Vegard Skirbekk
Dados Biográficos
| ID | 206812 |
|---|---|
| NOME | Vegard Skirbekk |
| PRENOMES | Vegard |
| SOBRENOME | Skirbekk |
| ASSINATURA | SKIRBEKK V |
| AFILIAÇÕES | Norwegian Institute of Public Health |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-1647-3246 |
| VERIFICADO | Sim |
| TOTAL DE OBRAS | 94 |
| TOTAL DE CITAÇÕES | 545 |
| TOTAL COMO AUTOR | 93 |
| TOTAL COMO EDITOR | 1 |
| PRIMEIRO ANO DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 2004 |
| ANO MAIS RECENTE DE PUBLICAÇÃO | 2026 |
| ÍNDICE H | 11 |
Secularization and low fertility
Previous studies have shown that secularization altered historical Western fertility patterns, but few studies have addressed the role of religion in the marked fertility declines in recent decades. We examine the relationship between secularization and fertility decline in Finland from a couple perspective, amid a broader trend of declining fertility. We show that secularization can exert a self-reinforcing negative effect on fertility through a…
The religious-secular earnings gap
Religious individuals tend to earn less than secular individuals. Existing explanations attribute this disparity to weaker career orientation among the religious, to life-course choices associated with lower lifetime earnings, or to earnings themselves influencing religiosity. Yet these accounts neglect a central determinant of earnings: cognitive ability. Cognitive ability is recognized as one of the strongest predictors of earnings and an attri…
The ratio of births observed to births needed
BACKGROUNDA stationary population may offer advantages for societal, economic, and ecological sustainability.It requires that the number of births aligns with expected deaths under given mortality patterns.However, reproductive rates such as the TFR are not designed to assess whether the number of births observed is sufficient to replace expected deaths, necessitating direct assessment of birth-death balance for population sustainability. OBJECTI…
A Concentration of Reproduction to Later Ages? A Worldwide Assessment of Trends in Fertility Timing
This study documents the concentration of childbearing to later reproductive ages, analyzing global patterns of fertility postponement from 1950 to 2040. We study late fertility (ages 30+) and very late fertility (ages 35+) trends at the global, subregional, and national levels using data for all countries and areas of the world since 1950 and historical data for eleven countries dating to 1850. The analysis reveals a significant shift toward lat…
Changes in survival probabilities and mortality risks among population living with Down syndrome born 1967–2018
While medical advancements and increased awareness have improved the life expectancy of individuals with Down syndrome (DS), studies on cohort-specific differences in mortality risk and long-term survival outcomes among individuals with DS remain limited. We assessed cohort differences in survival probabilities and mortality risk among individuals with DS born 1967–2018, using Norwegian national registry data. Utilizing the Medical Birth Registry…
Mediators of educational differences in dementia risk later in life
Despite a well-known inverse association between education and dementia risk, the mediating mechanisms are not well understood. We explored how lifestyle and health risk factors across the life-course mediate the relationship between education and dementia among adults aged 70 + years. We included 7,655 participants with dementia diagnoses and education information, using a historical cohort design linking prospective exposure data across the lif…
Bringing mortality back into our understanding of fertility change
This paper argues for the reintegration of mortality into studies of fertility transition by using net reproduction measures rather than solely focusing on total fertility rates ( TFR ). Accounting for mortality through metrics like the 2-Sex Net Reproductive Rate ( 2SNRR ) would change our understanding of fertility transitions globally. Using global data for 236 countries (1950–2023), the analysis shows that the 2SNRR -based fertility transitio…
Family structure, orphanhood, and adolescent sexual debut and motherhood
Is Religiosity Related to the Risk of Technology-Induced Job Loss
This study tests a hypothesis that religious individuals are less likely than non-religious individuals to work in occupations associated with a risk of technology-induced job loss due to a general tendency towards risk aversion as well as lower prioritization given to material rewards. It combines data on religiosity from a Norwegian large-scale health survey (HUNT4, 2017‒2019) with assessments of the risks of technology-induced job loss, as ind…
The nature of the relation between mental well-being and ill-being
Concurrent decline in teenage fertility rate and binge drinking? An observational study across 45 nations
Emerging costs in a “hidden” workforce
During COVID‐19 many informal caregivers experienced increased caregiving load while access to formal and informal support systems and coping resources decreased. Little is known about the psychosocial costs of these challenges for an essential yet vulnerable and “hidden” frontline workforce. This study explores and compares changes in psychosocial well‐being (psychological well‐being, psychological ill‐being, and loneliness) before and across up…
