• Viet Nam's Older Population: the View from the Census (pdf format 257 KB)
  By John Knodel and Truong Si Anh
  

The present study provides a descriptive analysis of Viet Nam’s older population based primarily on special tabulations from the 3 per cent public use sample of the 1999 census. Comparison with the 1989 census reveals remarkable stability in the living arrangements of Vietnamese elderly, with respect to co-residence with children, even as the country is undergoing a major transformation of its economy. Rural elderly are far more likely to remain economically active and to be clearly disadvantaged, in terms of educational attainment, housing quality and access to mass media. Women compare unfavourably to men with respect to formal educational attainment and literacy and are far more likely to be widowed. Older men and women, however, do not differ in terms of housing quality or in the likelihood of co-residing with children. While. older women are less likely to be economically active than men, they are more likely to be active in housekeeping and related work. Thus, many older Vietnamese men and women are not simply dependants but make useful contributions to the family’s ability to sustain itself.

• Estate Women's Fertility in Sri Lanka: Some Aberrant Perspectives in the Causal Links (pdf format 220 KB)
  By P. Puvanarajan
  

The study looks at the fertility trends of the estate women in Sri Lanka since the mid-1940s and brings to light the determinants that contributed to the anomalous course. Despite these women recording a high degree of labour force participation, far less contraceptive use and their age at marriage being lower than other ethnic groups, their fertility performance was the lowest. Moreover, during the period 1946-1953, when the fertility of all other ethnic groups recorded increased, the fertility of the estate women declined. Between 1971 and 1981, the reverse occurred when the estate women’s fertility was on the rise with all other ethnic groups showing declines. This deviant fertility behaviour and the obscure nature of the determinants at work hinges on negative factors. Their impoverished state due to low nutritional levels resulted in their inability to reproduce. Hence, their low fertility signalled the prevalent deprivation factors. However, the changing ownership of the plantations and the concomitant amelioration programmes mooted since the late 1970s provided better life and stepped up their potency to reproduce. Consequently, they showed a rising trend in fertility and currently record the highest level vis-a-vis other ethnic groups. Their current high fertility levels reflect a rational association with demographic variables and the socio-economic milieu that surrounds them.

• Sexual Behaviour Related to HIV/AIDS: Commercial Sex and Condom Use in Hanoi, Viet Nam (pdf format 162 KB)
  By Nguyen Minh Thang, Vu Thu Huong and Marie-Eve Blanc
  

Commercial sex, condom use and its consequences are more of a problem than Vietnamese society realizes.

This study surveyed 493 men aged 18 to 45 years in Hanoi, including students, factory workers, government officials, businessmen and mobile workers.

Findings from the study indicate that commercial sex is obviously an urgent issue in Viet Nam because of the high prevalence, frequency and duration of the visits to prostitutes. Not only do middle-aged men and wealthy people visit sex workers, but also young and poor people. Even for those with high education and a happy married life, there is still a number who visit commercial sex workers. People born in rural areas are more likely to visit sex workers than those born in urban areas.

Men are not concerned with the risks associated with unsafe sex. Many of the respondents in this study do not use condoms when having sex with commercial sex workers. Younger people seem to take more risk than older ones. Even though most of the respondents said they knew about HIV/AIDS, their risky behaviour is evidence that the community greatly needs HIV/AIDS knowledge advocacy.

• Female Labour Migration to Bangkok: Transforming Rural-Urban Interactions and Social Networks through Globalization (pdf format 266 KB)
  By Anne Clausen
  

This paper seeks to identify, analyse and explain how socio-economic processes at the global and national levels are reflected in the practical experiences of Thai female labour migrants and their relationships with their rural families and communities. The study investigates specifically rural-urban migration of factory workers towards Bangkok and its vicinity.

This article summarizes the findings of a longer paper, which reported on research carried out over three months in Bangkok. It concludes that globalization, in its various dimensions, initiates spatial mobility and social networking across space and time in Thailand. Specifically, globalization creates bridges of imagination for the migrants, who themselves act to further globalization through the rural-urban connections they establish.

Demographers' Notebook

• Adolescent Reproductive Health: What are the lessons learned from the Intervention Projects - (pdf format 333 KB)
  By Yasmin Siddique and M. Kabir