Nick Parr

Family background, schooling and childlessness in Australia

Using data from Wave 1 of the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey, this paper analyses the extent to which childlessness among Australian women aged 40-54 years varies according to the size and type of family in which they were brought up, and the level and type of schooling they had. Multilevel logistic analysis shows that having been educated in a non-government school, having stayed at school to year 12, having a small number of siblings, at age 14 having a father who was either dead or absent, at age 14 having a father who was employed in a professional occupation, or being a migrant from North or West Europe, North America, East Asia or South-East Asia, all are significantly associated with higher rates of childlessness among women in the 40-54 years age range. The effects of these early lifecourse variables on marital and socioeconomic status in later life, and hence on childlessness, are also considered. The implications of the findings for fertility trends and for Australias public debate are discussed.

Use of 'dual protection' and other combinations of contraceptive methods in Australia.

Objective: To examine the demographic profiles of contraceptive users in Australia, paying particular attention to the use of condoms with other methods.

Occupational Concentration and Mobility of Asian Immigrants in Australia

Using data from the 1996 and 2001 censuses of Australia, this study provides a detailed description of the diverse patterns of occupational concentration and mobility of selected Asian immigrant groups. The study shows that Asian-Australians include not only groups which remain relatively concentrated in “low-end” occupations, but also many others which are more likely than the Australia-born to be in “high-end” professional occupations, and that almost all the selected groups experienced some degree of upwards occupational mobility between 1996 and 2001. However, after controlling for a range of demographic and human capital characteristics, the participation of most groups in the managerial and professional occupations is shown to be below that for the Australia-born. Hence, the high occupational status of most Asian groups does not mean they are advantaged.

Which Women Stop at One Child in Australia

The decline in fertility in Australia in the 1990s reflected both decreased first-order birth rates and decreased second-order birth rates (Kippen 2004). Whilst childlessness has been studied extensively, little attention has been paid to the progression from one to two children. This study analyses which women stop at one child using data from 1,809 parous 40–54 year olds from Wave 1 of the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey. Important early lifecourse predictors of whether a woman stops her childbearing at one child are shown to be a woman s country of birth, highest level and type of schooling, and her father s occupation. A woman s marital status and her age at the time of the first birth are also shown to be significant predictors of her likelihood of not progressing to a second birth. The causes of trends over time are discussed.

Do Children from Small Families Do Better

The education, income, wealth and satisfaction with life of australians aged 25–54 are examined in relation to the circumstances of their childhood, paying particular attention to variation by number of siblings when growing up. The data are from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survery. Educational attainment, income earned and household wealth tend to be greater for people who grew up in relatively small families. The effect of the number of siblings on educational attainment is greater for females than for males. However the advantages of growing up in a smaller family do not translate into higher levels of satisfaction with life. The implications of the findings for the public debate on fertility and child-related benefits in Australia are discussed, as are the implications of a child-quality-child-quantity trade-off for the explanation of fertility levels in more developed countries.

Branch migration and the international dispersal of families.

This paper discusses the dispersal of facilities where family members migrate to different destination countries. Terminology for internationally dispersed families is proposed, and the term branch migration is suggested for the migration of related people from the same source country to different destination countries. Data from two 1993 surveys of senior secondary students show that 22% of Sydney students and 20% of Hong Kong students have relatives in two or more other countries. The data suggest that many Asian migrant families have branched between the US, Canada, Australia and other migrant-receiving nations. The causes and implications of the international dispersal of families are discussed.

The effects of family benefits on childbearing decisions: a household optimising approach applied to Australia

This article analyses the effect of family benefits on childbearing decisions using an intertemporal utility maximising framework. The childbirth decisions of households are planned jointly with decisions about lifecycle consumption. The model is calibrated using data for Australia drawn, where possible, from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia Wave 7 survey. The simulations show that changes in family benefits are likely to have both timing and quantum effects on childbirth but of a small magnitude, which tends to support findings using alternative empirical approaches. The simulations also indicate the effects of indirect family benefits, such as paid maternity leave and policies to reduce the time that mothers spend out of the labour force following child birth.

Life Lost Due to Premature Deaths in New South Wales, Australia

This study attempts to measure premature mortality, in addition to overall death rates, in order to provide more information that can be used to develop and monitor health programmes that are aimed at reducing premature (often preventable) mortality in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. Premature years of potential life lost (PYPLL) and valued years of potential life lost methods are applied for mortality data in NSW from 1990 to 2002. Variations in these measures for 2001 are studied further in terms of age, sex, urban/rural residence, and socio-economic status. PYPLL rates for all leading causes of death have declined. It is shown that the average male to female ratio of PYPLLs is highest for accidents, injury and poisoning (3.4:1) followed by mental disorders (2.7:1) and cardiovascular diseases (2.6:1). Although fewer women than men die of cardiovascular diseases, there is a greater proportionate importance of cerebrovascular mortality among women. In order to further reduce premature deaths, programs are required to improve the health of people living in lower socio-economic status areas, especially in rural NSW. Targeted regional or community level programs are required to reduce avoidable deaths due to accidents, injury and poisoning occasioned by motor vehicle accidents, poisoning and suicide among young adults.

The Impact of Children on Australian Women's and Men's Superannuation

Using data from Wave 2 of the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey, this article examines how superannuation savings by women and men vary according to the numbers of children they have. The results show that for women there is a clear inverse relationship between the value of superannuation and the number of their children. Moreover, this inverse relationship persists after controlling for an extensive range of variables which may affect both number of children and superannuation. The analysis also shows that level of education, migrant status, being an employer or self-employed, marital status, age and sex are significantly related to an individuals level of superannuation. The implications of the results for Australias public debate and possible policy responses are discussed.

Pre-Marital Fertility in Liberia

This analysis of the 1986 Liberia Demographic and Health Survey data finds remarkably high fertility levels among women who have never married or lived with a man, reflecting widespread pre-marital sex and a lack of use of contraception. It is found that single Liberian women are more likely to foster out children than married Liberian women of the same age.