The double-edged sword of becoming a caregiver
Our study reveals that adopting a caregiving role often leads to significant psychosocial challenges, especially in intensive caregiving situations. However, it also uncovers potential positive influences on eudaimonic aspects of well-being. Future research should explore underlying explanatory mechanisms, to inform strategies that enhance caregivers' well-being
The Global Adolescent Fertility Decline is Counteracted by Increasing Teen Births in Sub‐Saharan Africa
There is a lack of understanding of the persistence of elevated teen fertility rates in certain regions and countries, in contrast to the significant decline observed in other regions globally. This report considers fertility trends among 15‐ to 19‐year olds in the period 1950–2020 and explores potential driving factors behind the significant shifts that occurred over this period. The countries where teen fertility remains high are those with fas…
Caregiving + Migrant Background = Double Jeopardy? Associations between Caregiving and Physical and Psychological Health According to Migrant Backgrounds in Norway
Informal caregiving can have detrimental consequences for physical and psychological health, but the impacts are highly heterogenous. A largely ignored question is whether these impacts differ with migrant backgrounds, and whether caregiving and a migrant background combine to create double jeopardy. We explored these questions using large-scale data that allows stratification by sex, regional background, and types (inside vs. outside of househol…
Job loss and psychological distress during the Covid-19 pandemic
Participants exposed to job loss during the pandemic experienced a stronger increase in symptoms of depression or anxiety compared to those who remained employed. Although higher education lowered the risk of losing work, it did not substantially diminish the impact on mental health from losing work
Does forming a nuclear family increase religiosity? Longitudinal evidence from the British Household Panel Survey
This study investigates how far the nuclear family-in terms of entering cohabitation and marriage and having a first and second child-affects religious salience, religious attendance, and activity in religious organizations. Previous research has shown that religious individuals are more likely to marry, and have higher fertility, than non-religious individuals. Less is known about how far the nuclear family also affects religiosity. This study p…
Childlessness Among Heterosexual Partnered Individuals
Finland has been a demographic forerunner in terms of the adoption of new family forms as well as family friendly social policies. Childlessness has nevertheless grown and, is high compared to many other countries. A large and increasing share of all persons who live in unions are childless. Using population-register data for the cohorts born 1952–1966, we study persons who were partnered at age 45 (n = 44,321). The aim is to analyse how marital …
Hearing loss, sick leave, and disability pension
This large population-based cohort study indicates that hearing loss is associated with increased risk of receiving disability pension, especially among younger adults and low educated workers. Hearing loss was weakly associated with sick leave
Marital Histories and Associations With Later-Life Dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment Risk in the Hunt4 70+ Study in Norway
Objectives: Earlier studies suggest that being married in later life protects against dementia, and that being single in old age increases the risk of dementia. In this study, we examine midlife marital status trajectories and their association with dementia and mild cognitive impairment (MCI) at ages 70 plus using a large population based sample from Norway. Methods: Based on a general population sample linked to population registries ( N = 8706…
The Decline of Spanish Fertility
Does Childbearing Affect Cognitive Health in Later Life? Evidence From an Instrumental Variable Approach
Cognitive decline is a widespread concern as populations grow older. However, population aging is partly driven by a decrease in fertility, and family size may influence cognitive functioning in later life. Prior studies have shown that fertility history is associated with late-life cognition, but whether the relationship is causal remains unclear. We use an instrumental variable approach and data from the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement…
Religiosity, Sex Frequency, and Sexual Satisfaction in Britain
Previous studies on the relationship between religiosity and sexual behavior have yielded mixed results, partly due to variations by gender and marital status. Furthermore, less is known about this relationship in relatively secularized societies, as in the case of Britain. In this study, we used data from the third British National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal-3) to explore the link between religiosity (11% of men and 16% of…
Trends in prevalence of blindness and distance and near vision impairment over 30 years
