to the cyclical theory of populations) to the modelling approach to estimating mortality in adult ages or estimating time transfers, by age and sex, related to informal child care and adult care; from historical studies that take up themes dear to Gini (such as the estimates of Italian military deaths in WWI), to the application of Gini’s classical measurements to studying significant phenomena today (transition to adulthood and leaving the parental home, health care, disabled persons and social integration). The subjects and measurements that appear here are not intended to exhaust the broad spectrum of Gini’s research work in the demographic and social field (nor could they), but they can make up a part of the intersection between his vast legacy and some interesting topics in current research, some of which were not even imaginable in the mid twentieth century. Looking at the many contributions that celebrated Gini in Treviso and thinking about his legacy, it seems possible to identify at least two typologies of approach, to be found in this issue of the journal, too. On the one hand, there are contributions that aim to retrieve and discuss themes, methodologies and measurements dealt with or used by Gini so as to evaluate their present relevance and importance in the current scholarly debate. On the other, there are contributions that deal with topics that are far from Gini’s work, as they study very recent phenomena, but actually, among other things, make use of methods and indicators devised by Gini that are now so much part of the common currency of methodology, so they don’t require explicit reference to their Author

Ruolo paterno e caratteristiche della coppia

Il capitolo esamina il grado di coivolgimento dei padri nelle attivit\ue0 quotidiane di cura dei figli, in relazione sia alle caratteristiche dei padri stessi (livello di istruzione, tipo di occupazione, orario di lavoro) che della tipologia di coppia (es. dual income o breadwinner

Uomini, fecondità e figli in Italia, fra Ottocento e Novecento

Il volume riunisce alcuni contributi presentati nelle sessioni Transizioni delle fecondità in Italia tra Ottocento e Novecento e La transizione demografica e l’uscita dell’isolamento riproduttivo del Convegno della Società Italiana di Demografia Storica «Le grandi transizioni tra ’800 e ’900. Popolazione, società, economia», Pavia, 28-30 settembre 2006

Una casa per diventare grandi. I giovani italiani, l’autonomia abitativa e il ruolo della famiglia d’origine

In Italy and other Southern European countries the first housing independence among young people occurs at relatively older ages, closely associated with own family formation, in particular marriage, and often thanks to the economic assistance of parents. Parents’ support of adult children’s living arrangement plays a multifaceted role in the transition out of the parental home and first housing acquisition. Not only the inheritance of tenure remains an important factor of social inequalities, but also parents may exert a preferential influence on the decision to leave home. Results from survey data on two cohorts of young Italians (aged 23-27 and 33-37) show that 65% of those who left the parental home have been helped by their parents in the first housing. Most of those who are still living in the parental house expect to be helped when they leave, but the extent of this assistance will be higher if they will marry than if they leave home to cohabit or live on their own. Young people’s expectations derive from the parental normative system: mothers of those still living at home with parents confirm the intentions to support the process of first housing more likely if the family has the economic opportunity to do so and especially if leaving home is associated with marriage

Time use, family role-set and childbearing among Italian working women

The endurance of the traditional role-set within couples is suggested to be a factor explaining Italian lowest-low fertility. Family time use before and after childbearing has been investigated, using retrospective data on 3,300 mothers living in five cities. The hypothesis that low gender equity reduces the probability of having one more child has been tested. Results confirm that implications of a birth are still negative in term of gender equality; fatherhood increases time devoted to work, motherhood time spent on childcare or housekeeping. However, a progressive adaptation towards gender equity is evident among a selected proportion of dual-earning couples, influencing positively the probability of having another child. Possible effects of gender policies on fertility are finally discussed