Life Satisfaction and mobility: Their associations with career attitudes, and health-related factors among postgraduates having studied in universities intra EU and outside EU

in BMC Public Health (2020), 20(3),

Background. University postgraduates’ mobility towards, and outside the EU is continuously increasing, creating a competitive context in which maintaining a high life satisfaction (LS) is a public health ... [more ▼]

Background. University postgraduates’ mobility towards, and outside the EU is continuously increasing, creating a competitive context in which maintaining a high life satisfaction (LS) is a public health challenge. However, the relationship between LS and its determinants among this population are under-documented. Our aims were to measure LS indicators of mobile postgraduates (Intra EU: Who pursue part of their studies in Europe; Outside EU: Who study outside of Europe) versus non-mobile (pursue their studies in Luxembourg), and to analyze the associations between LS and career attitudes, socioeconomic characteristics, and health-related factors for each group. Method. Six hundred and sixty-four (644) students obtained financial aid from the Luxembourgish government independent of their family’s socioeconomic situation. Contacted by post, they completed an online questionnaire. Analyses included a multiple linear regression model in which only significant relationships (p < 0.05) were used. Results.Three groups were created: Mobile intra EU (n = 381), mobile outside EU (n = 43) and non-mobile (n = 66) postgraduates. Health satisfaction was positively linked to LS, in all groups. Among the mobile outside EU group, majority (63.2%) were men and 57.9% did not live alone - health was the only determinant which contributed to their LS. Among the mobile intra EU, majority (57.8%) were women, and 64.3% not living alone. Autonomy and career adaptability attitudes were positively associated with their LS (b: 0.210 and 0.119, respectively), whereas the worry factor was negatively (b: − 0.153 and -0.159) associated. The non-mobile, were the oldest of the three groups. Majority (51.6%) were women, and 93.7% did not live alone. Career optimism and planning attitudes were positively correlated to their LS (regression parameter estimates (b: 0.400 and 0.212, respectively). Conclusions.Attention should be devoted to the LS of local and cosmopolitan students, as it seems to be a relevant health indicator. Overall, the farther the mobility was, the higher the postgraduates’ general LS (8.5/10) was; this indicator was higher than the LS indicator for the age group 25–34 years 7.53/10 (EU-28, in 2013). University’ services could promote the development of career projects and the promotion of health to enhance postgraduates’ LS. University policy makers need to ensure this for all students. [less ▲]

Intergenerational mobility in Europe: Home ownership as a facet of social reproduction?

Scientific Conference (2019, March)

Second-Chance Alternatives and Maintained Inequality in Access to Higher Education in Israel

in Social Inclusion (2019), 7(1), 28-37

Abstract Access to higher education (HE) has a long history. To offer a view on the current debates and worldwide issues regarding access to HE, this editorial depicts how the control of educational ... [more ▼]

Abstract Access to higher education (HE) has a long history. To offer a view on the current debates and worldwide issues regarding access to HE, this editorial depicts how the control of educational access has historically been used as an instrument of governance at the interface of two processes: social stratification and the territorialisation of politics. Access to HE has remained embedded in these large structural processes even though HE has expanded from a highly elitist institution into mass education systems with equity of educational opportunities having become a desirable goal across societies. Analysing these processes helps understand the complex mechanisms producing inequalities in HE today, which are brought together by the ten articles composing this special issue. Tacking stock of how inequalities in access are produced in different continents, countries, HE Institutions, applying to different social groups though evolving mechanisms, these articles document the importance of contrasting methodological and theoretical approaches to produce comprehensive knowledge on this sensitive issue for democratic societies. [less ▲]

A cohort perspective on intergenerational mobility and inequality

in Long-term consequences of the Great Recession for stratification, mobility and inequality. Abstracts booklet. (2019)

DYNAMICS OF INDIVIDUAL INCOME RANK VOLATILITY: EVIDENCE FROM WEST GERMANY AND THE US

in B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis and Policy (2019)

This paper presents a methodology for comparing income rank volatility profiles over time and across distributions. While most of the existing measures are affected by changes in marginal distributions ... [more ▼]

This paper presents a methodology for comparing income rank volatility profiles over time and across distributions. While most of the existing measures are affected by changes in marginal distributions, this paper proposes a framework that is based on individuals’ relative positions in the distribution, and is neutral in relation to structural changes that occur in the economy. Applying this approach to investigate rank volatility in Germany and the US over three decades, we show that while poorer individuals within both countries are the most volatile, the volatility trend for the middle class in each of these countries differs. [less ▲]

