Abstract By examining China’s refugee policies from 1949 to 1982, this article demonstrates how the Chinese state redefined “return” and “refugee” to serve shifting political objectives. While China is often perceived as a source, rather than a host, of asylum seekers, it hosted over 320,000 displaced migrants—primarily ethnic Chinese from Southeast Asia—during the Cold War. Through a systematic discourse analysis of 382 People’s Daily articles, we identify four state narratives—diaspora, diplomatic tool, ideological sanctuary, and legal duty—that structured how China labeled displaced migrants, interpreted their sentiments, and determined their settlement. These models evolved dynamically: from the 1950s to the late 1970s, China framed displaced migrants as both diasporic returnees and victims of foreign persecution to bolster its legitimacy. During the Cultural Revolution, they were recast as Maoist returnees seeking ideological redemption. By 1978, the state invoked international legal norms by portraying them as “refugees” to secure global assistance amid the Indochinese refugee crisis. We argue that China’s refugee discourse functioned as a flexible political instrument that unsettled rigid distinctions between voluntary and forced migration. Our findings advance a constructivist understanding of migration categories and offer a historically grounded critique of refugee politics beyond Western-centric Cold War narratives.
Georgiana Mihut, John Cullinan, Darragh Flannery
et al.
Abstract The Covid-19 pandemic resulted in significant disruptions to both international student mobility and labour markets. Against this background, this scoping review documents findings from 35 studies, published between January 2020 and February 2024, that focused on international student mobility, Covid-19, labour market outcomes, and related regulations. The review shows that the Covid-19 pandemic negatively impacted (1) the labour market outcomes of international students before studying abroad, through changes in visa regulations, (2) skill acquisition during their mobility, (3) the duration of their studies, and (4) the availability of jobs during and after their mobility period. These negative impacts occurred at a time when international students’ needs for work were heightened. This ‘double whammy’ was more pronounced among international students from lower socio-economic backgrounds, increasing pre-existing inequalities. It was also affected by students’ residency status and policy changes. These findings underline the critical role that temporality plays in shaping the returns to international student mobility. However, the existing literature on the topic is relatively sparse and has primarily relied upon qualitative approaches and rapid research. Future studies are needed to better understand the impact of Covid-19 on the labour market outcomes of international students.
This editorial, written by Norbert F. Schneider, who served as Director of the Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB) and publisher of Comparative Population Studies (CPoS) from 2009 to 2021, outlines the journal’s transformation during his tenure. Reflecting on the challenges the predecessor Zeitschrift für Bevölkerungswissenschaft (ZfB) faced, the strategic decisions made to reimagine the journal are discussed. Key milestones include the rebranding to CPoS, the transition to open access, the shift to an entirely English-language publication, and the adoption of a rolling publication model. Despite challenges, the journal has grown significantly, with increased international recognition and a solid ranking. On its 50th anniversary, the journal’s established position in the academic community of population research and demography is highlighted, emphasizing its commitment to high-quality publications and an efficient editorial process.
* This article belongs to a series celebrating the journal's 50th anniversary.
Urban groups. The city. Urban sociology, City population. Including children in cities, immigration
Practitioners seeking a suitable mortality model for forecasting population by age and sex are presented with many possible choices from the large and growing academic literature on mortality forecasting. Despite this abundance, there is relatively little practical guidance on selecting the most appropriate models for their needs. This study evaluates the accuracy of mortality forecasting methods and provides guidance on model selection. The evaluation includes eight methods from the StMoMo and demography R packages, and a benchmark extrapolative method based on the Ediev (2008) model. We also consider the accuracy of simple combinations of individual methods. We evaluate models by preparing mortality ‘forecasts’ for Australia for past periods using data obtained from the Human Mortality Database. For each method, we created five sets of 30-year retrospective forecasts and evaluated the accuracy of the forecast mortality rates, life expectancies at birth, and life expectancy at age 65. We also evaluated the accuracy of mortality forecasts in terms of projected total deaths calculated using a pseudo-projection method. The Age-Period-Cohort model from the StMoMo R package, based on the Cairns et al. (2009) implementation, was the standout performer in our evaluation, followed by the benchmark extrapolative method. This study presents a comprehensive evaluation of mortality forecasting methods using a variety of metrics, including a new way to evaluate mortality forecasts using a pseudo-projection method. We hope that this evaluation proves useful for practitioners looking to select a mortality forecasting method.
