Western European Countries Research Articles

Urban-Rural Differences in Life Satisfaction

Abstract International research has shown that residents in urban versus rural areas differ concerning their satisfaction in life. Researchers agree upon the relevance of economic aspects for explaining urban-rural satisfaction levels: life satisfaction is dependent on income levels and rural habitants usually have lower income levels and lower levels of life satisfaction internationally. However, there is a lot of variation unexplained: in several studies, researchers found that in some countries rural residents are unexpectedly more satisfied with their lives than their economic and objective life situation would suggest (e.g. in China, Thailand, and in Western European, post-communist, Anglo-Saxon, and Latin American countries). Some researchers argue that cultural and social aspects, in addition to economic aspects, are better to explain urban-rural differences in life satisfaction. The author will extend this research by focusing on cultural factors in relation to Cultural World Regions. In addition, she will use newer data from the World Values Survey and the World Bank. The guiding questions are 1) how relevant are economic-materialistic aspects for life satisfaction? And 2) in how far are there differences between cultural world regions, such as East and Central Asia, Western and post-communist Europe, Latin America, Anglo-Saxon countries, and Arabic and Sub-Saharan Africa?

US exceptionalism? International trends in midlife mortality.

Rising midlife mortality in the USA has raised concerns, particularly the increase in 'deaths of despair' (due to drugs, alcohol and suicide). Life expectancy is also stalling in other countries such as the UK, but how trends in midlife mortality are evolving outside the USA is less understood. We provide a synthesis of cause-specific mortality trends in midlife (25-64years of age) for the USA and the UK as well as other high-income and Central and Eastern European (CEE) countries. We document trends in midlife mortality in the USA, UK and a group of 13 high-income countries in Western Europe, Australia, Canada and Japan, as well as seven CEE countries from 1990 to 2019. We use annual mortality data from the World Health Organization Mortality Database to analyse sex- and age-specific (25-44, 45-54 and 55-64years) age-standardized death rates across 15 major cause-of-death categories. US midlife mortality rates have worsened since 1990 for several causes of death including drug-related, alcohol-related, suicide, metabolic diseases, nervous system diseases, respiratory diseases and infectious/parasitic diseases. Deaths due to homicide, transport accidents and cardiovascular diseases have declined since 1990 but saw recent increases or stalling of improvements. Midlife mortality also increased in the UK for people aged 45-54year and in Canada, Poland and Sweden among for those aged 25-44 years. The USA is increasingly falling behind not only high-income, but also CEE countries, some of which were heavily impacted by the post-socialist mortality crisis of the 1990s. Although levels of midlife mortality in the UK are substantially lower than those in the USA overall, there are signs that UK midlife mortality is worsening relative to that in Western Europe.

The Burden of Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetes Among Adolescents and Young Adults in 24 Western European Countries, 1990-2019: Results From the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019.

Objectives: As little is known about the burden of type 1 (T1DM) and type 2 diabetes (T2DM) in adolescents in Western Europe (WE), we aimed to explore their epidemiology among 10-24year-olds. Methods: Estimates were retrieved from the Global Burden of Diseases Study (GBD) 2019. We reported counts, rates per 100,000 population, and percentage changes from 1990 to 2019 for prevalence, incidence and years lived with disability (YLDs) of T1DM and T2DM, and the burden of T2DM in YLDs attributable to high body mass index (HBMI), for 24 WE countries. Results: In 2019, prevalence and disability estimates were higher for T1DM than T2DM among 10-24years old adolescents in WE. However, T2DM showed a greater increase in prevalence and disability than T1DM in the 30years observation period in all WE countries. Prevalence increased with age, while only minor differences were observed between sexes. Conclusion: Our findings highlight the substantial burden posed by DM in WE among adolescents. Health system responses are needed for transition services, data collection systems, education, and obesity prevention.

The shadow of the family: Historical roots of social trust in Europe.