BACKGROUND: To contribute to the WHO initiative, VISION 2020: The Right to Sight, an assessment of global vision impairment in 2020 and temporal change is needed. We aimed to extensively update estimates of global vision loss burden, presenting estimates for 2020, temporal change over three decades between 1990-2020, and forecasts for 2050. METHODS: We did a systematic review and meta-analysis of population-based surveys of eye disease from Janua…
Cohort profile
NORSE participants have allowed their data to be linked to National registry data and midlife health examination studies and thereby provide a longitudinal design as well as information on disability status, socioeconomic status, household and marital status, support to/from children and parents, and pension status
Economic Recession and Fertility in the Developed World
This article reviews research on the effects of economic recessions on fertility in the developed world. We study how economic downturns, as measured by various indicators, especially by declining GDP levels, falling consumer confdence, and rising unemployment, were found to affect fertility. We also discuss particular mechanisms through which the recession may have influenced fertility behavior, including the effects of economic uncertainty, fal…
Fertility trends by social status
This article discusses how fertility relates to social status with the use of a new dataset, several times larger than the ones used so far. The status-fertility relation is investigated over several centuries, across world regions and by the type of s
The End of Secularization in Europe
Much of the current debate over secularization in Europe focuses only on the direction of religious change and pays exclusive attention to social causes. Scholars have been less attentive to shifts in the rate of religious decline and to the role of demography - notably fertility and immigration. This article addresses both phenomena. It uses data from the European Values Surveys and European Social Survey for the period 1981-2008 to establish ba…
Projection of populations by level of educational attainment, age, and sex for 120 countries for 2005-2050
Using demographic multi-state, cohort-component methods, we produce projections for 120 countries (covering 93% of the world population in 2005) by five-year age groups, sex, and four levels of educational attainment for the years 2005-2050. Taking int
Birth month, school graduation, and the timing of births and marriages
We investigated the timing of fertility and marriage in Sweden using exogenous variation in the age at school graduation that results from differences in birth month. Our analysis found that the difference of 11 months in the age at leaving school between women who were born in two consecutive months, December and January, implies a delay in the age at first birth of 4.9 months. This effect of delayed graduation also persists for the timing of se…
Policies Addressing the Tempo Effect in Low-Fertility Countries
The possible negative consequences of current low fertility levels are causing increasing concern, particularly in countries where the total fertility rate is below 1.5. Social inertia and self-reinforcing processes may make it difficult to return to higher levels once fertility has been very low for some time, creating a possible "low-fertility trap." Policies explicitly addressing the fertility-depressing effect of increases in the mean age at …
Secularism, Fundamentalism, or Catholicism? The Religious Composition of the United States to 2043
We provide a cohort-component projection of the religious composition of the United States, considering differences in fertility, migration, intergenerational religious transmission, and switching among 11 ethnoreligious groups. If fertility and migration trends continue, Hispanic Catholics will experience rapid growth and expand from 10 to 18 percent of the American population between 2003 and 2043. Protestants are projected to decrease from 47 …
Does Education Improve Cognitive Performance Four Decades After School Completion
We study the effect of secondary education on cognitive performance toward the end of working age. We exploit the exogenous variation in years of schooling arising from compulsory schooling reforms implemented in six European countries during the 1950s and 1960s. Using data of individuals, approximately age 60, from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), we assess the causal effect of education on memory, fluency, numeracy…
The future size of religiously affiliated and unaffiliated populations
People who are religiously unaffiliated (including self-identifying atheists and agnostics, as well as those who say their religion is "nothing in particular") made up 16.4% of the world's population in 2010. Unaffiliated populations have been growing in N
The End of Secularisation through Demography? Projections of Spanish Religiosity
This article presents the first projection, to our knowledge, of the intensity of religiosity in a population, which has a strong bearing on the critical question of the religious future of Europe. Spain has, in recent decades, simultaneously experienced rapid religious decline and marked demographic change through high immigration and declining fertility. To investigate future trends, we carry out population projections by religion and religiosi…