Urban groups. The city. Urban sociology, City population. Including children in cities, immigration
Carol Chan, Javiera Reyes-Navarro, Kalil Abu-Qalbein Koda
Abstract The term Nikkei emerged in the Americas, post-Second World War, to describe persons of Japanese descent living abroad. Based on an ethnographic study with Chileans of Japanese descent, we propose that Nikkei can be productively understood as an ethno-regional identity. Building on and departing from scholarship that focuses on Nikkei identities in Peru and Brazil in national/global/diasporic terms, we highlight the role of Nikkei persons and groups in Latin America in developing Chilean Nikkei identity and community. While some Chileans come to identify as Nikkei, others are unaware of or distance themselves from it. While definitions of Nikkei vary, Chilean Nikkei organizations are expanding their understanding of the term. We discuss diverse members’ responses towards such inclusiveness as they negotiate the consanguineous boundaries of Nikkei identity. In theorizing Nikkei as an ethno-regional identity and highlighting the role of institutions in the formation and promotion of Nikkei identity, we contribute to decentering identity politics from individual choice and recentering identity in processes of diaspora formation and community-making.
Katrin Schwanitz, Valeria Ferraretto, Agnese Vitali
et al.
Ideations and intentions are important precursors of actual behaviour but are still understudied in the literature on the transition to adulthood. This article provides a descriptive overview of ideations and intentions about the timing of four key events in the transition to adulthood – exit from the parental home, cohabitation, marriage, and parenthood – using cross-national representative data for 33 European countries from the Generations and Gender Survey and European Social Survey. Results show that ideations and intentions about the transition to adulthood are, like behaviours, gendered and display distinctive country differences. The analysis of age-graded ideations and intentions suggests a mismatch between the ideal and actual ages at which key events occur during the transition to adulthood. Young people aged 18 to 34 in Europe consider it ideal to start a non-marital cohabitation, marry, and become parents during their 20s but, on average, experience these events later than their ideal timeline. This mismatch is particularly pronounced among men and for the events of marriage and parenthood.
Urban groups. The city. Urban sociology, City population. Including children in cities, immigration
We propose a new method of determining regional and city boundaries based on the Valeriepieris circle, the smallest circle containing a given fraction of the data. By varying the fraction in the circle we can map complex spatial data to a simple model of concentric rings which we then fit to determine natural density cutoffs. We apply this method to population, occupation, economic and transport data from England and Wales, finding that the regions determined by this method affirm well known social facts such as the disproportionate wealth of London or the relative isolation of the North East and South West of England. We then show how different data sets give us different views of the same cities, providing insight into their development and dynamics.
Based on the latest three Chinese censuses and the population prediction model, we use four cartograms to reveal the population expansion and shrinkage across the prefecture-level cities in mainland China from 2000 to 2040. The cartograms demonstrate a difference in the spatial distribution of cities that expand and shrink in four decades. Especially, the cartograms reveal that the proportions of cities with shrinking populations in these four decades are 29%, 44%, 77%, and 88%, respectively, suggesting that Chinese policymakers need to adjust the former urban development strategies that prioritize population expansion.
This research sets out to analyse which factors hinder the attempts of migrants from Russia to combat disinformation about living in Finland – which represents the ‘West’ – through social remittances. This was looked at from the perspective of a particular case, ‘the child custody’ disinformation dispute. The research finds that migrants do actively try to shape the ideas that their friends and family in Russia have of Finland; part of this happens through discussion of the child custody case. The migrant interviewees had tried to provide information that differed from that provided by the Russian media and officials. However, they had found it difficult to change the perspectives and opinions of their friends and family through social remittances because of the strong foothold that traditional media outlets have in Russia, the perception of a strong East vs West dichotomy and a perceived mistrust of migrants and the things which they report from abroad. The study offers insights into the various factors that constrain the transmission of social remittances.