This study provides new evidence on how historical patterns of household formation shape the present-day level of trust. We test two distinct features of historical family arrangements that might be harmful to trust towards out-groups: (a) family extendedness in terms of the number of household members, and (b) generational hierarchy and gender relations within the household. To conduct our study, we compiled a historical database that reflects family structure and socio-economic development, mostly in the 19th century. The analysis was performed on a sample of 94 historical subnational units within eight contemporary Western and Eastern European countries that participated in the Life in Transition Survey in 2010. We find that cohabitation of several generations within the historical family and power of older generations over the younger are detrimental for out-group trust today. By contrast, family extendedness per se was revealed to have no impact on trust.

The Significance of preventive Activities in the Field of human traffick

Introduction: Slovakia is considered a country of origin for victims of human trafficking. The target destination for citizens of the Slovak Republic is mainly Western European countries. In the period from 2011 to 2014, 57% of IOM clients in Slovakia were assisted by victims of human trafficking in Great Britain. According to estimates, there are 30 to 40 million victims of human trafficking worldwide. Research aim and objectives: The aim of our research was to highlight the importance of preventive activities for young people in the field of human trafficking. The sub-goals were to determine the level of knowledge of secondary school and grammar school students in the Michalovce district from the points of view of completing preventive activities in the field of human trafficking, gender and type of school. Methods: To test the hypotheses, we used Pearson’s chisquare test of independence at a significance level of 0.05. Results: We discovered that differences in the level of knowledge exist among students who completed preventive activities and between men and women. No differences were found in the level of knowledge of human trafficking by school type. Conclusion: Our research shows the clear importance of carrying out preventive activities, which have their justification both in the area of prevention as well as in providing useful information and pitfalls that young people may face when traveling abroad for work.

Consanguineous Marriage and Its Association With Genetic Disorders in Saudi Arabia: A Review.

Consanguineous marriages, where spouses are related by blood, have been a longstanding practice in human history. The primary medical concern with consanguineous marriages is the increased risk of genetic disorders. When closely related individuals reproduce, there is a higher probability that both parents carry the same genetic mutation. In Arab countries, especially Saudi Arabia, the rate of consanguineous marriage is high compared with Western European and Asian countries. This high rate is directly proportionate with elevated risk of genetic disorders, including congenital heart diseases, renal diseases, and rare blood disorders. Additionally, it was noted that the rate of negative postnatal outcomes is higher in consanguineous marriages compared with the general population. These observations indicate the necessity of tackling this area and highlighting the consequences of this practice. In this review, we aim to discuss the current evidence regarding the association between consanguineous marriages and genetic disorders in Saudi Arabia.

Fauna of aquatic invertebrates of the spring ecosystems in the Minsk region

New data on aquatic invertebrates of the spring ecosystems of the Minsk region are presented. 104 lowest defined taxa (LDT) species and forms of representatives of macrozoobenthos and pleistone complexes belonging to 4 phyla of aquatic invertebrates were found: Platyhelminthes – 2, Mollusca – 20, Annelida – 7, Arthropoda – 75 species and forms. 75 taxonomic elements have been identified before the species. The average number of identified aquatic invertebrate species in the studied springs of the Minsk region was 12‒13 species, and the number of 205 specimens. The sources are inhabited by protected species of animals listed in the Red Book of Belarus and the Red Lists of a number of Western European countries. It was concluded that the fauna of aquatic invertebrate animals is rich and represented by a number of species rare in Belarus and Europe.

Stijgend gebruik van levothyroxine in België

Increasing use of levothyroxine in Belgium In the past decades, increased prescription of levothyroxine (LT4) has been observed in Belgium, different countries in Western Europe and North America. The increased screening for thyroid dysfunction, longer life expectancy and lower threshold for the initiation of LT4 therapy are believed to play a role. The goal of this article is to present a data overview on the prevalence of hypothyroidism, LT4 use and screening for hypothyroidism in Belgium and other countries. The Belgian data are in line with those from other countries, where an increase in LT4 prescriptions has been observed. The threshold for the initiation of LT4 seems to have lowered. Not only the indication to start LT4, but also follow-up of the serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) are important to avoid complications. The elderly deserve special attention because of an age-related increase of the serum TSH level. This may increase the risk of overdiagnosis of hypothyroidism and overtreatment with LT4, which is associated with iatrogenic thyrotoxicosis, atrial fibrillation and osteoporosis. In the elderly, the decision whether or not to start LT4 needs to be individualized, particularly in cases with mild TSH elevation. If LT4 is initiated, the principle ‘start low, go slow’ should be followed. There is a need for a better knowledge and implementation of guidelines, adopting age-specific reference ranges for TSH in order to optimize the use of LT4.