Income and Wealth Above the Median: New Measurements and Results for Europe and the United States

in Decancq, Koen; van Kerm, Philippe (Eds.) What Drives Inequality (2019)

The study of the upper tail of the income and wealth distributions is important to the understanding of economic inequality. By means of the ‘isograph’, a new tool to describe income or wealth ... [more ▼]

The study of the upper tail of the income and wealth distributions is important to the understanding of economic inequality. By means of the ‘isograph’, a new tool to describe income or wealth distributions, the authors compare wealth and income and wealth-to-income ratios in 16 European countries and the United States using data for years 2013/2014 from the Eurozone Household Finance and Consumption Survey and the US Survey on Consumer Finance. Focussing on the top half of the distribution, the authors find that for households in the top income quintile, wealth-to-income ratios generally increase rapidly with income; the association between high wealth and high incomes is highest among the highest percentiles. There is generally a positive relationship between median wealth in the country and the wealth of the top 1%. However, the United States is an outlier where the median wealth is relatively low but the wealth of the top 1% is extremely high. [less ▲]

Overweight and obesity of mid-aged cohorts: Increasing burden, increasing educational inequalities

in Innovation in Aging (2018, November)

Inequality and generations - Age-Period-Cohort Modelling

Presentation (2018, July)

Detecting Public Health crises: APC-Detrended methodology and residuals in a 25-country, 35-year mortality matrix

Scientific Conference (2018, June 09)

Background. Mortality-by-cause analyses as done in the Global Burden of Disease 2016 update are helpful to monitor progress of public health improvements within and across countries. However, separate ... [more ▼]

Background. Mortality-by-cause analyses as done in the Global Burden of Disease 2016 update are helpful to monitor progress of public health improvements within and across countries. However, separate analyses by cause and country miss larger patterns of public health crises that are restricted to certain cohorts and periods. Those public health crises may go unnoticed even if they affect several countries and thus come with some threat potential. We propose a new method to detect cohorts with increased mortality at certain ages and periods. Method. We develop an analytical and visualizing technique based on established Age-Period-Cohort-Detrended (APCD) methodology (Chauvel and Schröder 2014). After detecting all-cause mortality increases, plotting the resulting age-period coefficients and APCD residuals in equilateral Lexis diagrams, mortality patterns can be distinguished as age, period, or cohort trends and fluctuations. Age-period interactions are plotted as ‘big red spots’. We employ the new technique in data from the Human Mortality Database, spanning 25-60 years of age, calendar years 1975-2010, and 25 countries. Results. We detect age-period interactions of young-adult cohorts in the early 1990s in Spain, other southern European countries and the U.S. Additional analyses with WHO mortality data show that mortality increases are mostly due to increased HIV/AIDS mortality. Discussion. Country-specific explanations, such as political frustrations in Spain, have been proposed to explain the 1990s increases in HIV/AIDS mortality. However, the new technique suggests that increases in HIV/AIDS mortality were more likely to be due to specific behaviors of cohorts of certain ages in a certain period. We discuss limitations of the method, such as detecting social class mortality differences of affected cohorts. Altogether, the new technique offers intuitive and efficient handling of large amounts of age-country-year mortality information. The method can further be applied in the fields of education, longevity, and demography at large. [less ▲]

The persistence of the gender earnings gap: cohort trends and the role of education in twelve countries

in Inequality Matters - LIS newsletter, Issue No. 6 (2018)

Studying twelve countries over 30 years, we examine whether women’s educational expansion has translated into a closing gender earnings gap. As educational attainment is cohort-dependent, an Age-Period ... [more ▼]

Studying twelve countries over 30 years, we examine whether women’s educational expansion has translated into a closing gender earnings gap. As educational attainment is cohort-dependent, an Age-Period-Cohort analysis is most appropriate in our view. Using the Luxembourg Income Study (LIS) data, we show that while in terms of attainment of tertiary education women have caught up and often even outperform men, substantial gender differences in earnings persist in all countries. These results are consistent with the composition of the top earnings decile. Using Blinder-Oaxaca decomposition methods, we demonstrate that the role of education in explaining the gender earnings gap has been limited and even decreased over cohorts. Contrary, employment status as well as occupation explain a more substantial part in all countries. We conclude that earnings differences at levels far from gender equality likely also persist in the future, even if the “rise of women” in terms of education continues. [less ▲]