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41 Journal of the Australian Population Association, May 1998, Vol. 15, N° 1
00.41.1 - McDONALD, John; RICHARDS, Eric.
Workers for Australia: A profile of British and Irish migrants assisted to New South Wales in 1841.
Convict transportation to New South Wales was terminated in 1841. It was swiftly replaced by a new population stock in the form of the greatest Australian immigration before the gold rushes. This profile of 20,000 British and Irish assisted migrants, based on individual-level data, establishes their age, sex, religious, educational and occupational characteristics. Their composition differed markedly from the existing colonial population and other migrant flows at the time. They reflected the recruiting methods of the time as well as the changing migration propensities in the British Isles. The migrants were better human capital than was acknowledged at the time. They constituted a new start in Australian demographic development. This reconstruction of the socioeconomic characteristics of the 1841 migrants provides a new mid-century benchmark for systematic comparisons with other migrant populations, within and beyond Australia, and in other periods. It is a contribution to the quantitative study of colonial society.
English - pp. 1-33.
J. McDonald and E. Richards, The Flinders University of South Australia, GPO Box 2100, Adelaïde SA 5001, Australia.
(AUSTRALIA, UNITED KINGDOM, IRELAND, HISTORICAL DEMOGRAPHY, IMMIGRANTS, DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILES.)
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00.41.2 - TAYLOR, John; BELL, Martin.
Making sense of census data: A components analysis of employment change among indigenous australians.
The 1996 Census count of indigenous Australians included a substantial number of individuals who were not recorded as indigenous by the previous census. This paper considers the implications of this for interpreting change in employment numbers. Two adjustments are made to employment change data. First, reverse survival of the 1996 population is applied to reconstruct 1991 employment figures. Second, administrative data are used to discount employment generated by participation in labour market programs. The effect is to substantially deflate the strong intercensal employment growth apparent from census counts with the conclusion that the rate of indigenous employment in the mainstream labour market has fallen.
English - pp. 35-50.
J. Taylor, Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, The Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200, Australia.
(AUSTRALIA, INDIGENOUS POPULATION, EMPLOYMENT, CENSUS DATA, QUALITY OF DATA.)
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Assessing the validity of intercensal comparisons of indigenous Australians, 1986-96.
The credibility of analysis of 1996 Census data on indigenous Australians hinges on who the people are who have changed their indigenous identification between the last two censuses. The number of people who identify as indigenous in either the Post-Enumeration Survey or the census is more stable than the prima facie evidence indicates. Also, the continuing low levels of education among the indigenous population means that self-identification signifies that one is, more than likely, disadvantaged. While it is difficult to say with absolute certainty that census statistics accurately reflect the economic status of the indigenous population, they are sufficiently credible to be taken at face value.
English - pp. 51-67.
B. Hunter, Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research, The Australian National University, Canberra ACT 0200, Australia.
(AUSTRALIA, INDIGENOUS POPULATION, CENSUS DATA, QUALITY OF DATA, DATA COLLECTION.)
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00.41.4 - YUSUF, Farhat; SIEDLECKY, Stefania.
Female sterilizing operations in New South Wales: A demographic perspective.
This paper examines trends in female sterilizing operations from a demographic perspective. These operations have declined in New South Wales since 1981, with a substantial drop in tubal ligation and hysterectomy, particularly among younger women. The decline in sterilization of women of childbearing age has been due to postponement of births. Younger women have avoided terminal methods of birth control and continued to use methods, such as oral contraceptives and back-up abortion, which allow for a pregnancy at a later age. Sterilizing operations still remain the most commonly reported means of birth control by women over age 35.
English - pp. 69-79.
F. Yusuf and S. Siedlecky, Demographic Research Group, School of Economic and Financial Studies, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia.
(AUSTRALIA, FEMALE STERILIZATION, TRENDS.)
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41 JOURNAL OF THE AUSTRALIAN POPULATION ASSOCIATION, November 1998, Vol. 15, N° 2
00.41.5 - CARMICHAEL, Gordon; MASON, Christine.
Consensual partnering in Australia: A review and 1991 census profile. Part 1: Review and basic demography.
This paper is the first part of a two-part examination of consensual partnering in Australia. It reviews the Australian literature on consensual partnering, summarizing evidence of its proliferation since the mid-1960s and also the findings of investigations into its nature and the personal attributes that predispose some people more than others to adopt it. It then discusses the shortcomings of Australian census data as a source for studying consensual unions, before using data from the 1991 Census to present the first elements in a comprehensive profile of the cohabiting population. These cover the basic demography of consensual partnering: the ages, marital statuses and family type distributions of those involved.
English - pp. 131-154.
G. Carmichael, Demography Program, Research School of Social Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia.
(AUSTRALIA, CONSENSUAL UNION, TRENDS, CENSUS DATA, QUALITY OF DATA, DEMOGRAPHIC PROFILES.)
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00.41.6 - BELL, Martin; STRATTON, Mike.
Understanding the 1996 census migration data.
The Australian Census provides two approaches to measuring migration: indicators which distinguish movers from non-movers, and a geographic classification which identifies each person's usual residence on census night, and their usual address one year and five years previously. Although these data represent a rich source of information, they contain several traps for the unwary. We show that differences in the variables and classifications used can result in marked variations in the apparent intensity and patterns of migration. The questionnaire and processing methodology used in the 1996 Census also resulted in a number of inconsistencies between the migration indicators and the usual address information. We examine the magnitude and source of these anomalies, assess their implications and propose a partial solution.
English - pp. 155-169.
M. Bell, Department of Geographical and Environmental Studies, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia.
(AUSTRALIA, MIGRATION, CENSUS DATA, QUALITY OF DATA, METHODOLOGY.)
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Dependency of the Chinese elderly: An exploration.
The paper explores the Chinese elderly's dependency, or need for assistance, in four key functional areas: physical, mental, social and economic, based on data from the 1992 National Survey on the Old-age Support System (NSOSS). The approximate indicators, selected on data availability, show that the dependency rates of the elderly differed markedly by functional area. Only a very small proportion of the elderly were physically dependent or partly dependent. In contrast, economic dependency was a common phenomenon. The dependency rates varied by age, sex and urban-rural residence. Older people, females and rural residents were more likely to have a higher need for assistance. These findings have major policy implications in old age support and aged care programs.
English - pp. 171-186.
Y. Hao, Demography Program, Research School of Social Sciences, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia.
(CHINA, AGED, DEPENDENCY, SURVEYS, SOCIAL POLICY.)
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