Magister Economicae - MEcon / The study concentrates on a particular type of state intervention in social policy. It considers whether policy reforms and subsequent provision of information with regards to the issue of parental leave and part-time work arrangements, makes an impact on gender equity in the labour market (Del Boca, 2002; Naldini & Saraceno, 2008). Giddens' theory of structuration is the conceptual framework from which this study approaches these questions. It is thus held that agents (in this instance, women) are constrained by structures (labour policy framework and institutionalised labour practices) to achieve specific social goals. And further: that the apparent lack of power on the part of agents requires intervention on the part of the state apparatus to correct the failure (or inability) of the labour market to deliver the social justice as aspired to in the cited European Employment Strategy, as well as fostering economic efficiency (Barr, 1992). I further contend that not only are agents constrained by structural properties, but that institutional reform (in the form of labour policy reform) is constrained by the human action1 of the management of firms and enterprises as economic agents within the policy framework. / South Africa

This thesis deals with the current functions and roles of fathers in the family. It focuses on identifying the importance of fathers for child development and education. Pursues opportunities can contribute to the family and the participation rate of fathers in child care. It also deals with the phenomenon of new fathers and fathers on parental leave. The aim of this work is to comprehensively capture aspects of the paternal role in relation to the child from his early age and to map the role of fathers in the family while the child is of preschool age.

<p>The aim of the present thesis was to study elderly self-managing and disabled women’s dietary intake and meals in relation to age, household structure (single-living or cohabitant), disability and cooking ability. The women were aged 64-88 years and living at home, in the mid-eastern part of Sweden. The self-managing women were randomly selected. The disabled women – suffering from Parkinson's disease, rheumatoid arthritis or stroke – were selected from patient records. A total of 139 self-managing and 63 disabled women participated. Two dietary assessment methods were used: a repeated 24-h recall and a three-day estimated food diary, providing dietary intake for five non-consecutive days. The results indicate that elderly women still living in their homes seem to manage a sufficient dietary intake despite disability and high age. The reported energy intakes in all groups of women were low, which might be explained by an actual low intake and/or under-reporting. The portion sizes seemed to be smaller in the highest age group, leading to lower intakes of some nutrients. Thus also the nutrient density of the food should be given greater consideration. The meal pattern was shown to be regular and the distribution of main meals and snacks was found to be satisfactory. Meals and snacks that were defined as such by the women themselves thus seem to be more significant from an energy and nutritional perspective. Perceived cooking ability co-varied with energy and nutrient intake as well as with meal pattern.</p><p>Further, a qualitative dietary assessment method, FBCE, was analysed. It was concluded that it must be supplemented with a dietary assessment method providing energy intake figures to ensure a sufficient intake, especially when studying groups at risk for low energy intake. </p><p>Furthermore, the aim was to perform a dropout analysis. When studying older women and food, a low participation rate might be expected since the most active, the very ill as well as the disabled tend to decline participation, but also since food is a gender issue. Food could, especially for women, be a sensitive area of discussion, even though older women seem to choose "healthy foods" and eat "proper meals".</p>

The aim of the present thesis was to study elderly self-managing and disabled women’s dietary intake and meals in relation to age, household structure (single-living or cohabitant), disability and cooking ability. The women were aged 64-88 years and living at home, in the mid-eastern part of Sweden. The self-managing women were randomly selected. The disabled women – suffering from Parkinson's disease, rheumatoid arthritis or stroke – were selected from patient records. A total of 139 self-managing and 63 disabled women participated. Two dietary assessment methods were used: a repeated 24-h recall and a three-day estimated food diary, providing dietary intake for five non-consecutive days. The results indicate that elderly women still living in their homes seem to manage a sufficient dietary intake despite disability and high age. The reported energy intakes in all groups of women were low, which might be explained by an actual low intake and/or under-reporting. The portion sizes seemed to be smaller in the highest age group, leading to lower intakes of some nutrients. Thus also the nutrient density of the food should be given greater consideration. The meal pattern was shown to be regular and the distribution of main meals and snacks was found to be satisfactory. Meals and snacks that were defined as such by the women themselves thus seem to be more significant from an energy and nutritional perspective. Perceived cooking ability co-varied with energy and nutrient intake as well as with meal pattern. Further, a qualitative dietary assessment method, FBCE, was analysed. It was concluded that it must be supplemented with a dietary assessment method providing energy intake figures to ensure a sufficient intake, especially when studying groups at risk for low energy intake. Furthermore, the aim was to perform a dropout analysis. When studying older women and food, a low participation rate might be expected since the most active, the very ill as well as the disabled tend to decline participation, but also since food is a gender issue. Food could, especially for women, be a sensitive area of discussion, even though older women seem to choose "healthy foods" and eat "proper meals".