Diversity in Spanish Politics? Dynamics of Descriptive Representation of Immigrant‐Origin Minorities in Local Elections

Research has identified an alarming gap in migrants’ descriptive representation across Western European countries with long-standing immigration while showing that not all migrant groups are equally (un)successful in gaining elected office. However, little is known about migrants’ political presence in Southern European countries, which have experienced increased immigration in recent decades. We address this research gap for Spain by focusing on the municipal level where minorities’ inclusion remains of utmost importance. Conceptually, the article tackles the question of how the interplay between migrants’ demographic concentration and specific party features shapes the outcomes of minority descriptive representation. Empirically, we bring novel evidence from an original survey with local party organizations across municipalities returning high shares of Romanian, Moroccan, Latin American, and EU14 migrants. We first demonstrate that, despite being particularly sizeable, all groups remain under-represented in Spanish local politics, although with important differences. At comparable levels of demographic concentration, EU14 and Latin American migrants are almost three times more likely than Romanian migrants and up to seven times more likely than Moroccan migrants to be fielded as candidates. EU14 candidates are also more successful in securing office. Second, our findings confirm that party features shape the contours of minority inclusion: Spanish left-wing and new parties present more diverse local candidacies and place minority office-seekers in safer electoral list positions than right-wing and established parties.

Sustainable products and audit fees: empirical evidence from western European countries

Purpose This study aims to examine whether firms that appear to exhibit high sustainable outputs are more likely to pay higher audit fees than firms without such outputs. Design/methodology/approach The sustainability outputs are measured using a sustainable product portfolio consisting of four products: clean energy products, eco-design products (EDP), environmental products (EP) and sustainable building projects (SBP). The audit fee variable is measured by the natural logarithm of the total amount of audit fees. The study tests two models of the association between these outputs and audit fees; Model 1 tests this association in the absence of the moderating variable (sustainability committee), and Model 2 tests the association in the presence of the moderating variable. Findings An analysis of data on 261 European firms from the Refinitiv Eikon database from 2010 to 2019 shows that high sustainability outputs are significantly and positively associated with audit fees. More importantly, this association is moderated by the presence of a board-level sustainability committee, suggesting that this type of committee reflects a factor considered by auditors in their audit risk assessment practices. The findings indicate that in Model 1, one (EP) out of four variables has a significant and positive association with audit fees, while in Model 2 and in the presence of sustainability committee, two variables (EP and EDP) have a significant and negative association with audit fees. However, the robust analysis shows that three variables (EP, EDP and SBP) have significant and negative associations with audit fees. Practical implications The study findings have important implications for policymakers, auditors and firms’ managers. For policymakers, the findings provide support for the argument that sustainable attitudes incentivise firms to manage sustainable product profiles more effectively. As such, policymakers should incentivise firms to establish a sustainability committee and regulate its role and responsibilities. Auditors should coordinate with the sustainability committee to facilitate audit efforts and reduce audit fees. Social implications Understanding the relationship between sustainable products and audit fees will allow firms to improve their portfolio of sustainable products. In addition, other social implications of this study relate to improving relationships with society by establishing a sustainability committee that is responsible to communicate with that society. Originality/value The results support the argument that firms should manage sustainable product portfolios more effectively. In addition, the results of the study highlight the importance of a new variable as a moderator, the sustainability committee, which has not been examined before.