Colonies and colonization. Emigration and immigration. International migration, City population. Including children in cities, immigration
This paper analyses the changes in the involvement of Polish local governments in the system of public policies addressing the needs of forced migrants in Poland. The driver of such changes was the humanitarian emergency connected to the influx of Ukrainian forced migrants in 2022, which followed the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In a multi-level governance context, the article unpacks the policy-change process, discussing the interplay between the Polish public-policy system, the political context, the state polity, and local governments’ activity. During the humanitarian emergency, the external circumstances for local governments’ operations altered. Many local authorities attempted to expand their involvement, while sometimes questioning the inter-institutional power balance. The functional role – the scope of their responsibility and the activities that they undertake – of local governments in the discussed policy system was temporarily extended. Moreover, in the context of power relations between the actors of the policy system, their structural position vis-à-vis other stakeholders was redefined, as their agency and political impact increased. This article concludes that the above, mostly temporary, changes will have implications for the broader development of the Polish migration-policy system, resulting in Polish local governments inflicting greater political impact on such a system in the future, while also maintaining increased activity around policies addressing forced migrants.
Colonies and colonization. Emigration and immigration. International migration, City population. Including children in cities, immigration
The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1990 and EU enlargement in 2004 are two major political events in the recent history of the Central and Eastern European region. By systematically comparing the changes and differences in life expectancy at birth between the seven new member countries from Central and Eastern Europe and more advanced countries of the EU-15, this article attempts to identify the vanguards and laggards in the health convergence process before and after the 2004 EU enlargement. The results of decomposition analysis highlight the changing patterns of age- and cause-specific contributions to the differences in life expectancy. Finally, we focus on the variations in the progress in reducing the burden of cardiovascular diseases and external causes of death, which were known to be responsible for the long-term mortality crisis during the period of communist rule. Our findings suggest that the collapse of the communist regimes led to immediate positive changes in the Central European countries. At the same time, health disadvantages persisted and even worsened in the Baltic countries. Later on, joining the EU in 2004 was not accompanied by immediate systematic convergence of life expectancy. However, very rapid progress in the initially worst performing Baltic countries after 2007 and especially during the 2010s, may suggest a delayed positive impact of EU enlargement leading to decreasing longevity disadvantage. The convergence process after 2004 was generally slower in the initially better-performing four Central European countries. Despite these country-specific variations, Czechia, Poland, and, especially, Estonia remain clear health vanguards in the region. Further progress requires much more systematic efforts to combat cardiovascular diseases and the persisting burden of excess male mortality at adult working ages.
* This article belongs to a special issue on “Demographic Developments in Eastern and Western Europe Before and After the Transformation of Socialist Countries”.
Urban groups. The city. Urban sociology, City population. Including children in cities, immigration
Ronald Musizvingoza, Naomi N. Wekwete, Kudzaishe Mangombe
et al.
Childbirth registration in Zimbabwe has decreased over the years, yet the risk factors associated with this incompleteness have not been explored. This study investigates the trends in birth registration completeness and factors associated with the decrease in birth registration among children aged 0-5 years from 2005-2015. We use data from the, 2005-06, 2010-11 and 2015 Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey. Trends in birth registration completeness based on survey year were calculated and multivariable logistic regression models were used to estimate the predictors of birth registration. Birth registration completeness was 75.4 percent, 47.3 percent, and 43.8 percent in 2005, 2010, and 2015, respectively. Inequities in birth registration completeness become apparent when examined by wealth, urban/rural location, geographical region, maternal education, healthcare utilisation, and marital status. Child age, maternal education, marital status, household wealth status, residence, province, and delivery place were significant predictors of birth registration. Efforts to improve birth registration in Zimbabwe should target children born at home, children born to single and young mothers, and children whose mothers are poor and reside in rural areas.
Urban groups. The city. Urban sociology, City population. Including children in cities, immigration
With the development of the electric power system, the smart grid has become an important part of the smart city. The rational transmission of electric energy and the guarantee of power supply of the smart grid are very important to smart cities, smart cities can provide better services through smart grids. Among them, predicting and judging city electric power consumption is closely related to electricity supply and regulation, the location of power plants, and the control of electricity transmission losses. Based on big data, this paper establishes a neural network and considers the influence of various nonlinear factors on city electric power consumption. A model is established to realize the prediction of power consumption. Based on the permutation importance test, an evaluation model of the influencing factors of city electric power consumption is constructed to obtain the core characteristic values of city electric power consumption prediction, which can provide an important reference for electric power related industry.