近年來台灣面臨了人口高齡化的現象，有關中高齡人口的議題成為了學者與社會大眾關注的焦點，其中，自1988以來中高齡已婚男性勞動參與率至2008年為止已下降了約十個百分點，這個現象值得我們去深入了解。本篇論文主要在探討中高齡已婚男性勞動參與的決定因素，研究的資料來源為1988至2008年的人力資源及人力運用調查。其中，我選擇了55至64歲的已婚男性為對象，而總樣本數為51,730，本論文先以probit與bivariate probit模型估計每一個變數對中高齡已婚男性勞動決策的邊際影響效果，再以Oaxaca與DiNardo, Fortin, and Lemieux (DFL)分解模式，試著拆解每一個變數對整體中高齡已婚男性勞動參與率的影響性。 此篇論文著重在兩個主要變數對中高齡已婚男性勞動參與的影響:妻子的勞動參與以及地區性的失業率。近年來越來越多已婚婦女投入職場，我想了解婦女勞動參與率的上升，對整體丈夫勞動參與率的影響；另外地區的失業率是表現出地區勞動市場的重要指標之一，過去的文獻提到失業嚴重的地區可能使當地勞工失業後找不到工作，或使想進入職場的勞工卻步。此篇論文研究結果顯示妻子的勞動參與會顯著的影響先生對勞動市場去留的決定，妻子影響個人的勞動參與機率6~18%左右，而1%地區性失業率的上升，則是對個人的勞動參與機率下降的影響約1.5%左右。在1988年至2008年整體中高齡已婚男性勞動參與率的分解中，勞動參與率下降了3.5%（占整體變化40%），可歸咎於地區失業率的升高。而若妻子的勞動參與沒有提升，仍維持1988年的水準，整體丈夫的勞動參與率將會下降1%（占整體變化10%）左右，本論文認為若政府能維持良好的就業市場環境，將有助於提高中高齡已婚男性人口勞動參與的比率，進一步能有效提高勞動生產力及降低社會負擔。 / As the proportion of the old population increases in Taiwan, issues of older individuals’ behavior attract public attention. During 1988 to 2008, labor force participation rate of older married men declined over 10 percent. What can explain this decline? This thesis tries to find out the determinants of older married men’s labor force participation in Taiwan. I use the data from Manpower Survey and Manpower Utilization Survey from 1988 to 2008, conducted by Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS). The sample comprise 51,730 observations of married men aged 55-64. Older married men’s labor participation decision is treated as a dependent variable and estimates are made with a probit and a bivariate probit model. Decompositions with methodology of DiNardo, Fortin, and Lemieux (1996) and Oaxaca (1973) are conducted for explaining the decline in labor participation rate of older married men between 1988 and 2008. The results indicate that the increase in wives’ labor force participation increases husband’s likelihood of participation and prevents aggregate husbands’ participation rate from declining about 1 percentage point (-8 percent of total decline). However, regional unemployment rate negatively affects husband’s likelihood of participation and can explain at least 3.5 percent (40 percent of total decline) of the decline in husband’s participation rate. This thesis suggests the labor force participation rate could be stopped from declining if the government maintains good labor market condition.

