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International labour recruitment: Channelling Bangladeshi labour to east and south-east Asia
International labour migration in Asia has experienced the most rapid growth in the last few decades. There are two major destination regions for labour migrants in Asia: Middle East and East and South-East Asia. In addition to countries of the Middle East since the early 1980s we observe a sustained growth of foreign manpower in the prosperous countries of East and South-East Asia particularly Singapore Malaysia the Republic of Korea and Japan. Those countries have followed specific temporary migrant worker programmes in recruiting foreign workers although the name and nature of the programmes vary. One can identify two types of temporary labour migration programmes implemented in the region – the “work permit” and the “trainee” programmes. Each migrant worker programme offers different rights and privileges to migrants. Malaysia and Singapore hire foreign workers under the “work permit” system which provides special benefits to them as workers. But the Republic of Korea and Japan pursue a conservative policy with regard to the admission of foreign workers. They hire foreign workers mainly under the “trainee” system which restricts benefits as trainees are not formally recognized as workers. In general labour migration policies in the receiving countries in Asia can be broadly summarized as follows: limiting labour migration limiting the duration of migration and limiting integration (Piper 2004: 75).
Mortality and causes of death in Thailand: Evidence from the survey of population change and death registration
Death is a major factor affecting a country’s population structure. Evidence shows that death rates tend to decrease continuously and rapidly as a consequence of continued improvements in medical care and the public health system along with socio-economic development. Infant child and maternal mortality are therefore often used as indicators reflecting the effectiveness of the public health system and improvements in the quality of life. In Thailand such improvements have been evident. From 1964-1965 to 1995-1996 male and female life expectancy at birth increased from 59.9 to 69.9 years and 62 to 74.9 years respectively.
Transnational politics and organizing of migrant labour in south-east Asia – NGO and trade union perspectives
South-East Asia is part of a dynamic region in terms of labour migration comprised of source and destination countries highly significant within the broader patterns of human movement at the global level. The “import” and “export” of steadily increasing numbers of foreign workers in general and the feminization of migration in particular has created a myriad of problems and challenges that
The Cebu longitudinal health and nutrition survey: Two decades later
This article discusses the 23-year history of the Cebu Longitudinal Health and Nutrition Survey (CLHNS) which was started in 1983 in collaboration with the Carolina Population Center of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (CPC-UNC) the Office of Population Studies of the University of San Carlos (OPS-USC) and the Nutrition Center of the Philippines (NCP). After briefly presenting information on its origins and development in this introductory section the methodologies and strategies used in the research and some of its major findings and contributions are discussed before analysing the challenges and lessons learned from the study. The article ends by identifying some best practices and offering some recommendations for other longitudinal studies.
Fertility decline in Asia: The role of marriage change
In current discussions of the fertility transition in Asia the role of marriage change is frequently understated because of the strong emphasis (perhaps flowing from the influence of the family planning movement) on marital fertility. Yet since the time of Malthus marriage change has been given strong attention in historical studies of fertility transition in Europe. In North-Western Europe early in the twentieth century non-marriage was a major factor affecting fertility. In some countries the proportion of women remaining single at the end of their childbearing period reached 20 per cent (Hajnal 1965; Therborn 2004: 147-155). Such high levels of non-marriage did not always directly translate into lower fertility because out-of-wedlock births were not uncommon; but they certainly played an important role in fertility decline.
Managing the Kanchanaburi demographic surveillance system: Creation of a relational database management system
Increasing attention is being paid to the collection of longitudinal data. This attention is in part a response to the difficulties faced in establishing causal relations with cross-sectional data. However the collection and use of longitudinal data has brought with it a series of challenges that are not faced by researchers manipulating cross-sectional data. In this article we describe how initial data management models based on cross-sectional data storage and manipulation used in the Kanchanaburi Demographic Surveillance System (KDSS) were found to be inadequate and were replaced by a database system that is consistent with longitudinal data collection storage and manipulation.
HIV/AIDS prevention among young people in east and south-east Asia in the context of reproductive and sexual health
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) every day 5000 young people aged 15-25 years become infected with HIV which translates into almost 2 million new infections per year. HIV transmission generally occurs through sex the exchange of needles; to a lesser extent it is transmitted from an HIV infected mother to her newborn child. While most countries in the region have national HIV prevalence rates of less than one per cent vulnerable populations especially youths are much more prone to HIV infection owing to lack of correct health information indulgence in risky behaviours poverty and gender discrimination coupled with lack of access to adequate reproductive health services.
