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Interest in the spread of human capital has grown in recent decades, as it is acknowledged to play an increasingly important role in supporting social and economic development. This paper, starting from the distinction between education – assessed by educational attainment – and literacy proficiency – that is, what people are actually able to do with the written word – examines the distribution of these properties in Italy. Results of analysis show that while the longstanding gap between the North and the South is gradually closing with regard to the distribution of educational credentials, there is still a significant difference in the acquired level of competence. There is also an unexpected result: the regions of the North-West, once the main driver of Italy's economic development, today deploy a smaller stock of human capital than the North-East and Central macro-regions. In light of these findings, improving the education system's effectiveness and creating adequate political, institutional and legal arrangements that favour the development of human capital appear to be an absolute priority for Italy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the impact of disability in Australia on earning and learning. The report is based on the official statistics on Disability Ageing and Carers by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Whilst 67.9% of those aged 15–64 years without a reported disability complete Year 12 only 43.6% of those with a disability complete the highest level of secondary schooling. In the labor market, the participation rate is lower for persons with a disability (53.4%) compared to 84.1% for those without a disability. Even when people with disabilities are ready to work it is accompanied by a higher rate of unemployment (10.3%) compared with 4.6% for those without a disability. Whilst general labor force participation has increased from 2003 to 2018 the labor force participation of persons with a disability has remained stubbornly constant. Furthermore, the unemployment rate for person with a disability has increased markedly from 2009 while that for persons without a disability has decreased. When the influence of all these factors is combined there is an overwhelming landscape of disadvantage within which a person with a disability has to navigate an educational and vocational pathway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is known that the education of significant others may affect an individual's mortality. This paper extends an emerging body of research by investigating the effect of having highly educated adult children on the longevity of older parents in Europe, especially parents with low educational attainment. Using a sample of 15,015 individuals (6,620 fathers and 8,395 mothers) aged 50 and above, with 1,847 recorded deaths, over a mean follow-up period of 10.9 years from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), we examine whether the well-established socio-economic gradient in mortality among parents is modified when their adult children have higher educational attainment than their parents. We find that having highly educated adult children is associated with reduced mortality risks for fathers and mothers with low educational attainment, compared to their counterparts whose adult children have only compulsory education. The association is stronger in early older age (ages 50–74) than in later older age (ages 75 and over). Part of the association appears to be explained by health behaviours (physical (in)activity) and health status (self-rated health). Our findings suggest that the socio-economic–mortality gradient among older parents might be better captured using an intergenerational approach that recognises the advantage of having highly educated adult children, especially for fathers and mothers with only compulsory education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista de Historia Económica / Journal of Iberian & Latin American Economic History is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Drawing on the revived literature on the subjective dimension of ageing, this paper investigates whether people aged 65+, usually defined as old, do actually feel old and which events they associate with feeling old. Logistic models are used on unique data from the 2013 survey called 'I Do Not Want to Be Inactive', conducted on individuals aged 65–74 in Italy (N = 828). It is found that a large proportion of respondents do not feel old at all. The analyses show that women are more likely than men to feel old and to think that society considers them old. While men feel old mainly when they retire, women associate this feeling with loneliness, loss of independence and death of loved ones. Higher-educated people are less likely to associate feeling old with loneliness and boredom than their lower-educated counterparts. The findings have important implications for the conceptualisation of ageing. Most people who are old according to the standard threshold of 65 do not consider reaching this age as a distinctive marker of old age in their lifecourse. This suggests that absolute thresholds for setting the start of old age are questionable. Feeling old seems to be mainly influenced by events, such as retirement and death of loved ones, hinting to the importance of the social construction of ageing in addition to its biological dimension. Researchers and policy makers are encouraged to give more attention to layperson views on ageing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Extensive