Cross-national Variation Research Articles

Regulating low wages: cross-national policy variation and outcomes

Abstract This article provides a comparative analysis of three central policies to regulate low wages: statutory minimum wages, state support for collective bargaining and topping up low wages with public transfers (in-work benefits). We map the variation of these policies across 33 OECD countries and analyze the incidence of low-wage employment they are associated with. We find three approaches to regulating low wages. In the first, ‘wage scale protection’, states put most emphasis on supporting collective bargaining. In the second, ‘bare minimum’, there is not much else than the statutory minimum wage. In the third, ‘state pay’, the statutory minimum wage is supplemented by sizeable public financial support for low earners. When analyzing policy outcomes, ‘wage scale protection’ is associated with least low-wage employment. For ‘bare minimum’, much depends on the level of the statutory minimum wage. Although ‘state pay’ props up workers’ disposable income, many workers receive low gross pay.

Individual Empowerment, Institutional Confidence, and Vaccination Rates in Cross-National Perspective, 1995 to 2018

In the past decade, before the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, rates of childhood vaccination against diseases such as measles, diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus declined worldwide. An extensive literature examines the correlates and motives of vaccine hesitancy—the reluctance or refusal to vaccinate despite the availability of vaccines—among individuals, but little macrosociological theory or research seeks to explain changes in country-level vaccine uptake in global and comparative perspective. Drawing on existing research on vaccine hesitancy and recent developments in world society theory, we link cross-national variation in vaccination rates to two global cultural processes: the dramatic empowerment of individuals and declining confidence in liberal institutions. Both processes, we argue, emerged endogenously in liberal world culture, instigated by the neoliberal turn of the 1980s and 1990s. Fixed- and random-effects panel regression analyses of data for 80 countries between 1995 and 2018 support our claim that individualism and lack of institutional confidence contributed to the global decline in vaccination rates. We also find that individualism is itself partly responsible for declining institutional confidence. Our framework of world-cultural change might be extended to help make sense of recent post-liberal challenges in other domains.

International differences in gradients in early childhood overweight and obesity: the role of maternal employment and formal childcare attendance.

There are significant cross-country differences in socio-economic gradients in later childhood and adulthood overweight/obesity; few studies assess whether this cross-national variation is evident from early childhood. Furthermore, the role of childcare in explaining overweight/obesity gradients might vary across countries, given differences in access, quality and heterogeneity within. Additionally, childcare is linked to parental characteristics such as maternal employment. The interplay between childcare and employment in producing early overweight/obesity gradients has received little attention, and might vary cross-nationally. Using harmonized data from six high-quality, large datasets, we explore the variation in gradients in early overweight/obesity (at age 3-4 years old) by parental education across several high-income countries (USA, UK, France, the Netherlands, Germany and Japan). We then assess whether differential formal group care use attenuates some of these gradients, and whether this varies across maternal employment. Gradients in early childhood overweight/obesity by parental education are evident across several developed countries. Countries with higher overall prevalence of early overweight/obesity did not have the largest inequalities across education groups. The contribution of formal group care to producing these gradients varied across countries and across maternal employment status. Early childhood inequalities in overweight/obesity are pervasive across developed countries, as noted for older children and adults. However, mechanisms producing these gradients vary across national contexts. Our study shows that, given the right context, quality childcare and maternal employment can successfully support healthy weight trajectories and not contribute (or even reduce) social inequalities in early overweight/obesity.

Cross-National Support for the Welfare State Under Wealth Inequality

Wealth is often more unequally distributed than income, and there are considerable differences across countries. In this paper, we argue that wealth inequality helps explain cross-national variation in support for (and the size of) the welfare state because assets serve as private insurance. When wealth, particularly liquid assets, is unequally distributed across the income spectrum and high-income groups hold most assets, strong reinforcing preferences in favor of or against social policies result in antagonistic welfare politics and less government spending. When assets are more equitably distributed across the income spectrum, cross-cutting preferences emerge as more people support either insurance or redistribution. Welfare politics is consensual and facilitates a broader welfare coalition and more government spending. We analyze original cross-national survey data from nine OECD countries and provide evidence in support of our argument. Our findings suggest that wealth inequality reshapes the role of income in structuring welfare politics.