Abstract To test the contagion effect of fear migration between countries, and to show its causality direction, our paper contributes to the economic literature by providing a new study based on migration fear indices quarterly data of France, Germany, United Kingdom and United States spanning period 1990–2019. Our empirical strategy is based on dynamic conditional correlation GARCH model and continuous wavelet transform analysis. Our results show a significant contagion effect of fear migration between the selected countries in pre and at the European Refugees crisis. The main findings of this work are changes level of conditional correlation in the two subsample periods, and changes in the arrow’s directions in red space of the phase difference between each two fear migration series. These findings indicate that European Refugees crisis changes the relationship between European Union countries and USA, and the Brexit changes the European people behavior towards migrants and refugees. Our findings offer a new directions and tracks in the international relations to the policy makers, moreover it calls into question the various studies examining economic interdependence and the contagion effect of financial crises and policies events on the different markets.
In this paper we demonstrate how one of the most powerful methods in mathematics and statistics can be used to optimally control and reduce traffics in smart cities. The main goal of the present work is to use the least squares method [5] to identify the best location of a portable drone station in a metropolitan city. By the best location we mean a location that is closest to traffic congestions and accidents that may occur on a daily basis. It is generally accepted that drones will play a key role in smart city environments in the near future. Drones will provide different types of public service, such as emergency response, disaster relief, and traffic control
Yves Achdou, Guillaume Carlier, Quentin Petit
et al.
We propose a simple semi-discrete spatial model where rents, wages and the density of population in a city can be deduced from free-mobility and equilibrium conditions on the labour and residential housing markets. We prove existence and (under stronger assumptions) uniqueness of the equilibrium. We extend our model to the case where teleworking is introduced. We present numerical simulations which shed light on the effect of teleworking on the structure of the city at equilibrium.
The provision of essential urban infrastructure and services for the expanding population is a persistent financial challenge for many of the rapidly expanding cities in developing nations like Ethiopia. The land lease system has received little academic attention as a means of financing urban infrastructure in developing countries. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to assess the contribution of land leasing in financing urban infrastructure and services using evidence from Bahir Dar city, Ethiopia. Primary and secondary data-gathering techniques have been used. Descriptive statistics and qualitative analysis have been adopted. The results show land lease revenue is a dominant source of extra-budgetary revenue for Bahir Dar city. As evidenced by Bahir Dar city, a significant portion of urban infrastructure expenditure is financed by revenues from land leasing. However, despite the critical importance of land lease revenue to investments in urban infrastructure, there is inefficiency in the collection of potential lease revenue due to weak information exchange, inadequate land provision for various uses, lack of transparency in tender committees, and the existence of poor documentation. Our findings suggest that Bahir Dar City needs to manage lease revenue more effectively to increase investment in urban infrastructure while giving due consideration to availing more land for leasing. Keywords: urban, land, revenue, inefficiency, lease, financing, Bahir Dar City
Data insufficiency problems (i.e., data missing and label scarcity) caused by inadequate services and infrastructures or imbalanced development levels of cities have seriously affected the urban computing tasks in real scenarios. Prior transfer learning methods inspire an elegant solution to the data insufficiency, but are only concerned with one kind of insufficiency issue and fail to give consideration to both sides. In addition, most previous cross-city transfer methods overlook inter-city data privacy which is a public concern in practical applications. To address the above challenging problems, we propose a novel Cross-city Federated Transfer Learning framework (CcFTL) to cope with the data insufficiency and privacy problems. Concretely, CcFTL transfers the relational knowledge from multiple rich-data source cities to the target city. Besides, the model parameters specific to the target task are firstly trained on the source data and then fine-tuned to the target city by parameter transfer. With our adaptation of federated training and homomorphic encryption settings, CcFTL can effectively deal with the data privacy problem among cities. We take the urban region profiling as an application of smart cities and evaluate the proposed method with a real-world study. The experiments demonstrate the notable superiority of our framework over several competitive state-of-the-art methods.