JOURNAL OF POPULATION STUDIES

Republic of China (Taipei) 60

JULY 1994 - NUMBER 16

95.60.1 - Chinese - Mei-Lin LEE Marital status-specific population trends in Taiwan during the 20th century (p. 1-16)

The present study describes trends in the population of Taiwan, during the 20th century, according to marital status, using data from the censuses undertaken during the Japanese occupation of Taiwan and since the war. Using sex ratios, the proportions of non-single people, widows and widowers, divorced people and divorce and remarriage rates - and all these statistics were broken down into age groups - the author describes trends in nuptiality patterns in Taiwan during the 20th century, in terms of couple formation, dissolution and re-formation. (TAIWAN, MARITAL STATUS, POPULATION CENSUSES)

95.60.2 - English - Edward Jow-Ching TU and Mei-Lin LEE Changes in marital life cycle in Taiwan 1976 and 1989 (p. 17-28)

By applying the multiple decrement table technique to the 1976 and 1989 statistics, the two authors have studied trends in marital status (marriage, divorce, widowhood and remarriage) in Taiwan. This research demonstrates how a major part of a lifetime is spent in a marriage, both in the case of males and females, while celibacy lies in second place. Secondly, average age at first marriage is rising steadily, while the proportion of married people in the population is declining and the divorce rate is increasing. Thirdly, the state of being married is usually brought to an end, in the case of males, by death and, in the case of females, by being widowed. (TAIWAN, MARITAL STATUS, LIFE CYCLE)

95.60.3 - English - Chaonan CHEN The determinants of satisfaction with living arrangements for the elderly in Taiwan (p. 29-52)

The present research has used a sample of 5,046 people aged 65 and over, drawn from the manpower survey undertaken in Taiwan in December 1988. According to the author, there are three determinants which have an impact on satisfaction with respect of the living conditions of the elderly population: sources of income, health status and cohabitation with other family members (spouse and/or children). In Taiwan today, the elderly declare themselves satisfied if their source of income is their children's salary or their own retirement pension. But the fact of living with one of their offspring does not suffice to make them happy. The elderly wish to live in a family environment, in good health and to feel financially secure. A significant proportion of the people who live alone or as a couple are happy with their lot; these tend to be, in the majority, men who are younger than average, educated, healthy and financially autonomous. It can be expected that the elderly who live only as a couple will become the norm and it would therefore be appropriate that the conditions which are characteristic of this type of household be studied. (TAIWAN, AGED, LIVING CONDITIONS)

95.60.4 - Chinese - Shih-Tsun HUANG The demographic basis of the living conditions of the elderly: A simulation study of the cohabitation of generations (p. 53-78)

It is traditionally the family and, in particular, adult married children, who are considered to be the best means of financial support for the elderly in Taiwan. But the rapid ageing of the population is reducing the number of children who are likely to be able to look after their parents and the number of families in which three generations live together is decreasing. The author uses a decrement table of family statuses in oder to evaluate the impact of population processes on family composition and the lifestyles of the elderly. The continued decline in fertility and changes in nuptiality patterns are resulting in the predominance of the nuclear family and, thus, in a reduced possibility that the elderly will live with their married children. furthermore, according to current nuptiality trends, the increase in feminine celibacy in all age groups will have an increasingly stronger impact on family composition. While the social security policy is, above all, attempting to reduce the burden of the elderly on the younger generations, the author points out that notice should be taken of the fact that the number of years during which a family is responsible for either parents and/or children is declining and that a re-evaluation should therefore be made of the overall financial burden of dependent generations, taking into account the possible compensation between the increasing weight of the elderly and the decreasing weight of children. (TAIWAN, AGED, SOCIAL SECURITY, FAMILY COMPOSITION)

95.60.5 - Chinese - Ly-Yun CHANG and Hsin-Yen HSIEH About the spatial distribution of health resources (p. 79-106)

The present article describes the characteristics of the growth and distribution patterns of health equipment, based on a set of lingitudinal data covering the period 1971-1988. Furthermore, considering these patterns to be the result of interaction between governmental health policies, insurance schemes and hierarchical structures in the health sector, the authors study how these institutional determinants constitute an "opportunity structure" which has an influence on the bahaviour of hospitals and physicians. The rapid growth in the number of hospitals and hospital beds is a sign of the bureaucratisation of the sector whole the unequal spatial distribution of the physicians demonstrates the trend towards concentration. The offer and supply model therefore only applies to the health sector in Taiwan. (TAIWAN, HEALTH FACILITIES, MEDICAL PERSONNEL, GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION)

95.60.6 - Chinese - Yu HSIA Economic development and working married women in Taiwan: Study of female marginalisation (p. 107-134)

As in other developing countries, it would appear that, in Taiwan, industrialisation is leading to the marginalisation of working women. The statistics available show that the level of female economic activity significantly declined during the early stages of industrialisation. Altough rapid economic development has increased the employment opportunities for females, the majority of them are concentrated in the jobs at the bottom of the ladder and in the informal sector. Informal employment is particularly frequent amongst married women. A KAP survey undertaken in 1980 on 3,859 married women enabled an analysis of the mechanisms of this marginalisation process. The author observes that the determinants responsible for this lie more in the camp of family organisation than in the labour market conditions. In the smaller family businesses, the wives are more likely to have an informal activity, all the more so when their children are young. On the other hand, the effects of the labour market can be observed through the type of family economy. Thus, female labour marginalisation in Taiwan is the result of the sex division of labour in family organisation and the predominance of family businesses, rather than the result of the capitalist process of selective exclusion invoked by the theoreticians of female marginalisation. (TAIWAN, FEMALE EMPLOYMENT, INDUSTRIALIZATION, INFORMAL SECTOR, DISCRIMINATION)

95.60.7 - English - Zhongdong MA and Kao-Lee LIAW Education selectivity in the internal migrations of mainland China (p. 135-159)

Generally speaking, educated individuals display high rates of migration. But the emigration of these people towards the poorer regions can have negative effects on the development of their region of origin. The aim of this research, based on the Chinese population survey of 1987, is to examine the impact of the education determinant on the migration of young people (aged 17-29 years old) in continental China. According to the results of this analysis, amongst the young adults and in the various age groups (17-19, 20-23 and 24-29 years of age), the migration rate is positively correlated with the education level, both for the male population and the female population and in both the single population and the married population. This phenomenon is resulting in a decline in the average proportion of educated population numbers in rural environments, compared with urban areas. With regard to the indirect effects of this selective migration on regional imbalances in development, the authors suggest that a redistribution of finances should be undertaken in order to benefit the poorer regions instead of practising a restrictive policy with regard to migration. (CHINA, INTERNAL MIGRATION, LEVELS OF EDUCATION, SELECTIVE MIGRATION, REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT)

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