Abstract The aim of the South Karelian Allergy Research Project (SKARP) was to quantify the occurrence of children’s food allergy and food-associated hypersensitivity symptoms and their associated factors. The study population comprised all children born between April 2001 and March 2006 and living in the province of South Karelia, in the south-eastern part of Finland. The questionnaire survey was conducted in co-operation with the child health clinics in the area in 2005&#8211;2006. Concurrently with but independently of the questionnaire study, the results of allergy tests regarding the same child population were collected from patient records. The participation rates in the questionnaire study were 54% (644/1194) among the newborn infants and 69% (3308/4779) among the children aged 1 to 4 years. The lifetime prevalence of parent-reported food allergies was 9% and that of parent-perceived food-associated hypersensitivity symptoms 21% by the age of 4 years. In addition, another 19% of children adhered to an elimination diet without previous symptoms associated with any food items. The prevalence of children with such diets decreased by age. Up to the age of 4 years, 19% of the participants had undergone a food allergy test and 8% of the participants had obtained a positive result in these tests. Physician-diagnosed food allergies and food allergies based on the tests were more common for milk, egg and cereals than for other food items. The tested children and those with a positive test result were only slightly overrepresented among the participants. Allergic manifestations in either biological parent doubled and in both biological parents tripled the incidence of a positive food allergy test. The spring season coinciding with the end of the first trimester of pregnancy predicted sensitisation to food items in the children. In early childhood, food allergies and food hypersensitivities were found to be common in a child population. New population-based knowledge regarding the inheritance of these conditions was obtained. Additionally, an association was observed between the timing of the 11th gestational week in spring and the sensitisation to food items, the detailed reasons and immunological mechanisms of which must be confirmed in further studies. / Tiivistelmä Etelä-Karjalan allergiatutkimus (EKAT) käynnistettiin selvittämään lasten ruoka-allergioiden ja ruokayliherkkyysoireiden esiintyvyyttä ja niihin liittyviä tekijöitä. Tutkimusväestöön kuuluivat kaikki ne Etelä-Karjalan maakunnan alueella asuvat lapset, jotka olivat syntyneet huhtikuun 2001 ja maaliskuun 2006 välisenä aikana. Kyselyaineisto kerättiin yhteistyössä alueen neuvoloiden kanssa vuosina 2005&#8211;2006. Kyselytutkimuksen kanssa samanaikaisesti mutta siitä riippumattomasti kerättiin samaa lapsiväestöä koskevat allergiatestitulokset alueen potilasrekistereistä. Kyselytutkimuksen osallistumisaste oli vastasyntyneiden ikäluokassa 54&#160;% (644/1194) ja isommilla lapsilla 69&#160;% (3308/4779). Kolmannen ikävuoden loppuun mennessä vanhemmat ilmoittivat 9&#160;%:lla lapsista todetun ruoka-allergiaa ja lisäksi 21&#160;%:lla ruokayliherkkyys perustui ainoastaan vanhempien havaintoihin. Näiden lisäksi 19&#160;% lapsista vältti yhtä tai useampaa ruoka-ainetta ilman, että minkään ruoka-aineen olisi todettu aiheuttaneen oireita. Dieettien noudattajien osuus väheni selvästi tarkasteltaessa ikäluokkia yksivuotiaista neljävuotiaisiin. Kolmannen ikävuoden loppuun mennessä ruoka-allergiatestattuja oli 19&#160;% ja positiivisen testituloksen saaneita 8&#160;% tutkimukseen osallistuneista. Lääkärin toteamat ja testeihin perustuneet ruoka-allergiat olivat tavallisempia maidolle, kananmunalle ja viljoille kuin muille ruoka-aineille. Allergiatestatuilla ja positiivisen testituloksen saaneilla oli vain lievä yliedustus kyselytutkimukseen osallistujien joukossa verrattuna kyselyyn vastaamattomiin. Allergiset sairaudet toisella biologisella vanhemmalla kaksinkertaistivat ja molemmilla vanhemmilla kolminkertaistivat positiivisen ruoka-allergiatestin ilmaantuvuuden. Raskauden ensimmäisen kolmanneksen lopun ajoittuminen kevääseen ennakoi syntyvän lapsen herkistymistä ruoka-aineille. Varhaislapsuuden ruoka-allergioiden ja -yliherkkyyksien todettiin olevan tavallisia väestössä. Näiden sairauksien periytyvyydestä saatiin uutta väestötietoa. Lisäksi havaittiin yhteys 11. raskausviikon ajoittumisen kevääseen ja ruoka-aineille herkistymisen välillä. Yhteyden yksityiskohtaiset syytekijät ja immunologiset mekanismit täytyy ehdottomasti vahvistaa jatkotutkimuksin.