research has focused on the potential benefits of education on various mental and physical health outcomes. However, whether the associations reflect a causal effect is harder to establish. Methods: To examine associations between educational duration and specific aspects of well-being, anxiety and mood disorders, and cardiovascular health in a sample of European Ancestry UK Biobank participants born in England and Wales, we apply four different causal inference methods (a natural policy experiment leveraging the minimum school-leaving age, a sibling-control design, Mendelian randomization [MR], and within-family MR), and assess if the methods converge on the same conclusion. Results: A comparison of results across the four methods reveals that associations between educational duration and these outcomes appears predominantly to be the result of confounding or bias rather than a true causal effect of education on well-being and health outcomes. Although we do consistently find no associations between educational duration and happiness, family satisfaction, work satisfaction, meaning in life, anxiety, and bipolar disorder, we do not find consistent significant associations across all methods for the other phenotypes (health satisfaction, depression, financial satisfaction, friendship satisfaction, neuroticism, and cardiovascular outcomes). Conclusions: We discuss inconsistencies in results across methods considering their respective limitations and biases, and additionally discuss the generalizability of our findings in light of the sample and phenotype limitations. Overall, this study strengthens the idea that triangulation across different methods is necessary to enhance our understanding of the causal consequences of educational duration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policy makers are concerned about the socio-economic consequences of population ageing. Policies often rely on estimations of support ratios based solely on the population age structure. We estimate Generational Support Ratios (GSRs) considering health heterogeneity of the population age 60+ and education heterogeneity of their offspring. We explore the effect of a public policy that changes the education of a targeted sub-group of women when they are young on their health once they become older, taking into account changes in demographic processes (i.e. marriage, fertility, offspring's education). We used the model presented by Kye et al. for the Korean context and examine the Mexican context. Our paper has three objectives. First, by applying this framework to the Mexican context we aim to find that improvements in women's education may mitigate the negative consequences of population ageing directly and indirectly through subsequent demographic behaviours that altogether affect GSRs. Second, by making a cross-national comparison between Korea and Mexico, we aim to quantify how policies of educational expansion have different impacts in contexts in which the population age 60+ have universal access to health care compared to contexts in which access to health care is selective. Third, by comparing cross-nationally we aim to show how differences in family processes across countries alter the pathways through which improvements in education affect GSRs. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The impact of change in socio-economic status (SES) from childhood to adulthood (SES mobility) on adult diet is not well understood. This study examined associations between three SES mobility variables (area disadvantage, education, occupation) and adult diet quality. 1482 Australian participants reported childhood area-level SES in 1985 (aged 10–15 years) and retrospectively reported highest parental education and main occupation (until participant age 12) and own area-level SES, education, occupation and dietary intake in 2004–2006 (aged 26–36 years). A Dietary Guidelines Index (DGI) was calculated from food frequency and habit questionnaires. A higher score (range 0–100) indicated better diet quality. Sex-stratified linear regression models adjusted for confounders. Area-level SES mobility was not associated with diet quality. Compared with stable high (university) education, stable low (school only) was associated with lower DGI scores (males: β = –5·5, 95 % CI: −8·9, –2·1; females: β = –6·3, 95 % CI: −9·3, –3·4), as was downward educational mobility (participant's education lower than their parents) (males: β = –5·3, 95 % CI: −8·5, –2·0; females: β = –4·5, 95 % CI: −7·2, –1·7) and stable intermediate (vocational) education among males (β = –3·9, 95 % CI: −7·0, −0·7). Compared with stable high (professional/managerial) occupation, stable low (manual/out of workforce) males (β = –4·9, 95 % CI: −7·6, –2·2), and participants with downward occupation mobility (males: β = –3·2, 95 % CI: −5·3, –1·1; females: β = –2·8, 95 % CI: −4·8, –0·8) had lower DGI scores. In this cohort, intergenerational low education and occupation, and downward educational and occupational mobility, were associated with poor adult diet quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Using newly harmonised individual-level data on health and socio-economic environments in Latin American cities (from the Salud Urbana en América Latina (SALURBAL) study), we assessed the association between obesity and education levels and explored potential effect modification of this association by city-level socio-economic development.Design: This cross-sectional study used survey data collected between 2002 and 2017. Absolute and relative