Tendencies of Contemporary European National Communities’ Development in Context of Fourth Industrial Revolution and Globalization Processes

The article is dedicated to the issue of the development of national communities in Europe in the context of the influence of the Fourth Industrial Revolution and globalization, which mutually influence each other. The impact of these phenomena on the national communities of unified Europe has diverse consequences. In the context of globalization closely linked to Industry 4.0, as well as the phenomena of antiglobalism and Euroscepticism as reactions to it, the trends in the development of national communities in modern European states are highlighted. In Western European countries, the predominant process observed is the fragmentation of national communities. In Central and Eastern European countries that were under the influence of the USSR and became members of the EU and NATO at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries, the reaction to globalization and Euro integration processes resulted in the rise of Eurosceptic and anti-globalist nationalism. In Ukraine, facing aggression from Russia and considering EU and NATO countries as allies, insufficient integration into the processes of globalization and the Fourth Industrial Revolution leads to predominantly Euro-optimistic tendencies in the trends toward national revival, without fostering skepticism towards globalization. It is demonstrated that the Fourth Industrial Revolution and globalization, mutually influencing each other, create conditions for weakening the role of national states both on the international stage and in the sphere of domestic political development. Social changes resulting from these processes have given rise to antiglobalism and Euroscepticism in EU countries, acting as corrective factors for globalization processes. Alongside regional separatism, political communities in Western Europe seeking separation remain within global and supranational structures. Desiring national revival through distancing from the past and integration with advanced countries of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, Ukraine maintains an open, inclusive character, supporting European and Euro-Atlantic integration.

Why did the “world of the 1960s” disappear? About the reasons for the decline of the youth protest movement in late 60s of the XX century in the countries of Western Europe and the USA

The article is about the reasons of the decline of the Western European and USA youth protest movement in late 60s of the 20th century. According to the authors, the main reasons for the decline of the Movement are: the spontaneity of the protests, the absents of the joint coordination of actions, mistrust political institutions, the narrowness and limitations of ideas and slogans). The change of attitude towards the youth by the government circles and public of the Western countries in the early 1970s played an important role in the minimization of protest activity. As the result of it was the development of a fundamentally new youth policy based on the “whip and gingerbread” method: on the one hand, there was a strengthening of the repressions against riots participants, and on the other hand, the involvement of youths representative into political, state, business and public institutions with the aim of integration began protest activists in public life. Finally, the new trends in the social and political development of the Western countries in early 1970s become the significant factor in the decline of the protest movement. Such trends included changes in economic, political and cultural interactions in countries of Western Europe and USA, in particular the deterioration of the economic situation, as well as the extension of the social elite at the expense of students and graduates of technical and economic faculties. Finally, the new trends in the social and political development of the Western countries in early 1970s becаme the significant factor in the decline of the protest movement, in particular the deterioration of the economic situation, as well as the expansion of the social elite at the expense of students and graduates of technical and economic faculties. This contributed to the further erosion of the social base of the protests and the focus of youth on their careers.

Moderation of the Antisocial Cognition-Offending Relationship by Neighborhood Disorder: A Multilevel Analysis of Adolescents from Eight Western European Countries

In an effort to gauge the effect of perceived neighborhood disorder on the antisocial cognition–delinquency relationship, this study subjected data from the Second International Self-Reported Delinquency study (ISRD2) to multilevel analysis. The sample for this study was composed of 20,700 participants (10,219 males and 10,474 females) from 502 public schools in eight Western European countries. The public school the child was attending served as the clustering variable and participants rated their neighborhoods on measures of physical and psychological disorder. Averaging these ratings across all participants attending a particular school, the mean ratings became the Level 2 variable (neighborhood disorder) in a multilevel analysis. A model composed of control variables, offending variety, moral neutralization, and cognitive impulsivity at Level 1 and neighborhood disorder at Level 2 produced a significant cross-level interaction in which the slope of the moral neutralization–delinquency regression line was significantly steeper when neighborhood disorder was high rather than when it was low. There was no effect for cognitive impulsivity, however, when it was assessed in conjunction with moral neutralization. Taken as a whole, these findings suggest that significantly more offending occurs when an individual-level variable, moral neutralization, and a group-level variable, neighborhood disorder, are both elevated.