Social involvement, behavioural risks and cognitive functioning among older people
This study analyses the relationships between cognitive performance, social participation and behavioural risks, taking into account age and educational attainment. We examine individual data for 11 European countries and Israel from the first wave of the Survey on Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). The stochastic frontier approach methodology enables us to identify different sources of plasticity on cognitive functioning while taki…
Fertility Patterns of Native and Migrant Muslims in Europe
This study focuses on Muslim fertility in Europe. Evidence from 25 countries suggests that the Muslim total fertility rate is on average 47% higher than the national level. However, we find a significant difference in the level of fertility of native-born Muslims and immigrant Muslims. The native-born have a 19% higher total fertility rate, while immigrants have 62% higher fertility. Our main research question is whether religion is an important …
Is Buddhism the low fertility religion of Asia
The influence of religion on demographic behaviors has been extensively studied mainly for Abrahamic religions. Although Buddhism is the world ́s fourth largest religion and is dominant in several Asian nations experiencing very low fertility, the impact of
The Religiously Unaffiliated in Germany, 1949-2013
In this case study of Germany, we use repeated cross-sectional surveys to analyze the temporal structure, gender gap, and educational gradient of the unaffiliated in the post-war period in the West. The continuing institutional role for religion in the West and the rapid de-institutionalization and subsequent re-institutionalization of religion in the East informs the comparison of the unaffiliated in East and West since unification. Stronger age…
Old age expectations are related to how long people want to live
How long do people want to live? Why do some people want to live a very long time, and others would rather die relatively young? In the current study we examine the extent to which the preference to die young (
National Stereotypes of Older People's Competence Are Related to Older Adults' Participation in Paid and Volunteer Work
The results suggest that older people's participation in paid and volunteer work is related to perceptions of older people's competence independent of older people's actual competence
Does forming a nuclear family increase religiosity? Longitudinal evidence from the British Household Panel Survey
This study investigates how far the nuclear family-in terms of entering cohabitation and marriage and having a first and second child-affects religious salience, religious attendance, and activity in religious organizations. Previous research has shown that religious individuals are more likely to marry, and have higher fertility, than non-religious individuals. Less is known about how far the nuclear family also affects religiosity. This study p…
The Religious Composition of the Chinese Diaspora, Focusing on Canada
The religious composition of the Chinese Diaspora varies by countries with the highest Christian share in the Philippines (86 percent) and the highest Buddhist share (84.3 percent) in Cambodia. The religiously unaffiliated are more likely found in Vietnam (74.7 percent), Canada (70.1 percent), and Austria (63 percent) and less likely found in the Philippines (0.6 percent) and Malaysia (1.5 percent). A further analysis of high-quality Canadian cen…
The Decline of Spanish Fertility
Does Childbearing Affect Cognitive Health in Later Life? Evidence From an Instrumental Variable Approach
Cognitive decline is a widespread concern as populations grow older. However, population aging is partly driven by a decrease in fertility, and family size may influence cognitive functioning in later life. Prior studies have shown that fertility history is associated with late-life cognition, but whether the relationship is causal remains unclear. We use an instrumental variable approach and data from the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement…
Religiosity, Sex Frequency, and Sexual Satisfaction in Britain
Previous studies on the relationship between religiosity and sexual behavior have yielded mixed results, partly due to variations by gender and marital status. Furthermore, less is known about this relationship in relatively secularized societies, as in the case of Britain. In this study, we used data from the third British National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal-3) to explore the link between religiosity (11% of men and 16% of…
Forced migration in childhood and subsequent fertility
The family formation consequences of refugee movements is of relevance to international demographic development and for countries accepting forced migrants. Finland provides a unique opportunity to understand the long term effects of involuntary migration on subsequent family formation patterns using population register data. We study individuals who were aged up to 17 years when they were forced to migrate from Finnish Karelia, following the Sov…
The changing religious composition of Nigeria