The purpose of this paper is to look into the determinants of household savings in an international cross-section. The focus is on the effects from social security, old-age dependency, participation rate and change in unemployment, among other variables as an addition to the disequilibrium saving hypotheses, which is the base theory for the savings function. The fixed-effect least square dummy variable method is used on panel data of 14 OECD countries over the time-span 2000 to 2018. The determinants that has a significant effect on household saving in the empirical result is unanticipated income; a positive sign supports the permanent-income hypothesis and the disequilibrium saving hypothesis. This means that individuals tend to save the transitory income. The next significant variable is the lagged savings rate, which indicates inactivity in the savings behavior. The change in the unemployment rate is also significant and the positive sign supports the uncertainty hypothesis, indicating that individuals tend to save for precautionary reasons. The last significant variable was social security and it had a negative effect on household savings; which is supported by the life-cycle hypothesis, and can indicate a wealth substitution effect or general confidence in the social security system.

No description available.

This dissertation consists of three essays. In the first one (Chapter three), "Gains and Losses from Household Formation," I introduce a general equilibrium model, wherein a household may consist of more than one member, each with their own preferences and endowments. In these models at first, individuals form households. Then, collective decisions (or bargaining) within the household specifies the consumption plans of household members. Finally, competition across households determines a feasible allocation of resources. I consider a model with two types of individuals and pure group externalities. I investigate the competitive equilibrium allocation and stability of the equilibrium in that setting. Specifically, I show that under a certain set of assumptions a competitive equilibrium with free exit is also a competitive equilibrium with free household formation. Similar results are obtained for a special case of consumption externality. Illustrative examples, where prices may change as household structures change, are used to show how general equilibrium model with variable household structure works and some interesting results are discussed at the end of the first essay. In the second essay (Chapter four), “Effects of the Price System on Household Labor Supply,” I introduce leisure and labor into the two-type economy framework that was constructed in the first essay. The main objective of this essay is to investigate the effects of exogenous prices on the labor supply decisions, and completely analyze the partial equilibrium model outcomes in a two-type economy setting. I assume a wage gap and explore the effect of that gap on labor supply. The main content of the second essay is the analysis of the effect of change in wages, price of the private good, power of each individual in the household, relative importance of private consumption compared to leisure, and the level of altruism on individual's decisions about how much private good or leisure he/she wants to consume. The effect of a relative price change on labor supply, private consumption and utility level is also investigated. Moreover, one of the variations of Spence's signaling model is borrowed to explain why higher education of women in Iran does not necessarily translate into higher female labor force participation. Finally, fixed point theorem is used to calculate the power (or alternatively labor supply) of individuals in the household endogenously for the two-type economy with labor at the end of this essay. In the third essay (Chapter five), “Dynamics of Poverty in Iran: What Are the Determinants of the Probability of Being Poor?,” I explore the characteristics of the households who fall below the poverty line and stay there as well as those who climb up later. I decompose poverty in Iran into chronic and transient poverty, and investigate the relation of each component of poverty with certain characteristics of households. I also study mobility and the main characteristics of growth in expenditure of households. One of the main issues in economic policy making nowadays is the evaluation of effectiveness of anti-poverty programs. In order to achieve this goal one should be able to track down a household for a period of time. In this essay, I am going to investigate the dynamics of poverty in Iran during 1992-95. I am especially interested in finding the characteristics of the households that fall below the poverty line and stay there in addition to those that climb up later. Obviously, if policy-makers want to have efficient policies to reduce poverty, they should target the former group. I decompose poverty in Iran into chronic and transient poverty, and investigate the relation of each component of poverty with certain characteristics of households. I also study mobility in this period with an emphasis on mobility in and out of poverty and review the main characteristics of the growth in expenditure of households. / Ph. D.