Trends in the development of EU energy policy at the present stage

The issue of energy security and energy independence of the EU is one of the key factors in ensuring the stable development of the association. The subject of the study is the energy concepts of the European Union. The object of the study is the modern energy policy of the EU countries. The countries of the European Union are among the world's largest importers and exporters of energy resources, and therefore one of the criteria for EU energy security is the creation of secure logistics chains for uninterrupted energy supplies, since this factor has always been one of the most important problems in energy security. However, despite all the data that the European Union has, this area is a source of numerous problems for ensuring energy security that the EU faces at the current stage of its development. The methodological basis of the study is a systematic analysis and a geo-economic approach. The systematic approach was used in the work to identify the reasons for the transformation of EU energy concepts in the context of the energy crisis. The geo-economic approach allows us to qualitatively consider this issue from the point of view of economics and geopolitics of the countries of Eastern and Western Europe in the context of energy transition. The novelty of the research lies in the comprehensive analysis of the concept of energy security in the complex in the context of energy transfer. The authors pay special attention to the analysis of the energy policy of the European Union, numerous new initiatives and documents related to this area, as well as the development of the concept of green energy. The authors highlight the challenges that the EU will face on the way to building a stable and safe energy sector. The paper also examines the impact of the EU's energy policy on the concept of European unity. Attention is being paid to the EU's attempts to diversify energy supplies, which plays an important role in the context of the Ukrainian crisis and complications from the loss of Russian supplies. The authors conclude that the lack of internal unity within the EU does not allow for an effective and sustainable energy policy, since the European Union does not have a common energy legislation, and infrastructure development between the countries of Western and Eastern Europe is overly diversified, which does not allow us to talk about the transformation of energy policy in the EU countries at the present stage.

An examination of the cross-cultural equivalence of the personality inventory for DSM-5 across Chinese and U.S. samples.

The Personality Inventory for DSM-5 (PID-5) was designed to measure the personality traits of the alternative model of personality disorders (AMPD). It is comprised of 25 lower order facet scales. Factor analytic investigation of these scales has consistently recovered five factors corresponding to the trait domains of the AMPD. Most of these factor analytic studies, however, have been conducted in the United States and Western European countries and languages. Fewer studies have examined the factor structure of the PID-5 in East Asian countries; and no studies have examined whether the five-factor structure found in Western countries/cultures/languages is congruent with those from East Asia. In this study, we examine the PID-5 factor structure in adult community samples from the People's Republic of China (PRC; N = 233 [116 females], Mage = 35.88, range = 22-60) and the United States (N = 237 [118 females], Mage = 35.44, range = 22-60) using exploratory structural equation modelling and assess whether the factor structures across these samples are congruent using Tucker's congruence coefficient. A five-factor solution was an adequate-to-good fit in both samples. The factor structure obtained from the U.S. sample was congruent with the PID-5 normative sample factor structure. The compositional configuration of the factors in the five-factor structure in the PRC sample, however, showed poor congruence with the U.S. sample. A six-factor model proved to be a better fitting model in the PRC sample. We conclude that the PID-5 does not have factor structure equivalence across U.S. and Chinese cultures/languages. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Mainstreaming immigrant integration in Labour Market Support: policy index and alternative policy frameworks

ABSTRACT In many Western European countries, governments have increasingly accepted the strategies of enhancing equality between immigrants and EU nationals in major policy domains. One of the latest trends in integration policy framework is mainstreaming – the practice of bringing the needs and priorities of vulnerable groups such as immigrants to the centre of attention in more generic policies (e.g. employment support, education) as opposed to responding to the specific concerns of these groups through separate policy interventions. To examine and categorise the scope of mainstreaming and the level of access to mainstreamed policies for various groups of immigrants, I develop a Policy Index of Mainstreaming in Labour Market Support that covers data from 2006 to 2016 across 25 EU/EEA countries. The paper explores the policy patterns revealed by the Index. It argues that while mainstreaming as a theory challenges existing integration approaches, differences in political ideology do not necessarily lead to radical institutional change. This finding contributes to the historical-institutionalist argument on policy compatibility through institutional change mechanisms.