Stagnation in fertility levels in Pakistan
Finally at the turn of the century and after decades of stagnancy there was definite evidence of a decline in fertility in Pakistan. Fertility in Pakistan probably began to decline in the early 1990s or even in the late 1980s. Significantly all estimates for the 1990s for the first time fell below 6.0 births per woman to a little less than five. This is in contrast to numerous surveys that indicated that the TFR remained above six births per woman in the 1980s. Furthermore the last census held finally in 1998 indicated that the average population growth rate for the period 1981-1998 was 2.6 per cent per annum a decline from previous intercensal rates consistent with a decline in fertility in the 1990s. While this trend in fertility decline has continued even touted as one of the “fastest declines in Asia” (Feeney and Alam 2003) the latest Pakistan Demographic and Health Survey (PDHS) indicates a stall in fertility at four children per woman.
The Japanese elderly as a social safety net
In the post-Second World War period Japan’s fertility decline was not only the earliest to occur but also the greatest in magnitude among all industrialized nations. From 1947 to 1957 the total fertility rate (TFR) declined by more than 50 per cent from 4.54 to 2.04 children per woman. This 50 per cent reduction of fertility over a 10-year period is a first in human history. In the 1960s there were only minor fluctuations around the replacement level of fertility (2.1) but subsequent to the oil crisis of 1973 the TFR started to fall again reaching 1.32 in 2006. These demographic developments have been causing a great amount of concern in various spheres of contemporary Japanese society. For example rapid population ageing has already imposed serious financial pressures on the social security system and these pressures are expected to increase further in the coming years. The Government of Japan has been increasingly concerned about this problem in recent years and has tried to shift some of the costs of the social security system back onto families.
A young person’s perspective on population reproductive health and the ICPD
My name is Jacque I come from Fiji and I am 23 years of age. In addition to being a university student I have been a youth advocate/volunteer for several years now in different capacities. I would first like to congratulate all the players driving the ICPD agenda – I can imagine that the process has not been an easy one trying to translate recommendations into actions and ensuring that those actions have an impact on the ground. Today’s review 15 years after the adoption of the ICPD Programme of Action really displays commitment and perseverance of the people and organizations driving the ICPD agenda. As a peer of mine back home used to say – we need to “walk on walk strong”. Walk on walk strong.
Women’s empowerment, sociocultural contexts, and reproductive behaviour in Nepal
While demography is an inherently spatial science most practicing demographers have not been encouraged to think spatially even though demographic behaviour will differ by geographic region (Weeks 2004). The incorporation of geocodes in large-scale demographic surveys provides new opportunities for research on geographic patterns of behaviour including reproductive behaviour. In this paper the authors assume that a woman’s reproductive behaviour takes place in sociocultural contexts and specifically authors explore whether the sociocultural context of women’s empowerment is important in shaping her behaviour. Using data on 1594 Nepalese married women from the 1996 Nepal Living Standards Survey (NLSS) the specific issues explored are whether sociocultural context matters for a woman’s use of prenatal care and assistance during delivery. To date no nationally representative study of Nepal had explicitly incorporated district-level contextual data linked those data with individual-level responses and then used multivariate hierarchical methods for analysis.
Internal migration in India: Are the underprivileged migrating more?
India embarked on its new economic policy popularly known as the liberalization of the Indian economy in 1991. The basic features of the new economic policy were a reduction in government expenditures in order to reduce fiscal deficit an opening up of the economy for export-oriented growth the removal of government control and licensing and a push for private participation to enhance competition and efficiency. Both supporters and critics of the new economic policy believed that economic reforms would increase internal migration. Proponents believed that the new impetus would boost the economy and job opportunities leading to increased pull factors conducive to accelerated rural-to-urban migration. By contrast the opponents of this policy were of the view that economic reforms would adversely affect the village and cottage industries and impoverish rural populations leading to increased rural-tourban migration (Kundu 1997). Although there was considerable success in achieving economic growth from 2 to 3 per cent of growth in gross domestic product in the pre-reform era to over 6 per cent during the period 1991-2001 the impact of this enhanced growth on internal migration in general and rural-to-urban migration in particular has not been assessed. The latest census of 2001 reveals several interesting results in relation to internal migration its regional pattern and the contribution of rural-to-urban migration to urban growth as discussed by Bhagat and Mohanty (2009). They argue that the push factor has not significantly influenced internal migration. As a result it appears inaccurate to state that the poor and disadvantaged are migrating more than those that are more well off.