educational inequalities in obesity (BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2, derived from measured weight and height) were calculated first. Then, a two-level mixed-effects logistic regression was run to test for effect modification of the education-obesity association by city-level socio-economic development. All analyses were stratified by sex.Setting: One hundred seventy-six Latin American cities within eight countries (Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Mexico and Peru).Participants: 53 186 adults aged >18 years old.Results: Among women, 25 % were living with obesity and obesity was negatively associated with educational level (higher education-lower obesity) and this pattern was consistent across city-level socio-economic development. Among men, 18 % were living with obesity and there was a positive association between education and obesity (higher education-higher obesity) for men living in cities with lower levels of development, whereas for those living in cities with higher levels of development, the pattern was inverted and university education was protective of obesity.Conclusions: Among women, education was protective of obesity regardless, whereas among men, it was only protective in cities with higher levels of development. These divergent results suggest the need for sex- and city-specific interventions to reduce obesity prevalence and inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Much remains unknown about how the 2008 Great Recession, coupled with the ageing baby-boomer cohort, have shaped retirement expectations and realised retirement timing across diverse groups of older Americans. Using the Health and Retirement Study (1992–2016), we compared expectations about full-time work at age 62 (reported at ages 51–61) with realised labour force status at age 62. Of the 12,049 respondents, 34 per cent reported no chance of working full time at 62 (zero probability) and 21 per cent reported it was very likely (90–100 probability). Among those reporting no chance of working, there was a 0.111 probability of unmet expectations; among those with high expectations of working, there was a 0.430 probability of unmet expectations. Black and Hispanic Americans were more likely than white Americans to have unmet expectations of both types. Educational attainment was associated with higher probability of unexpectedly working and lower probability of unexpectedly not working. Baby-boomers experienced fewer unmet expectations than prior cohorts but more uncertainty about work status at 62. Our findings highlight the unpredictability of retirement timing for significant segments of the US population and the role of the Great Recession in contributing to uncertainty. Given the individual and societal benefits of long work lives, special attention should be paid to the high rates of unexpectedly not working at age 62. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To analyse the trend of social inequality in food consumption among Brazilians from 2008 to 2019.Design: Time series analyses using cross-sectional annual data from the Telephone Surveillance System (VIGITEL 2008-2019). Food consumption was evaluated through: (1) consumption of five or more portions of fruits and vegetables in ≥5 d/week; (2) consumption of beans in ≥5 d/week and (3) consumption of soft drinks or artificial juices in ≥5 d/week. Absolute inequality was assessed by the slope index of inequality (SII) and relative inequality by the concentration index (CIX). SII and CIX positive values indicate higher prevalence among more educated citizens and negative among less educated ones. Time trend was assessed by linear regression using weighted least squares.Setting: 26 Brazilian state capitals and the Federal District.Participants: 621 689 individuals ≥18 years.Results: Fruits and vegetable consumption was more prevalent among the more educated citizens, while beans were mostly consumed by the less educated, and soft drinks or artificial juices was more prevalent among individuals with intermediate education. The highest absolute inequality was found for beans (SII2019 -25·9). In 12 years, the absolute inequality increased for fruit and vegetable consumption (from SII2008 12·8 to SII2019 16·2), remained for beans (SII2008 -23·1 to SII2019 -25·9) and reduced for soft drinks or artificial juices (SII2008 8·7 to SII2019 0·4). Relative inequality was low and constant.Conclusion: Despite the advances reducing inequalities in soft drinks or artificial juice consumption, the increase in the social gap for adequate consumption of fruits and vegetables is troublesome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of malnutrition (undernutrition and excess BMI) among children under the age of 5 years and women of reproductive age in Bolivia considering three socioeconomic indicators: wealth, education and ethnicity.Design: We used the 2008 nationally representative Bolivian Demographic and Health Survey (DHS). Malnutrition's prevalence was estimated by wealth, ethnicity and educational level. Wealth index was measured based on the DHS methodology and nutritional status by using WHO standards and indicators. Education level (EL) was categorized by years of formal education.Setting: Bolivia.Participants: In total, 5·903 children <5 years, 3·345 adolescent women (15-19 years) and 12·297 women (20-49 years) with available information on anthropometric measurements·.Results: A disproportionate prevalence of malnutrition was observed among different wealth groups: lower wealth tertiles show the higher