Objectifs: Examiner les tendances temporelles, les déterminants en lien avec le design des études et la qualité des taux de réponse rapportés dans des études cas-témoins sur le cancer publiées lors des 30 dernières années. Méthodes: Une revue des études cas-témoins sur le cancer a été menée. Les critères d'inclusion étaient la publication (i) dans l’un de 15 grands périodiques ciblés et (ii) lors de quatre périodes de publication (1984-1986, 1995, 2005 et 2013) couvrant trois décennies. 370 études ont été sélectionnées et examinées. La méthodologie en lien avec le recrutement des sujets et la collecte de données, les caractéristiques de la population, les taux de participation et les raisons de la non-participation ont été extraites de ces études. Des statistiques descriptives ont été utilisées pour résumer la qualité des taux de réponse rapportés (en fonction de la quantité d’information disponible), les tendances temporelles et les déterminants des taux de réponse; des modèles de régression linéaire ont été utilisés pour analyser les tendances temporelles et les déterminants des taux de participation. Résultats: Dans l'ensemble, les qualités des taux de réponse rapportés et des raisons de non-participation étaient très faible, particulièrement chez les témoins. La participation a diminué au cours des 30 dernières années, et cette baisse est plus marquée dans les études menées après 2000. Lorsque l'on compare les taux de réponse dans les études récentes a ceux des études menées au cours de 1971 à 1980, il y a une plus grande baisse chez les témoins sélectionnés en population générale ( -17,04%, IC 95%: -23,17%, -10,91%) que chez les cas (-5,99%, IC 95%: -11,50%, -0,48%). Les déterminants statistiquement significatifs du taux de réponse chez les cas étaient: le type de cancer examiné, la localisation géographique de la population de l'étude, et le mode de collecte des données. Le seul déterminant statistiquement significatif du taux de réponse chez les témoins hospitaliers était leur localisation géographique. Le seul déterminant statistiquement significatif du taux de participation chez les témoins sélectionnés en population générale était le type de répondant (sujet uniquement ou accompagné d’une tierce personne). Conclusion: Le taux de participation dans les études cas-témoins sur le cancer semble avoir diminué au cours des 30 dernières années et cette baisse serait plus marquée dans les études récentes. Afin d'évaluer le niveau réel de non-participation et ses déterminants, ainsi que l'impact de la non-participation sur la validité des études, il est nécessaire que les études publiées utilisent une approche normalisée pour calculer leurs taux de participation et qu’elles rapportent ceux-ci de façon transparente. / Objectives: To examine the time trends, study design determinants, and quality of reporting of response rates in published case-control studies of cancer over the past 30 years. Methods: A review was conducted of case-control studies of cancer. Inclusion criteria required publications in 15 major journals, during four publication periods spanning three decades (1984-86, 1995, 2005 and 2013). 370 studies were selected and reviewed. Information on study base ascertainment, data collection methods, population characteristics, response rates, and reasons for non-participation was extracted. Quality of response rate reporting was assessed based on the amount of information reported. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the quality of the reporting, time trends and the determinants of response rates; linear regression models were used to analyse time trends and determinants of response rates. Results: Overall, the quality of reporting of response rates and reasons for non-participation was very poor, especially for control series. Participation has declined over the past 30 years, and this decline was steeper in studies conducted after 2000. When comparing the response rates in recent studies to that in studies conducted during 1971-1980, there was a greater decline of this rate in population controls (-17.04%, 95% CI: -23.17%, -10.91%) than in cases (-5.99%, 95% CI: -11.50%, -0.48%). Statistically significant determinants of response rates among cases were: cancer type examined, location of the study population, and mode of data collection. The only statistically significant determinant of response rates among medical source controls was location of the study population. The only statistically significant determinant of response rates among population controls was type of respondent (self only or self and proxy) accepted by studies. Conclusion: Response rates in case-control studies of cancer seem to have declined and this decline has accelerated in recent studies. In order to appreciate the true level of non-participation and its determinants, as well as the impact of non-participation on validity of studies, there is a need for more transparent reporting and standardized calculation of response rates in published studies.