Changing demographics, emerging risks of economic-demographic mismatch and vulnerabilities faced by older persons in South Asia: Situation review in India and Pakistan
This paper provides an overview of some important demographic changes in two major South Asian countries India and Pakistan resulting in a situation marked by sustained fertility decline life prolongation and a growth of population in both the young (especially 25 years and over) and old (60 years and over) age groups. The study postulates that these changes may prove significant for both the countries – affecting inter alia the size and clearance mechanism of their labour markets nature of dependencies increasing ratios of young to old etc. The study further postulates that a fair proportion of families in the two countries may find it difficult to endure old-age dependencies owing to increasingly widespread casualization of employment and jobless growth. Enduring old-age dependencies may also be difficult due to limited work opportunities for older persons functional disabilities perpetuating poverty lack of social assistance compression in real public health expenditure etc. The study also postulates that the pro-market changes in these countries may not particularly conform to their age structure changes. It may as well create a situation fraught with a significant economic-demographic mismatch (see appendix 1).
Vital horoscope: Longitudinal data collection in the Iranian primary health care system
Despite their importance longitudinal methods of data collection are complex time-consuming and expensive. With longer periods of observation the problems of population movement and loss to follow-up become important. This is particularly the case in developing countries with high rates of rural-to-urban migration and residential mobility within major urban centres. A more practical alternative involves repeated data collection on well-defined communities on a regular monthly or annual basis. Combining such data-gathering exercises with a practical programme of intervention or service delivery can justify the expense involved and ensure the viability of the project.
The New Zealand health care and disability system
The purpose of this paper is to give a general overview of the New Zealand health and disability system. It provides a brief description of the demographics of the population and the health and disability status of New Zealanders by focusing on some important health outcome measures. It addresses some emerging issues and the Government’s initiatives to promote the health and well-being of all New Zealanders.
Availability, accessibility and utilization of Pacific island demographic data - Issues of data quality and user relevance
The Pacific region is comprised of 22 island countries and territories - featuring some 7500 islands of which around 500 are inhabited-spread over an area of 30 million square kilometres and stretching from the Northern Marianas Islands in the north-west Pacific Ocean to Pitcairn in the south-east. Representing an enormous diversity in physical geography and culture languages and socio-political organization size and resources endowment some countries and areas such as Nauru and Niue consist just of one coral island whereas others like Papua New Guinea and the Federated States of Micronesia comprise literally of hundreds of islands. Melanesia comprise large mountainous and mainly volcanic islands endowed with natural resources rich soil and an abundant marine life. Micronesia and Polynesia by contrast comprise of much smaller islands and their natural resources are limited to the ocean; they mostly comprise of small atolls with poor soil with elevations usually between one and two metres (Kiribati Marshall Islands Tokelau and Tuvalu). There are also some islands of volcanic origin with more fertile lands (such as Samoa Tonga the Federated States of Micronesia and the Cook Islands).
The effect of remittances on return migration and its relation to household wealth: The case of rural Thailand
When Ravenstein (1885) in writing on the “laws of migration” stated that each current of migration produces a compensating countercurrent return migration has been acknowledged as important to any thorough understanding of migration. Yet for many years the view of migration as primarily a one-way phenomenon dominated empirical inquiries. While studies have focused on the departure of migrants the migration journey arrival settlement and integration the return of migrants has received far less attention (King 2000).
Longitudinal community studies in Africa: Challenges and contributions to health research
Reliable and timely information is a central pillar of well-functioning health systems. In fact much of the progress in improving human health is “due to technical progress including advances in knowledge about diseases and about appropriate cost-effective responses” (Jamison and others 2006; p. 155). Developing health technology requires sound research and the precise information that is needed for gauging the efficacy of interventions. Moreover comprehensive sociodemographic and health information is needed to guide policy deliberations. The need for such information is particularly acute in developing countries because policy that lacks empirical grounding can be more damaging to public welfare in such settings than is the case in relatively prosperous countries where the public enjoys multiple service options and individuals have resources for financing personal choices.
Population and environment in Asia and the Pacific: Trends, implications and prospects for sustainable development
The Bali Declaration on Population and Sustainable Development adopted by the Fourth Asian and Pacific Population Conference held at Bali Indonesia from 19-27 August 1992 stated that “among the ultimate objectives of sustainable development are to achieve a balance between human needs and aspirations in balance with population resources and the environment and to enhance the quality of life today and in the future”.
Are the goals set by the millennium declaration and the programme of action of the international conference on population and development within reach by 2015?
It is now mid-2008 just seven years away from 2015 the target year for the realization of the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Ac tion and the eight Millennium De velopment Goals.