IMPACT OF PRODUCTIVITY, CORRUPTION, AND GROWTH ON DEBT: EVIDENCE FROM PANEL DATA ANALYSIS

In a number of nations, the economic uncertainty that began several years ago has manifested its negative effects, and the COVID-19 crisis has exacerbated the situation. Many nations struggle to finance their social and economic public healthcare due to limited resources and fiscal space. In order to save their economies, this has pushed them towards high levels of debt. This study’s objective is to examine the effect of government debt on productivity, GDP growth, tax revenue, and corruption. Panel data analysis was used to identify the significant factors that affect government debt in 16 Western European countries based on their severe subprime crisis in 2008 and sovereign debt in 2009, which fall between the timeframes of this study. The findings revealed that government debt impacts productivity, GDP growth, and corruption. As a result, effective productivity control is critical when dealing with government debt. Efforts to develop world-class human capital, equipped with sophisticated skills or talent management, in order to increase a sector’s income and competitiveness should be aligned with efficient and effective public spending. Public projects must be thoroughly evaluated and monitored in terms of feasibility, economic and social returns. As a consequence, this study suggests that a profound and comprehensive reformation across various sectors in the country is required, particularly through productivity, growth, and corruption, in order to control a country’s debt.

Trends in atrial fibrillation-related mortality in Europe, 2008-2019.

Update data regarding the atrial fibrillation (AF)-related mortality trend in Europe remain scant. We assess the age- and sex-specific trends in AF-related mortality in the European states between the years 2008 and 2019. Data on cause-specific deaths and population numbers by sex for European countries were retrieved through the publicly available World Health Organization mortality dataset for the years 2008-2019. Atrial fibrillation-related deaths were ascertained when the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision code I48 was listed as the underlying cause of death in the medical death certificate. To calculate annual trends, we assessed the average annual % change (AAPC) with relative 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using Joinpoint regression. During the study period, 773 750 AF-related deaths (202 552 males and 571 198 females) occurred in Europe. The age-adjusted mortality rate (AAMR) linearly increased from 12.3 (95% CI: 11.2-12.9) per 100 000 population in 2008 to 15.3 (95% CI: 14.7-15.7) per 100 000 population in 2019 [AAPC: +2.0% (95% CI: 1.6-3.5), P<0.001] with a more pronounced increase among men [AAPC: +2.7% (95% CI: 1.9-3.5), P<0.001] compared with women [AAPC: +1.7% (95% CI: 1.1-2.3), P<0.001] (P for parallelism 0.01). Higher AAMR increases were observed in some Eastern European countries such as Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland, while the lower increases were mainly clustered in Central Europe. Over the last decade, the age-adjusted AF-related mortality has increased in Europe, especially among males. Disparities still exist between Western and Eastern European countries.

What is local government financialisation? Four empirical channels to clarify the roles of local government

Recent literature at the nexus of geography and political economy notes that local governments are becoming financialised. But it is not always clear what this means. Specifically, what is being financialised? And what is the role of local governments in this process? Building on Whiteside’s definition of local state-led financialisation as enabled and internal, this article combines a systematic literature review with the comparative analysis of country-level statistics to clarify this process further. It identifies four channels through which local government financialisation unfolds empirically. First, local governments enable the financialisation of public assets and services through privatisation and outsourcing and by applying financial principles to land use planning. Second, they borrow against their own assets. Third, local governments use bonds and derivatives to manage the risks and costs of their borrowing. Fourth, they invest to generate financial income. Focusing on high-income countries in Western Europe, the article extends the geographical remit of the US- and UK-centric literature. Building on its findings, the article highlights two avenues for further research. First, internationally comparative research can explore how the structural context in which local governments operate shapes their financialisation. Second, critical research into the tension between the objectives and risks of local government financialisation adds nuance to current debates.

Genesis and interpretation of the “precariat” concept in the countries of Western and Eastern Europe

The purpose of the article is to systematize a number of scientific works devoted to the conceptualization of the concept of the precariat, which received active theoretical elaboration at the beginning of the XX century. The relevance of the works devoted to the precariat is explained by the speeches of representatives of this social group in European countries at the beginning of the XXI century. One of the tasks of the article is to solve the “black box” G. Standing, which denoted the relationship of the newly formed social group with social processes outlined in the works of P. Bourdieu, J. Habermas and a number of other sociologists. The author also devotes a separate role to the analysis of the precariat by scientists in Western and Eastern Europe. Sociologists of Western Europe have focused on the designation of a newly formed social group in the socio-class structure of modern society. At the end of the article, the definition of two concepts, “precariat” and “precariatization”, which can contribute to the categorization of a social group in sociological theory, is given.