The Effects of Democratic and Nondemocratic Institutions on CO2 Emissions

Democratic institutions that coordinate diffuse interests might be beneficial for climate protection. Because the implementation of democratic institutions varies among democracies as well as among autocracies, this study examines whether institutional aspects of different models of democracy affect CO2 emissions in democracies and autocracies. Similar studies have assumed uniform effects of democratic aspects in regimes of both types. The extent of the dependence of autocratic leaders on the support of the ruling party, the military, and/or a hereditary council might make them less responsive to incentives generated by democratic institutions to reduce CO2 emissions. This article, therefore, examines data on CO2 emissions from 1990 to 2020 in 66 democracies and 69 autocracies separately and analyses whether nondemocratic institutions limit the effects of democratic institutions. As democratic institutions might affect climate outcomes only in the long term, we examine cross-national variation in the long-term development of CO2 emissions and short-term changes in CO2 emissions within countries. In democracies, civil society participation and social equality contribute to a decrease in the long-term development of CO2 emissions. In autocracies, local and regional democracy contributes to lower CO2 emissions in the long term, and social equality decreases annual changes in CO2 emissions. Military influence limits these effects. In contrast, the dependence of the executive on a ruling party strengthens the negative effect of social equality on annual changes in CO2 emissions.

Cultural collectivism, intimate partner violence, and women's mental health: An analysis of data from 151 countries.

Culture, defined as the distinctive, learned beliefs and patterns of behavior that are particular to a given group or community, is a key determinant of mental health. The cultural dimension of individualism-collectivism, which measures the extent to which a given society accords importance to individuals as opposed to larger groups, has been associated with cross-national variations in mental health outcomes such as depression and suicide. However, this cultural dimension is also associated with variations in the frequency of intimate partner violence (IPV), which has a significant and sustained adverse impact on women's mental health. This study examines the relationships between individualism-collectivism, the frequency of IPV, and rates of depression and suicide in women, based on data from 151 countries. In this data set, IPV was significantly associated with age-standardized rates of depression and suicide in women, even after adjusting for demographic variables. Cultural collectivism was positively correlated with IPV, but this relationship was significantly influenced by national income and women's educational attainment. In multivariate analyses, IPV, but not cultural collectivism, remained significantly associated with depression in women. These results highlight the importance of screening for and addressing IPV in women seeking mental health care, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where cultural and economic factors may both increase the risk of IPV and delay or impede its reporting.

East Asia and English language speakers: a population estimation through existing random sampling surveys

ABSTRACT Many applied linguists have attempted to quantify the number of English-speaking populations, both globally and in specific countries. However, thus far, those in East Asia have not been estimated through a robust technique. This paucity of estimation can be partly attributed to the lack of censuses or large-scale sociolinguistic surveys; nonetheless, other secondary data can be used for this purpose. This study analyses two nationally representative surveys conducted in China, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan – the East Asian Social Survey (conducted in 2008 and 2018) and AsiaBarometer (2003–2008) – and estimates their English-speaking population. The results indicate that English speakers (those who evaluated themselves as having a fair or high level of English proficiency) account for approximately 10% of the population in China and Japan and approximately 20% in South Korea and Taiwan. Furthermore, English proficiency varied according to generation and educational level in all four jurisdictions. Based on these findings, this article discusses cross-national variations of English-speaking populations in the four jurisdictions, the absolute number of speakers, its implications, and possible self-report biases and their assessment.

Family-provided long-term care and its coverage in European pension systems

Objective: In this contribution, the question is raised in how far family care work is covered in the social rights of European welfare states, focussing on pension entitlements for family-provided long-term care. Background: Old-age pensions are the major redistributive system of present-day societies. Central to current discourses on pensions and their reforms is the relevance of work as paid employment for building up pension rights. Family care work is largely disregarded, although established welfare states broadly cover also this work form in their pension systems. Method: By applying the SCQual method, this article systematically quantifies current pension entitlements for family-provided long-term care in ten European countries, and their change. It reflects on the results by means of testing assumptions drawn from the most relevant research strands in the field and contributes to contextualising cross-national variation and change. Results: The results show that pension entitlements for family-provided long-term care are found in most of our study countries, and that all the assumptions deduced from the literature, with regard to both cross-national variation and change in entitlements, are refuted by the empirical findings. Conclusion: This study contributes to both the conceptual challenges of comparative welfare state research in general, and the concrete analysis of social rights entitlements. These are based not only on paid employment, but in most European countries also on family care work, as has been shown here. The conceptual differences and changes are fruitfully addressed in this contribution.

