New Data and Publications Available

• The U.S. Bureau of the Census and the National Institute on Aging announce the release of the Interagency Forum on Aging-Related Statistics: Report 1991-1993. This publication is the result of a collaborative effort of the Federal agencies that collect, analyze, develop, and disseminate data on the aging population. The report describes data products developed by these agencies between 1991 and 1993. Selected items from the United Nations and Statistics Canada are also included. A bibliography of publications dealing with various aging-related topics and current telephone numbers of Federal government experts on the older population make the report an invaluable resource for anyone engaging in research on the older population. To obtain a free copy of the report, please contact the Statistical Information Staff of the Population Division at the U.S. Census Bureau at (301) 457-2422.

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Reproductive Health, has released the following reproductive health survey reports:
  • Jamaica: 1993 Contraceptive Prevalence Survey (English), Vol.4, Young Adults; and Vol. 5, Summary of Results by Health Region.

  • Czech Republic: 1993 Reproductive Health Survey (Final Report: English)

  • Romania:1993 Reproductive Health Survey (Final Report: English)

  • Ecuador:1994 Reproductive Health Survey (Preliminary Report: English)

  • Costa Rica: 1993 Reproductive Health Survey (Spanish):
    Working Paper No. 1- Metas Reproductivas y Patrones de Crianza de los Hijos
    Working paper No. 2- Comportamiento Reproductivo Posparto

  Single copies are available at no cost from: Behavioral Epidemiology and Demographic research Branch, Division of Reproductive Health, MS K35, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlant, GA 30333.

• Moving Power and Money: The Politics of Census Taking by Barbara Everitt Bryant and William Dunn. The decisions that drive Congressional power, government funding, and business investments-and how they affect the lives of every American-depend on information produced by an obscure government agency. What if that agency's data are known to be flawed and likely to become more so? And what if politicians, lawyers, and special-interest groups are attempting to tamper with the numbers for their own purposes? And what if millions of people, fed up with government and worried about their privacy, revolt and stop providing the essential information that agency needs? These questions are addressed in this new book about the Census Bureau by Barbara Everitt Bryant, the first female director of the Census Bureau from 1989 to 1993. Her co-author is William Dunn, a reporter who has long covered the Census Bureau beat. For more information contact Penelope Wickham at New Strategist Publications at (607) 272-0913 or order directly from the publisher. The book's ISBN is 0-9628092-7-6 and can be ordered from New Strategist Publishers, P.O. Box 242, Ithaca, NY 14851.

• The Department of Economic and Social Information and Policy Analysis of the United Nations has issued a Catalogue of Population Division Publications, Databases, and Software. The publication provides a detailed listing of the work of the Population Division including (1) reports on world population trends, (2) technical manuals on demographic methodologies, (3) proceedings of meetings and workshops, (4) special studies, (5) journals and newsletters, and (6) wall charts. The catalogue includes order forms for publications and free software and databases on tape and diskette. For a copy of the catalogue, contact Director, Population Division, Department for Economic and Social Information and Policy Analysis, United Nations, Rm. DC2-1950, New York, NY 10017. USA.

• The East-West Center Program on Population announces a new publication in their EWC Asia-Pacific Population Research Report, No. 4 entitled: Aging in Asia: Setting the Research Foundation by Albert I. Hermalin. Hermalin writes; "Many Asian leaders are well aware of the high costs and other problems associated with social welfare programs for the elderly in the West and are seeking approaches that will provide needed support at a much lower cost. They wish to know whether modernization inevitably means Westernization or whether they can choose different arrangements. An intriguing possibility is that Asians, with their long-standing family traditions including the Confucian tradition of reverence for the elderly, on the one hand, and their willingness to seek new solutions on the other, might develop policies and institutions that could influence Western approaches to issues of population aging." Copies of Research Reports are available by contacting the EWC Publications Sales Office, Phone: (808) 944-7145. FAX: (808) 944-7376.

• The Population Council announces the publication of a new report entitled Families in Focus: New Perspectives on Mothers, Fathers, and Children by Judith Bruce, Cynthia B. Lloyd, and Ann Leonard with Patrice L. Engle and Niev Duffy. This new report shows that, in rich and poor countries alike, parent-child bonds are unraveling and that women carry much more significant economic and social responsibilities for the family than commonly believed. The authors of this book urge policymakers and researchers to focus on strengthening parent-child ties and to look beyond the myth that all families are stable and cohesive units in which the father serves as economic provider, the mother serves as emotional caregiver, and all children are treated equally and well. To request a review copy of Families in Focus, contact Kimberly Wix at the Population Council, (212) 339-0520.

• The Committee on National Statistics' Panel on Poverty and Family Assistance has recommended that the U.S. measure of poverty be revised. The current measure is outmoded and is no longer able to provide adequate guidance for policy. The panel's report Measuring Poverty: A New Approach, released in early May, recommends a revised concept on which to develop and update poverty thresholds and a revised definition of families' incomes for comparison with the thresholds to determine poverty status. The Panel on Poverty and Family Assistance was chaired by Robert T. Michael, Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies, University of Chicago, and Constance F. Citro served as study durector. Several PAA Members served on the panel, including Robert M. Hauser and Franklin D. Wilson. Copies of the volume may be ordered for $36.00 (which includes a 20% discount for association members) plus shipping and handling from the National Academy Press, 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW, Lockbox 285, Washington, DC 20055. To order by phone, call 1-800-624-6242, or in Washington DC, (202) 334-3313. Request discount when ordering. Also available to association members, free of charge, are copies of the report summary. To obtain a copy, contact Agnes Gaskin, via e-mail at AGASKIN@NAS.EDU or at the Committee on National Statistics, 2101 Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20418. 202-334-2240.

• The Mexican Migration Project, a bi-national research effort directed by Douglas S. Massey of the University of Pennsylvania and Jorge Durand of the University of Guadalajara announces the public availability of a new dataset on Mexican immigration to the United States. The dataset is based on representative samples of 30 Mexican communities, each paired with a parallel sample of out-migrants interviewed in the United States. Members of sample households provided basic information about their first and most recent trips to the United States, and all household heads were administered a complete life history that included a yearly migration history as well as a complete history of border-crossing. In addition, all household heads with U.S. migratory experience were asked a battery of questions about experiences on their last trip.

  The dataset includes six files, one containing data on sample persons, one containing data on sample households, one containing data on migrant household head's most recent U.S. trip, one containing life histories for all household heads, and two community-level data files: one containing information on 30 communities during the survey year and the other containing annual event history data on the communities. In total, the datafiles contain information on 42,686 persons in 6,121 households, including 9,851 persons with U.S. migratory experience and 2,186 U.S. migrant household heads.

  The files may be obtained by contacting the project manager, Kristin Epinosa, at the Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania, 3718 Locust Walk, Philadelphia, PA 19104-6298. Email: epinosa@pop.upenn.edu.