In this book new mathematical and statistical techniques that permit more sophisticated analysis are refined and applied to questions of current concern in order to understand the forces that are driving the recent dramatic changes in family patterns. The areas examined include the impact of the evolving Second Demographic Transition, where complex patterns of gender dynamics and social change are re-orienting family life. New analyses of marriage, cohabitation, union dynamics, and union dissolution provide a fresh look at the changing family life cycle, emerging patterns of partner choice, and the impact of union dissolution on the life course. The demography of kinship is explored, and the importance of parity progression to the generation of the kinship web is highlighted. The methodology of population projections by family status is examined, and new results presented that demonstrate how recognizing family status advances long term policy objectives, especially with regard to children and the elderly. This book applies up-to-date methods to examine the demography of the family, and will be of value to sociologists, demographers, and all those who are interested in the family.

This edited volume offers state-of-the-art research on the dynamics of contemporary fertility by examining the implications of the economic and social forces that are driving the rapid change in fertility behavior, and the changing context, determinants, and measurement of contemporary human reproduction. The volume explores new theoretical avenues that seek to incorporate uncertainty, examine social contagion effects, and explain the rise in childlessness. Reproductive attitudes are re-examined in chapters that deal with models of parenthood and with the persistence of race-ethnic-nativity differences. A new and important subject of multi-partner fertility is also described by examining it in the context of total fertility and from the usually neglected perspective of men. The impact of divorce on fertility, the measurement of childlessness and the postponement of first births, developments in assortative mating and fertility, and current patterns of interracial fertility are also addressed in this volume. By combining up-to-date research spanning the entire field to illuminate contemporary developments, the book is a valuable source for demographers, sociologists, economists, and all those interested in understanding fertility in today's world.

This book provides an up-to-date survey on the nature, causes, and patterns of family change. The traditional nuclear family has been replaced by a multiplicity of other forms, as widespread cohabitation, high levels of divorce and union dissolution, rising childlessness, and far below replacement fertility have emerged to an extent never before seen. Theoretical perspectives on this “Second Demographic Transition� are presented, highlighting the dramatic changes in gender roles.  New methodological strategies for assessing family dynamics are presented, from multistate models of marriage and divorce combined with fertility to improved techniques for combining census and survey data on the family to a new approach for disentangling age, period, and cohort effects. While the volume emphasizes Western nations, insightful case studies range from analyzing family complexity in cohorts of parents and children in the UK to the impact of interpartner violence on family formation, to the emergence of a “gender war� in South Korea. By providing new insights into where we are today and how we got here, the book will be of value to all those interested in the contemporary family.

This book deals with models that can capture the behavior of individuals and groups over time. Organizationally, it is divided into three parts. Part I discusses the basic, decrement-only, life table and its associated stable population. Part II examines multistate (or increment-decrement) models and provides the first comprehensive treatment of those extremely flexible and useful life table models. Part III looks at "two-sex" models, which simultaneously incorporate the marriage or fertility behavior of males and females. Those models are explored more fully and completely here than has been the case to date, and the importance of including the experience of both sexes is demonstrated analytically as weil as empirically. In sum, this book considers a broad range of population models with a view to showing that such models can be eminently calculable, clearly interpretable, and analytically valuable for the study of many kinds of social behavior. Four appendixes have been added to make the book more usable. Appendix A provides abrief introduction to calculus and matrix algebra so that readers can understand, though not necessarily derive, the equations presented. Appendix B provides an index of the principal symbols used. Appendix C gives the answers to the exercises found at the end of each chapter. Those exercises should be seen as an extension of the text, and are intended to inform as weil as to challenge.

This volume presents state of the art analyses from scholars dealing with a range of demographic topics of current concern, including longevity, mortality and morbidity, migration, and how population composition impacts intergenerational transfer schemes. New approaches are applied to such issues as measuring changes in cohort survivorship in low mortality populations, patterns of mortality improvement at older ages, and the consequences of heterogeneity in the susceptibility to death. Studies examine models of the current status of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, advance present methods for estimating population change in small areas, and strive to disentangle age, period, and cohort effects. In sum, the book addresses key contemporary issues in measuring and modeling dynamic populations, and advances the frontier of dynamic demography.