Differences in birth weight between immigrants’ and natives’ children in Europe and Australia: a LifeCycle comparative observational cohort study

ObjectiveResearch on adults has identified an immigrant health advantage, known as the ‘immigrant health paradox’, by which migrants exhibit better health outcomes than natives. Is this health advantage transferred from...

Gender-Egalitarianism and the Construction of Official Rape Rates

Cross-national variations in official crime rates likely represent several concurrent criminological and non-criminological phenomena beyond actual crime occurrence, resulting in puzzling relationships between variables. For example, research shows that structural gender equality predicts official rape rates. I extend this literature by examining whether the ethos or mainstream country-level attitudes and beliefs toward gender equality (or gender egalitarianism) affect official rape rates. Results suggest that while countries with higher levels of gender egalitarianism in the public sphere have higher official rape rates, nations with higher levels of gender-private egalitarianism have lower official rape rates. These outcomes imply that progressive attitudes toward the full participation of women in work, education, and politics are disjointed from gender-egalitarian views on parenting, divorce, and abortion. My findings align with previous studies showing a paradoxical positive association between structural gender equality and official rape rates. I problematize earlier interpretations of similar results as a backlash effect of women’s parity. Throughout the paper, I reflect on the impact of statistical and social factors in constructing official rape rates. I propose using an updated gender ideology framework to understand the complex relationship between private and public dimensions of equalitarianism and official rape rates.

Political divide in climate change opinions is stronger in some countries and some U.S. states than others: Testing the self-expression hypothesis and the fossil fuel reliance hypothesis

Despite the accumulation of evidence for the human causes of climate change, there is still a political divide in climate change opinions. Importantly, the strength of this political divide appears to vary across countries and across states within the United States. In this research, we proposed the self-expression hypothesis and the fossil fuel reliance hypothesis to explain these cross-national and within-country variations. We expected that the strength of the political orientation-climate change opinions link to be stronger among countries and states with a stronger emphasis on self-expression, higher levels of fossil fuel consumption, and greater economic interests associated with fossil fuels. We tested these hypotheses with two international data sets (Studies 1 and 2) and a U.S. state-level data set (Study 3). We found supporting evidence for the self-expression hypothesis and mixed evidence for the fossil fuel reliance hypothesis; fossil fuel consumption was related to a larger political divide between countries but a smaller political divide between states within the United States. These findings highlight the need to consider the role of cultural and socio-ecological factors in the political divide in climate change opinions. As we observed both similarities and differences between the two levels of analysis, our findings also suggest the need to consider how these factors modulate the influence of political orientation on climate change opinions both within and between countries.

Preparing Early Childhood Educators/Interventionists: Scoping Review Insights Into the Characteristics of Rural Practice

Rural regions struggle to retain early intervention (EI), special education (SE), and early childhood education (ECE) supports for children with developmental delay and/or disability, yet there is little guidance to prepare pre-service students for rural practice. This exploratory scoping review of rural EI/SE/ECE practice in the United States and Canada, where EI for children birth to 8 years is part of the education and development continuum (as opposed to health), found four characteristics: a broader scope of practice, the importance of being a whole person, doing more outreach to engage families, and negotiating personal/professional boundaries. Retention is enhanced when educators feel effective and appreciated. Regionalized (not national) funding sources may be limiting disciplinary advances, and cultural/racial inclusivity, equity issues, travel, and distance barriers were under-studied. Cross-national variation in EI/SE/ECE terms impeded the search. Future research should highlight the unique multidisciplinary and multijurisdictional nature of rural EI/SE/ECE practice across the developmental span.