At nearly 170 million inhabitants, Nigeria is Africa's most populous country by twofold and fertility levels remain higher than most other sub-Saharan African nations. Throughout the last several decades, the fertility gap between Christians and Muslims has widened with significant political implications for a nascent democracy. Where the Demographic Health Survey (DHS) survey of 1990 revealed a non-significant difference of 0·3 children, this fi…
Educational inequalities in obesity and gross domestic product
BACKGROUND: We test the reversal hypothesis, which suggests that the relationship between obesity and education depends on the economic development in the country; in poor countries, obesity is more prevalent in the higher educated groups, while in rich countries the association is reversed-higher prevalence in the lower educated. METHODS: We assembled a data set on obesity and education including 412,921 individuals from 70 countries in the peri…
Trends and determinants of the Flynn effect in cognitive functioning among older individuals in 10 European countries
BACKGROUND: Although cognitive performance levels in old age have increased in most countries, recent evidence documents a slowing down or even decline in cohort gains in highly developed countries. The aim of this study was to assess trends and determinants in secular cohort gains in cognitive functioning among older individuals and whether cohort gains are levelling off in most advanced countries. METHODS: Data for individuals aged between 50 a…
Birth month, school graduation, and the timing of births and marriages
We investigated the timing of fertility and marriage in Sweden using exogenous variation in the age at school graduation that results from differences in birth month. Our analysis found that the difference of 11 months in the age at leaving school between women who were born in two consecutive months, December and January, implies a delay in the age at first birth of 4.9 months. This effect of delayed graduation also persists for the timing of se…
Policies Addressing the Tempo Effect in Low-Fertility Countries
The possible negative consequences of current low fertility levels are causing increasing concern, particularly in countries where the total fertility rate is below 1.5. Social inertia and self-reinforcing processes may make it difficult to return to higher levels once fertility has been very low for some time, creating a possible "low-fertility trap." Policies explicitly addressing the fertility-depressing effect of increases in the mean age at …
Decomposing the change in labour force indicators over time
In this paper we study changes in the size and the composition of the labour force in five OECD countries from 1983 through 2000. We apply a recent decomposition method to quantify the components of the change over time in the crude labour force rate a
Fertility trends by social status
This article discusses how fertility relates to social status with the use of a new dataset, several times larger than the ones used so far. The status-fertility relation is investigated over several centuries, across world regions and by the type of s
Wirtschaftspolitische Herausforderungen des demographischen Wandels
Wirtschaftspolitische Herausforderungen des Demografischen Wandels
Social involvement, behavioural risks and cognitive functioning among older people
This study analyses the relationships between cognitive performance, social participation and behavioural risks, taking into account age and educational attainment. We examine individual data for 11 European countries and Israel from the first wave of the Survey on Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE). The stochastic frontier approach methodology enables us to identify different sources of plasticity on cognitive functioning while taki…
Projection of populations by level of educational attainment, age, and sex for 120 countries for 2005-2050
Using demographic multi-state, cohort-component methods, we produce projections for 120 countries (covering 93% of the world population in 2005) by five-year age groups, sex, and four levels of educational attainment for the years 2005-2050. Taking int
Secularism, Fundamentalism, or Catholicism? The Religious Composition of the United States to 2043
We provide a cohort-component projection of the religious composition of the United States, considering differences in fertility, migration, intergenerational religious transmission, and switching among 11 ethnoreligious groups. If fertility and migration trends continue, Hispanic Catholics will experience rapid growth and expand from 10 to 18 percent of the American population between 2003 and 2043. Protestants are projected to decrease from 47 …
The End of Secularization in Europe
Much of the current debate over secularization in Europe focuses only on the direction of religious change and pays exclusive attention to social causes. Scholars have been less attentive to shifts in the rate of religious decline and to the role of demography - notably fertility and immigration. This article addresses both phenomena. It uses data from the European Values Surveys and European Social Survey for the period 1981-2008 to establish ba…
Economic Recession and Fertility in the Developed World