This is the first book to comprehensively discuss and synthesize the emerging field of dynamic modeling, i.e. the analysis and application of population models that have changing vital rates. Incorporating the latest research, it includes thorough discussions of population growth and momentum under gradual fertility declines, the impact of changes in the timing of events on fertility measures, and the complex relationship between period and cohort measures. Recently developed models for the analysis of changing mortality are examined, generalizations of Lotka's fixed rate stable population model are developed and applied. The book is well organized and is accessible to those with only a minimal knowledge of calculus. It begins with a review of fixed rate population models, from the basic life table to multistate stable populations. The process of convergence to stability is described, and the regularities underlying change in the size and composition of any population are explored.

This edited volume offers state-of-the-art research on the dynamics of contemporary fertility by examining the implications of the economic and social forces that are driving the rapid change in fertility behavior, and the changing context, determinants, and measurement of contemporary human reproduction. The volume explores new theoretical avenues that seek to incorporate uncertainty, examine social contagion effects, and explain the rise in childlessness. Reproductive attitudes are re-examined in chapters that deal with models of parenthood and with the persistence of race-ethnic-nativity differences. A new and important subject of multi-partner fertility is also described by examining it in the context of total fertility and from the usually neglected perspective of men. The impact of divorce on fertility, the measurement of childlessness and the postponement of first births, developments in assortative mating and fertility, and current patterns of interracial fertility are also addressed in this volume. By combining up-to-date research spanning the entire field to illuminate contemporary developments, the book is a valuable source for demographers, sociologists, economists, and all those interested in understanding fertility in today's world.

This volume presents state of the art analyses from scholars dealing with a range of demographic topics of current concern, including longevity, mortality and morbidity, migration, and how population composition impacts intergenerational transfer schemes. New approaches are applied to such issues as measuring changes in cohort survivorship in low mortality populations, patterns of mortality improvement at older ages, and the consequences of heterogeneity in the susceptibility to death. Studies examine models of the current status of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, advance present methods for estimating population change in small areas, and strive to disentangle age, period, and cohort effects. In sum, the book addresses key contemporary issues in measuring and modeling dynamic populations, and advances the frontier of dynamic demography.

This book deals with models that can capture the behavior of individuals and groups over time. Organizationally, it is divided into three parts. Part I discusses the basic, decrement-only, life table and its associated stable population. Part II examines multistate (or increment-decrement) models and provides the first comprehensive treatment of those extremely flexible and useful life table models. Part III looks at "two-sex" models, which simultaneously incorporate the marriage or fertility behavior of males and females. Those models are explored more fully and completely here than has been the case to date, and the importance of including the experience of both sexes is demonstrated analytically as weil as empirically. In sum, this book considers a broad range of population models with a view to showing that such models can be eminently calculable, clearly interpretable, and analytically valuable for the study of many kinds of social behavior. Four appendixes have been added to make the book more usable. Appendix A provides abrief introduction to calculus and matrix algebra so that readers can understand, though not necessarily derive, the equations presented. Appendix B provides an index of the principal symbols used. Appendix C gives the answers to the exercises found at the end of each chapter. Those exercises should be seen as an extension of the text, and are intended to inform as weil as to challenge.

Dynamic Population Models is the first book to comprehensively discuss and synthesize the emerging field of dynamic modeling. Incorporating the latest research, it includes thorough discussions of population growth and momentum under gradual fertility declines, the impact of changes in the timing of events on fertility measures, and the complex relationship between period and cohort measures. The book is designed to be accessible to those with only a minimal knowledge of calculus.

"From the Sabbath to circumcision, from Hanukkah to the Holocaust, from bar mitzvah to bagel, how do Jewish religion, history, holidays, lifestyles, and culture make Jews different, and why is that difference so distinctive that we carry it from birth to the grave?" This accessible introduction to Judaism and Jewish life is especially for Christian readers interested in the deep connections and distinct differences between their faith and Judaism, but it is also for Jews looking for ways to understand their religion--and explain it to others. First released in 2002 and now in an updated edition.

In this book new mathematical and statistical techniques that permit more sophisticated analysis are refined and applied to questions of current concern in order to understand the forces that are driving the recent dramatic changes in family patterns. The areas examined include the impact of the evolving Second Demographic Transition, where complex patterns of gender dynamics and social change are re-orienting family life. New analyses of marriage, cohabitation, union dynamics, and union dissolution provide a fresh look at the changing family life cycle, emerging patterns of partner choice, and the impact of union dissolution on the life course. The demography of kinship is explored, and the importance of parity progression to the generation of the kinship web is highlighted. The methodology of population projections by family status is examined, and new results presented that demonstrate how recognizing family status advances long term policy objectives, especially with regard to children and the elderly. This book applies up-to-date methods to examine the demography of the family, and will be of value to sociologists, demographers, and all those who are interested in the family.