Tracing the Gender Confidence Gap in Computing: A Cross-National Meta-Analysis of Gender Differences in Self-Assessed Technological Ability

The gender composition of information and communication technology (ICT) fields remain uneven across countries. One explanation is that gender stereotypes lead women to believe that they do not have the same aptitude for ICT fields as men, resulting in a deficit in women's self-assessed tech ability. Yet, studies on ICT confidence document wide variation in both the direction and magnitude of gender differences. This study asks whether there is, in fact, a gendered confidence gap in technological ability. Methods of meta-analysis evaluate gender differences in tech confidence based on the results of 120 effect sizes from 115 studies conducted in 22 countries from 1990 to 2019. While men report higher levels of self-assessed tech abilities compared to women, the gap is narrowing over time. Further, significant cross-national variation undermines essentialist explanations that imply universal sex differences. Rather, results are consistent with theorizing that emphasizes variations in cultural gender beliefs and opportunities.

Volunteering and political participation are differentially associated with eudaimonic and social well-being across age groups and European countries.

Voluntary participation is thought to promote the well-being of engaged individuals, especially in old age, but prior evidence on this link is mixed. In the present studies, we used the cross-sectional data from Round 6 (2012) of the European Social Survey (ESS) to investigate the variation in the associations between voluntary participation and eudaimonic (e.g., sense of direction) and social (e.g., perceived social support) well-being across types of participation (nonpolitical volunteering vs. political participation), age groups, and European countries. Study 1 addressed individual-level associations and age differences therein (preregistered at https://osf.io/2p9sz and https://osf.io/6twqe). Two-level multiple regression with an extensive set of control variables showed that at the within-country level, the associations between voluntary participation and well-being indicators were small on average. Nonpolitical volunteering had significantly more positive effects than did political participation, whereas few significant age differences emerged. Study 2 focused on the country-level variables that might explain the substantial cross-national variation in the main effects of voluntary participation (preregistered at https://osf.io/mq3dx). Only GDP per capita was a significant moderator at the country level: The associations of nonpolitical volunteering with eudaimonic well-being were more positive in the European countries with lower GDP. Other country-level variables (Gini coefficient, social welfare spending, and democracy indices) yielded no consistent moderation effects. Study 3 considered potential country-level explanations for the substantial cross-national variation in whether younger or older adults appeared to benefit more (preregistered at https://osf.io/7ks45). None of the country-level variables considered (effective retirement age in men, life expectancy at 65, average age of members of the national parliament and cabinet, and youth unemployment rate) could account for this variation. We conclude that, given the large cross-national variation in the effects of voluntary participation on well-being and in age differences therein, more attention to national specifics is warranted.

Cultural values and changes in happiness in 78 countries during the COVID-19 pandemic: An analysis of data from the World Happiness Reports.

The concept of happiness is consistent across cultures to a significant extent, and encompasses both internal (subjective) and external (situational) aspects. Cultural values and norms shape emotions and behavior from an early age, and hence play a key role in influencing cross-national variations in happiness. Cross-national variations in culture can thus play a key role in influencing the relationship between adverse circumstances, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and happiness. The current study examines the relationship between the six dimensions of culture, defined by Hofstede and his colleagues, and subjective ratings of happiness in 78 countries, obtained before (2017-19) and during (2020-21) the COVID-19 pandemic, based on data from the most recent World Happiness reports. The key results were: (a) countries were as likely to experience an increase as a decrease in self-reported happiness during this period; (b) distinct domains of culture were significantly correlated with happiness at each time point, though there was a certain degree of overlap; (c) pre-pandemic levels of happiness were negatively associated with changes in happiness during the pandemic; and (d) among cultural dimensions, long-term orientation was positively associated with changes in subjective happiness, while indulgence was negatively associated with this variable. Certain cultural values may play an important part in fostering a path to well-being in the face of stressful or traumatic circumstances. This path may be similar to the concept of mature happiness, derived from existential philosophy, which is characterized by achieving a balance between the positive and negative aspects of one's life.

Measuring Cross-National Variations in Religiosity and Attitudes Toward Science and Technology Using Machine Learning

ABSTRACT This study uses resampling methods and machine learning to measure how religio-scientific groups are distributed across regions, countries/territories, and religious groups. Across 76 societies (N = 143,092), the distribution of class membership is as follows: traditional (31.9 percent), modern (23.7 percent), post-secular (30.3 percent), and postmodern (14.1 percent). Although most societies are dominated by a single class, there is evidence of significant heterogeneity within societies in class prevalence. Those with post-secular views are both religious and feel favorably toward science; however, when faced with a conflict between religion and science they tend to support religion. Ultimately, societies with large traditional and post-secular classes are significantly more likely to support religion given a conflict with science; in contrast, the reverse is true for societies with large modern and postmodern classes.