prevalence of stunting (>30 %) and anaemia (>40 %) in all ages· The prevalence of overweight and obesity tends to rise with age from childhood (10·02-11·60) to adolescence (27·9-31·03), reaching highest levels in women of reproductive age (56·02-57·76). According to wealth tertiles, higher prevalence of overweight and obesity was found in children of high tertile (12·23), adolescent women of low (32·56) and adult women of medium tertile (63·08).Conclusions: The present study shows that currently Bolivia is in a transitional stage, faces not only the problem of undernutrition but also those of overnutrition, showing strong inequalities according to socioeconomic and education status. This study calls for state-specific policies keeping in view of the nature of inequality in malnutrition in the country and its differential characteristics across wealth status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess the prevalence of five forms of malnutrition (wasting/underweight, overweight, obesity, stunting/short stature and anaemia) by socio-economic wealth (SEW) and educational level (EL) among children, adolescents and women of reproductive age in Argentina.Design: Analysis from a cross-sectional survey. Anthropometric indicators and prevalence of anaemia were estimated. SEW was classified according to the proportion of contributors in the household, employment status, EL and medical coverage. EL was categorized by years of formal education.Setting: National Health and Nutrition Survey, 2005.Participants: Children (n 27 015) <5 years, adolescent girls (n 1729) 11-19 years, women (n 4401) 20-49 years.Results: In Argentina, 26 % of households lived with unsatisfied basic needs and 23 % received at least one form of food assistance. Any form of malnutrition affected 23 % of children, 36 % of girls and 56 % of women. Children were especially affected by anaemia, overweight/obesity and stunting (15·2, 9·9, 7·4 %, respectively). Girls were affected by overweight/obesity, anaemia and stunting (22·5, 15·2, 6·2 %). Women were strongly affected by overweight/obesity, anaemia and stunting (43·8, 19·8, 10·5 %). Stunting or short stature was higher in low-SEW settings, doubling in prevalence between low and high levels, increasing four times among women in reproductive age (P < 0·05). Excess weight among children was higher in high-SEW settings, in women the tendency was inverse. Anaemia showed different tendency according to SEW.Conclusions: In 2005, Argentina had high rates of excess weight and anaemia, moderate prevalence of stunting and low frequency of wasting/underweight. All forms of malnutrition showed a strong relationship with socio-economic and educational inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Increasing educational attainment (EA) could decrease the occurrence of depression. Weinvestigated the relationship between EA and depressive symptoms in older individuals across four European regions. Methods: We studied 108,315 Europeans (54% women, median age 63 years old) from the Survey on Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe assessing EA (seven educational levels based on International Standard Classification of Education [ISCED] classification) and depressive symptoms (=4 points on EURO-D scale). Logistic regression estimated the association between EA and depressive symptoms, adjusting for sociodemographic and health-related factors, testing for sex/age/region and education interactions. Results: Higher EA was associated with lower odds of depressive symptoms, independent of sociodemographic and health-related factors. A threshold of the lowest odds of depressive symptoms was detected at the first stage of tertiary education (OR 0.60; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.55-0.65; p < 0.001; relative to no education). Central and Eastern Europe showed the strongest association (OR for high vs. low education 0.37; 95% CI 0.33-0.40; p < 0.001) and Scandinavia the weakest (OR for high vs. low education 0.69; 95% CI 0.60-0.80; p < 0.001). The association was strongest among younger individuals. There was a sex and education interaction only within Central and Eastern Europe. Conclusions: Level of EA is reflected in later-life depressive symptoms, suggesting that supporting individuals in achieving EA, and considering those with lower EA at increased risk for depression, could lead to decreased burden of depression across the life course. Further educational support in Central and Eastern Europe may decrease the higher burden of depressive symptoms in women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The treatment gap between the number of people with mental disorders and the number treated represents a major public health challenge. We examine this gap by socio-economic status (SES; indicated by family income and respondent education) and service sector in a cross-national analysis of community epidemiological survey data. Methods: Data come from 16 753 respondents with 12-month DSM-IV disorders from community surveys in 25 countries in the WHO World Mental Health Survey Initiative. DSM-IV anxiety, mood, or substance disorders and treatment of these disorders were assessed with the WHO Composite International Diagnostic Interview (CIDI). Results: Only 13.7% of 12-month DSM-IV/CIDI cases in lower-middle-income countries, 22.0% in upper-middle-income countries, and 36.8% in high-income countries received treatment. Highest-SES respondents were somewhat more likely to receive treatment, but this was true mostly for specialty mental health treatment, where the