Populations and Demographic Trends of European Countries, 1980-2010Alexandre Adveev, Tatiana Eremenko, Patrick Festy, Joëlle Gaymu, Nathalie Le Bouteillec, Sabine Springer
European population growth has slowed over the last thirty years, with a steadily decreasing excess of births over deaths. Net migration is now a major contributor and in some countries plays a decisive role in maintaining positive population growth. This general trend is common to most European countries, reflecting the combined effects of fertility decline, higher life expectancy, and positive and increasing net migration. At a more detailed level of analysis, the countries of Europe exhibit similar trends in family transformation, with fewer marriages and more informal unions, and in the major causes of death, with decreases in cardiovascular and cancer mortality. However, rather than a convergence of these trends across Europe, we are witnessing a repetition of similar changes at intervals of several years, with the gaps between countries or sub-regions remaining largely unchanged. The future of the European population will depend largely on fertility in coming years, with growth if fertility is high, decline if it is low, and relative stability if it remains at moderate levels. Whatever the level of fertility in the next forty years, European population ageing will be inevitable, even if immigration remains at current levels, and substantial differences across Europe will persist.
This article is accessible online in the "Download(s)" box Women who Give Birth "Secretly" in France, 2007-2009
Catherine Villeneuve-Gokalp
Every year in France, between 600 and 700 women ask to give birth "secretly" in a maternity unit. This study, conducted in 83 of the country’s 100 départements, collected administrative information on 835 such deliveries from July 2007 to July 2009, along with the socio-demographic characteristics of 739 of the women concerned and information on the context of their pregnancies. At the time of birth, 10% of women requesting a secret delivery indicate their name on the child’s birth certificate, thereby establishing filiation, 13% record it in the child’s hospital file, while 29% leave it in a sealed envelope so that, if several other conditions are met, the child will later be able to learn his/her birthmother’s identity. Three main birthmother "profiles" were identified: "young women dependent on their parents" (25% of the women), "independent women" (25%) and "women living alone in precarious conditions" (15%). Very young women "abandoned" by their partner and in a precarious situation are thus not the only ones to give birth in secret, though such women are over-represented. In the two-month period following delivery, during which birthmothers have the legal right to reclaim the child, 14% choose to do so. The women who most frequently change their minds are those who were obliged to abandon it under family pressure or due to economic constraints. Women who have acquired economic independence or are living with a partner less frequently give birth in secret; birthmothers in this category appear more determined and less frequently change their mind.
Public Housing and Residential Segregation of Immigrants in France, 1968-1999
Gregory Verdugo
This article studies uses census data to study the residential segregation of immigrants in France from 1968 to 1999 and its links with public housing, in urban areas of more than 50,000 inhabitants, and between these areas. During this period, European and non-European immigrant segregation followed diverging trends. At the macro-geographical level, the results indicate a decrease in the concentration of immigrants across urban areas, notably for non-European immigrants living in public housing. Within urban areas, national origin segregation was predominant until 1968 for all groups and declined afterward, particularly for European immigrants. For non-European immigrants in public housing, the decline in segregation by national origin has been counterbalanced by an increase in segregation by continent or sub-continent of origin. This can be partly explained by the clustering of immigrants of different national origins in the same public housing neighbourhoods. In 1999, immigrants in public housing experienced higher segregation levels than immigrants in private housing, particularly non-European immigrants. However, no relationship was found between differences in average arrival year and differences in segregation levels across immigrant groups.
International Migration and Housing Conditions of Households in Dakar
David Lessault, Cris Beauchemin, Papa Sakho
In Senegal, the real estate sector drains the majority of investments made by Senegalese expatriates. Migrant remittances could thus play a positive role in improving the housing conditions of households in Dakar. This paper aims to test this hypothesis via a series of analyses conducted on data in Dakar for the MAFE Senegal survey. Not surprisingly, the first results show that at the time of the survey, the housing conditions of households with migrant(s) were generally better than those without (type of dwelling, persons per room, consumer durables, etc.). But subsequent findings qualify the impact of international migration on the living conditions of Dakarian households. First, the remittances sent by migrants are rarely used to build or renovate a dwelling. Second, analysis of home ownership at the time of entry into the dwelling and not at the time of the survey shows that migrants have no influence on home purchases. Last, emigrant investments in real estate rarely serve to improve the housing conditions of the households to which they belong. They can nonetheless contribute to urban renewal in Dakar, notably via investments in the rental market.