Polarization, Media Professionalism, and Support for Press Freedoms in Sub-Saharan Africa: A Report on Early Results

This article reports on early results of a research project examining popular support for media freedoms in sub-Saharan Africa. Using data from the Afrobarometer surveys, as well as other sources, we specifically examine cross-national variation in support for media freedoms, seeking to account for the national-level factors that affect that variation. Our findings suggest the importance of two factors in particular. The first is the level of polarization in society. Using a novel measure of this factor, we find that higher levels of polarization are associated with lower levels of support for media freedoms. The second factor is the level of professionalism characterizing the media sector. We find that lower levels of media professionalism drive down support for media freedoms. Further research will explore these through the use of multilevel analysis that incorporates investigation of individual-level factors shaping support for media freedoms.

Quantifying the impact of COVID-19 on immigration in receiving high-income countries.

Previous studies have examined the impact of COVID-19 on mortality and fertility. However, little is known about the effect of the pandemic on constraining international migration. We use Eurostat and national statistics data on immigration and ARIMA time-series models to quantify the impact of COVID-19 on immigration flows in 15 high-income countries by forecasting their counterfactual levels in 2020, assuming no pandemic, and comparing these estimates with observed immigration counts. We then explore potential driving forces, such as stringency measures and increases in unemployment moderating the extent of immigration change. Our results show that immigration declined in all countries, except in Finland. Yet, significant cross-national variations exist. Australia (60%), Spain (45%) and Sweden (36%) display the largest declines, while immigration decreased by between 15% and 30% in seven countries, and by less than 15% in four nations where results were not statistically significant. International travel restrictions, mobility restrictions and stay-at-home requirements exhibit a relatively strong relationship with declines in immigration, although countries with similar levels of stringency witnessed varying levels of immigration decline. Work and school closings and unemployment show no relationship with changes in immigration.

Democracy, Capacity, and the Implementation of Laws Protecting Human Rights

We analyze the cross-national and cross-temporal variation in the presence or absence of domestic compliance gaps for three different human rights: the right to a fair trial, children’s rights, and the right of workers to form unions. Besides constitutional provisions, which have been the focus of previous research on the de jure-de facto compliance gap, statutes, executive actions, and judicial decisions all can contain promises by domestic politicians to protect human rights. Our indicator of whether legal protection exists and how strong it is reflects the many ways states make human rights legal commitments to their citizens. Our findings show that (a) the probability of promise-keeping and the effects of combinations of accountability and capacity are different for each right; (b) strong laws are a necessary but not sufficient condition for effective protection of rights; (c) treaty participation does not affect the probability of promise-keeping for any right; (d) promise-keeping for one right predicted promise-keeping for other rights. For all rights, the number of countries with gaps grew between 1994 and 2008 and then declined between 2008 and 2019. An important inference from our findings is that international treaties may only be effective when ratifiers are willing to change their domestic laws to be consistent with international norms. One counterintuitive policy implication of our findings is that democratizing low-capacity authoritarian states may lead to more violations of some human rights.

The polarization of real estate ownership and increasing wealth inequality in Spain

Abstract Recent research has shown that differences in the distribution of real estate wealth across households are the most important explanation for cross-national variation in wealth inequality. We extend this line of research by looking at change over time and quantifying the importance of two opposing trends related to housing for wealth inequality: declining homeownership rates and increases in multiple property ownership. Our analysis is based on data from the Spanish survey Encuesta Financiera de Familias covering the period 2002–2017. We show how real estate ownership is becoming increasingly polarized: both the share of households without any property at all as well as the share of households with multiple properties is increasing. Decomposition models show, first, that inequality between homeowners and non-owners is becoming a more important component of wealth inequality between households. Second, whereas real estate that is not used by households as their main residence constituted a relatively small part of wealth inequality in 2002, its absolute contribution had almost doubled by 2017. We conclude that household investments in non-residence real estate are an important channel through which wealth inequality increased over time in Spain.