association was positive with education (highest treatment among respondents with the highest education and a weak association of education with treatment among other respondents) but non-monotonic with income (somewhat lower treatment rates among middle-income respondents and equivalent among those with high and low incomes). Conclusions: The modest, but nonetheless stronger, an association of education than income with treatment raises questions about a financial barriers interpretation of the inverse association of SES with treatment, although future within-country analyses that consider contextual factors might document other important specifications. While beyond the scope of this report, such an expanded analysis could have important implications for designing interventions aimed at increasing mental disorder treatment among socio-economically disadvantaged people. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Higher-educated people often have healthier diets, but it is unclear whether specific dietary patterns exist within educational groups. We therefore aimed to derive dietary patterns in the total population and by educational level and to investigate whether these patterns differed in their composition and associations with the incidence of fatal and non-fatal CHD and stroke. Patterns were derived using principal components analysis in 36 418 participants of the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition-Netherlands cohort. Self-reported educational level was used to create three educational groups. Dietary intake was estimated using a validated semi-quantitative FFQ. Hazard ratios were estimated using Cox Proportional Hazard analysis after a mean follow-up of 16 years. In the three educational groups, similar ‘Western’, ‘prudent’ and ‘traditional’ patterns were derived as in the total population. However, with higher educational level a lower population-derived score for the ‘Western’ and ‘traditional’ patterns and a higher score on the ‘prudent’ pattern were observed. These differences in distribution of the factor scores illustrate the association between education and food consumption. After adjustments, no differences in associations between population-derived dietary patterns and the incidence of CHD or stroke were found between the educational groups (Pinteraction between 0·21 and 0·98). In conclusion, although in general population and educational groups-derived dietary patterns did not differ, small differences between educational groups existed in the consumption of food groups in participants considered adherent to the population-derived patterns (Q4). This did not result in different associations with incident CHD or stroke between educational groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite the essentiality of freshwater to all life on the planet, the populous has inadequate understandings of water. Formal education plays a key role in shaping how individuals and communities make sense of water, its accessibility, management, consumption, and hazards. This article seeks to bring attention to the influence of cultural framings of freshwater and extreme freshwater events (such as flood and drought) in government-mandated school curricula in two water-vulnerable geographical regions of Australia and Canada. We seek to identify and respond to hegemonic social constructions that become naturalised if left unexamined. By examining the agendas and language around freshwater and extreme freshwater events in formal educational curricula, we gain a better understanding of the perceptions and assumptions made about freshwater. The results highlight that freshwater and extreme freshwater events are minimally conceptualised within these curricula as ‘nature-based’, rather than being part of a dialectical relationship with societal agendas and practices. This article discusses the implications of this framing and the psychological barriers that may affect the acknowledgment and investigation of extreme freshwater events. We conclude by offering curricular suggestions that invite community-based understandings of the dialectic relationship freshwater has with communities and regional ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Cognitive reserve (CR) has been associated with better cognitive function and lower risk of depression in older people, yet it remains unclear whether CR moderates the association between mood and cognition. This study aimed to investigate whether a comprehensive indicator of CR, including education, occupation and engagement in cognitive and social activities, acts as a moderator of this association. Methods. This was a cross-sectional study utilising baseline data from the Cognitive Function and Ageing Study II (CFAS II), a large population-based cohort of people aged 65+ in England. Complete data on the measures of CR, mood and cognition were available for 6565 dementia-free individuals. Linear regression models were used to investigate the potential modifying effect of CR on the association between cognition and mood with adjustment for age, sex and missing data. Results. Levels of CR did moderate the negative association between mood and cognition; the difference in cognition between those with and without a clinical level mood disorder was significantly smaller in the middle (-2.28; 95% confidence interval (CI) -3.65 to -0.90) and higher (-1.30; 95% CI -2.46 to -0.15) CR groups compared with the lower CR group (-4.01; 95% CI -5.53 to -2.49). The individual components of CR did not significantly moderate the negative association between