Conferences

UTokyo x Princeton Demography & Inequality in East Asia Series Should We Discuss East Asian Demographics using a Social-Stratification Framework?

Date
Wednesday, 17 March 2021 | 9:00 – 10:30 (JST)
Venue
Zoom Webinar
Language
English
Speakers
  • Hiroshi Ishida University Professor, Institute of Social Science, The University of Tokyo
  • James Raymo Professor of Sociology and Henry Wendt III ’55 Professor of East Asian Studies, Princeton University
  • Sawako Shirahase Professor, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, The University of Tokyo
  • Yu Xie Bert G. Kerstetter '66 University Professor of Sociology and the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies
Time Table
9:00 - 9:05
Opening Remarks
Speaker
  • Sawako Shirahase Professor, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, The University of Tokyo
  • James Raymo Professor of Sociology and Henry Wendt III ’55 Professor of East Asian Studies, Princeton University
9:05 - 9:20
Social Change and Social Inequality in Japan
Speaker
  • Hiroshi Ishida University Professor, Institute of Social Science, The University of Tokyo

This presentation discusses significant societal changes including industrialization and changes in class structure and demographic transformation and their relationships to social inequality in postwar Japan. It will examine how societal changes affected the opportunities of educational attainment and social mobility.

9:20 - 9:35
Changing Family Demography & Inequality Within and Across Generations
Speaker
  • James Raymo Professor of Sociology and Henry Wendt III ’55 Professor of East Asian Studies, Princeton University

Profound family change in Japan, including rising rates of divorce, bridal pregnancy, remarriage, lifelong singlehood and increasing variance in age at marriage and childbirth, raises important questions about the implications of these changes for inequality. To what extent are emerging family behaviors associated with educational attainment and other well-established dimensions of social and economic inequality? To what extent are they associated with individual well-being, particularly that of children? To what extent do these changes in family formation shape inequality across the life course, especially at older ages? High-quality social survey data, in conjunction with compelling theory, allow us to begin answering these important questions.

9:35 - 9:50
Social Inequality & the Economic Well-Being of the Elderly in Rapidly-Aging Japan
Speaker
  • Sawako Shirahase Professor, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, The University of Tokyo

Japan is the most aged society in the world. The speed at which Japan’s population has aged is one of the most important characteristics of its demographic transformation since World War II. Shirahase will present the basic statistics on this trend with regard to economic and gender inequality, as well as the family structure. She will also highlight inclusiveness as a potentially critical concept for linking social empirical evidence on inequality with policy debates.

9:50 - 10:05
The Impact of Economic Inequality on Social and Demographic Outcomes in China
Speaker
  • Yu Xie Bert G. Kerstetter '66 University Professor of Sociology and the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies

In this presentation, Professor Yu Xie first documents a sharp rise in economic inequality in contemporary China, drawing on newly available survey data collected by several Chinese university survey organizations. He then presents results from his research program on the impact of rising economic inequality on a variety of social and demographic outcomes in China: intergenerational mobility, mortality, marriage age, marriage partner choice, and fertility.

10:05 - 10:25
Audience Q&A
Speaker
  • Sawako Shirahase Professor, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, The University of Tokyo