mood and cognition. Conclusion. These results demonstrate that CR, indexed by a composite score based on multiple indicators, can moderate the negative association between lowered mood and cognition, emphasising the importance of continuing to build CR across the lifespan in order to maintain cognitive health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chronic disease, mobility limitations and low physical functioning are determinants of an earlier age of retirement. Therefore, long-term population trends in these factors may have an impact on the proportion of individuals near traditional retirement age who continue to work. Our objective is to develop a projection model that accounts for trends in these factors in order to estimate the proportion of the population aged 55–74 with the capacity to participate in the labour force. We used logistic regression models to quantify how chronic disease, mobility and functional status predict labour force participation among individuals aged 55–59. Next, we obtained estimates of the population prevalence of each of these predictors for the years 2010–2050. We then used estimated coefficients from the logistic regression models to predict the age-specific probability of capacity for work up to the age of 74. We find that population capacity for work depends on trends in disability and on level of education. Future population capacity for work depends on trends in functional limitations primarily in the population with lower levels of education. Changes in functional limitations, changes in the environment, technology and social policy targeted towards individuals with lower levels of education could result in mitigation of future decreasing capacity for work in the population near retirement age. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objective: To describe the introduction of complementary foods in a populationbased cohort in relation to recommendations and explore the possible impact of maternal education on infant feeding practices. Design: Prospective data from the All Babies in Southeast Sweden (ABIS) cohort study were used. The ABIS study invited all infants born in south-east Sweden during October 1997-October 1999 (n 21 700) to participate. A questionnaire was completed for 16 022 infants. During the infants' first year parents continuously filed in a diary covering introduction of foods. Setting: Sweden. Subjects: Infants (n 9727) with completed food diaries. Results: Potatoes, vegetables, fruits/berries and porridge were the foods first introduced, with a median introduction between 19 and 22 weeks, followed by introduction of meat, cow's milk, follow-on formula and sour milk/yoghurt between 24 and 27 weeks. Early introduction of any food, before 16 weeks, occurred for 27% of the infants and was more common in infants of mothers with low education. Overall, potatoes (14·7 %), vegetables (11·1 %), fruits/berries (8·5 %), porridge (7·4%) and follow-on formula (2·7%) were the foods most frequently introduced early. The majority of infants (=70 %) were introduced to potatoes, vegetables, fruits/berries and porridge during concurrent breast-feeding, but introduction during concurrent breast-feeding was less common in infants of mothers with low education. Conclusions: Most infants were introduced to complementary foods timely in relation to recommendations. Low maternal education was associated with earlier introduction of complementary foods and less introduction during concurrent breast-feeding. Still, the results indicated exposure to fewer foods at 12 months in infants of mothers with low education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objectives were to investigate the associations between social and financial living conditions in childhood, education and morbidity in old age. The study population (N = 591; 76+ years old) was assembled from two nationally representative Swedish surveys, in 1968 and 2011, that together made longitudinal analysis possible. Morbidity in old age comprised self-reported measures of musculoskeletal disorders, cardiovascular disease, self-rated health and impaired mobility. There were no independent associations between adverse childhood living conditions and morbidity. However, adverse childhood living conditions were associated with an increased likelihood of low education. Moreover, low education was associated with a higher probability of health problems in old age. The results did not show any associations between adverse childhood conditions and late-life morbidity. However, adverse childhood conditions were associated with lower levels of education which, in turn, was associated with health problems and attrition from the study. These results suggest that adverse childhood conditions may indeed be associated with health and survival in old age, but mainly through mechanisms acting earlier in the lifecourse. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Revista de Historia Económica / Journal of Iberian & Latin American Economic History is the property of Cambridge University Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Negative shocks to childhood health can have a lasting impact on the economic success of an individual by altering families' schooling investment decisions. This article introduces a new dataset of brothers serving in World War II and uses it to demonstrate that improvements in childhood health led to substantial increases in educational attainment in the first one-half of the twentieth century. By exploiting variation in health within families, the data show that this relationship between childhood health and educational attainment holds even after controlling for both observed and unobserved household and environmental characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Objective: To examine socio-economic differences in the frequency and types of takeaway foods consumed. Design: A cross-sectional postal survey. Setting: Participants were asked about their usual consumption of overall takeaway food (<4 times/month or ≥4 times/month) and of twenty-two specific takeaway food items (<1 time/month or ≥1 time/month); these latter foods were grouped into 'healthy' and 'less healthy' choices. Socio-economic position was measured on the basis of educational level and equivalised household income, and differences in takeaway food consumption were assessed by calculating prevalence ratios using log binomial regression. Subjects: Adults aged 25-64 years from Brisbane, Australia, were randomly selected from the electoral roll (n 903; 63·7% response rate). Results: Compared with their more educated counterparts, the least educated were more regular consumers of overall takeaway food and fruit or vegetable juice and less regular consumers of sushi. For the 'less healthy' items, the least educated more regularly consumed potato chips, savoury pies, fried chicken and non-diet soft drinks; however, the least educated were less likely to consume curry. Household income was not associated with overall takeaway consumption. The lowest-income group was a more regular consumer of fruit or vegetable juice compared with the highest-income group. Among the 'less healthy' items, the lowest-income group was a more regular consumer of fried fish, ice cream and milk shakes, whereas curry was consumed less regularly. Conclusions: The frequency and types of takeaway foods consumed by socioeconomically disadvantaged groups may contribute to inequalities in overweight or obesity and to chronic disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current article examines the assumptions of the MZ co-twin control method that has been applied in attempts to gain more accurate estimates of the returns to education by naturally ‘controlling’ for individual differences on which MZ twins are matched. The current study examined 1738 MZ and 926 DZ twins from Minnesota, including 133 pairs of MZ and 101 pairs of DZ twins discordant for university attendance. They were assessed prospectively on personality, intelligence, GPA, and academic motivation; a subset also has reported income at age 29. MZ twins discordant for university attendance differed significantly and prospectively on verbal IQ, personality traits, and GPA. While MZ co-twin control studies can provide more accurate estimates of the returns to education than analyses of single individuals, these studies do not entirely obviate the need to control for differences between university students and non-students that predate university attendance and might account for income differentials and even non-monetary outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Age at marriage is one of the factors that influence the fertility behaviour of women, particularly in a society like Nepal where contraceptive use is low. Socioeconomic and cultural factors, particularly religion and ethnicity, are important variables in determining age at marriage in Nepal. Fertility was negatively related with age at marriage. Marriage duration had a greater influence on fertility than age at marriage, although these were strongly correlated. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Using individual birth history data from the Sudan Fertility Survey, 1979, parity-related differences in fertility are demonstrated, as well as differences between socioeconomic groups. Rural women, women with no education and those married to uneducated husbands show rapid parity progression and its cumulative effects on fertility which are consistent over all birth intervals. Urban women, women with some education and those married to educated husbands, however, go rapidly through their second and third birth intervals and then more slowly at higher parities. A limitation of the study was the inability to control fully for the effects of breast-feeding and contraception.There is evidence for a reduction in high parity births,' starting in the 1970s. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study looks at the recent development (1998-2009) in the number of years of schooling that a 6-year old can expect to attend until their 30th birthday for the EU-27 countries. All countries have seen an increase in the number of expected years of schooling, which is driven mainly by increased tertiary enrolment rates. At the same time the education gap vis-à-vis the US has been closed. The dispersion of expected length of education among EU countries has also decreased. Thus, by this measure, education among countries has become more equal. In spite of this progress, some countries will find it difficult to meet their national targets for tertiary educational attainments for 30-34 year-olds in 2020. This is largely because the tertiary education participation rates of young males have been falling behind those of females in many countries. Focussing on the tertiary educational attainments of 30-34 year-olds leaves governments with little time to pursue policies with substantial impact. It would be preferable to supplement the educational attainment target for 30-34 year-olds with an enrolment target for 20-24 year-olds. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]