This article reviews research on the effects of economic recessions on fertility in the developed world. We study how economic downturns, as measured by various indicators, especially by declining GDP levels, falling consumer confdence, and rising unemployment, were found to affect fertility. We also discuss particular mechanisms through which the recession may have influenced fertility behavior, including the effects of economic uncertainty, fal…
Fertility-Reducing Dynamics of Women's Social Status and Educational Attainment
Education, unlike most other determinants of social status, causes a significant delay in fertility timing and depresses fertility outcomes. It also operates as a self-reinforcing status-seeking spiral mechanism, with important consequences for aggregate fertility over time. Later-born cohorts of women, in order to maintain a given position in the education distribution compared to their same-age peers, must attain increasingly higher levels of e…
American political affiliation, 2003-43
The recent rise in identification with American political parties has focused interest on the long-term dynamics of party support. Liberal commentators cite immigration and youth as forces that will produce a natural advantage for the Democrats in the future, while conservative writers highlight the importance of high fertility amongst Republicans in securing growth. These opinions are not based on demographic analysis. We addressed this omission…
The Religious Composition of the Chinese Diaspora, Focusing on Canada
The religious composition of the Chinese Diaspora varies by countries with the highest Christian share in the Philippines (86 percent) and the highest Buddhist share (84.3 percent) in Cambodia. The religiously unaffiliated are more likely found in Vietnam (74.7 percent), Canada (70.1 percent), and Austria (63 percent) and less likely found in the Philippines (0.6 percent) and Malaysia (1.5 percent). A further analysis of high-quality Canadian cen…
National Stereotypes of Older People's Competence Are Related to Older Adults' Participation in Paid and Volunteer Work
The results suggest that older people's participation in paid and volunteer work is related to perceptions of older people's competence independent of older people's actual competence
Global, regional, and national incidence and mortality for HIV, tuberculosis, and malaria during 1990–2013
Global, regional, and national levels and causes of maternal mortality during 1990–2013
Global, regional, and national levels of neonatal, infant, and under-5 mortality during 1990–2013
BACKGROUND: Remarkable financial and political efforts have been focused on the reduction of child mortality during the past few decades. Timely measurements of levels and trends in under-5 mortality are important to assess progress towards the Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG 4) target of reduction of child mortality by two thirds from 1990 to 2015, and to identify models of success. METHODS: We generated updated estimates of child mortality i…
Global, regional, and national prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and adults during 1980–2013
Methodology of the Pew Research Global Religious Landscape Study
A comprehensive demographic study by Pew Research Center's Religion & Public Life Project estimates that there are 5.8 billion religiously affiliated adults and children around the globe, representing 84 of the 2010 world population of 6.9 billion who live in more than 230 countries and territories. At the same time, the new study by the Pew Research Center also finds that roughly one-in-six people around the globe have no religious affiliation. …
Yearbook of International Religious Demography 2014
The Yearbook of International Religious Demography presents an annual snapshot of the state of religious statistics around the world. Every year large amounts of data are collected through censuses, surveys, polls, religious communities, scholars, and a host of other sources. These data are collated and analyzed by research centers and scholars around the world. Large amounts of data appear in analyzed form in the World Religion Database (Brill),…
Abuse against elderly in India – The role of education
Our findings suggest that level of schooling among elderly is strongly negatively related to abuse against them. More members in the household reduces the chance of abuse while having a greater number of children increases the chance of abuse (neglect and verbal abuse). We find that education even after controlling for wealth and other relevant variables is the factor that most consistently lowers elderly abuse. However, the relation of education…
The End of Secularisation through Demography? Projections of Spanish Religiosity
This article presents the first projection, to our knowledge, of the intensity of religiosity in a population, which has a strong bearing on the critical question of the religious future of Europe. Spain has, in recent decades, simultaneously experienced rapid religious decline and marked demographic change through high immigration and declining fertility. To investigate future trends, we carry out population projections by religion and religiosi…
Does Education Improve Cognitive Performance Four Decades After School Completion
We study the effect of secondary education on cognitive performance toward the end of working age. We exploit the exogenous variation in years of schooling arising from compulsory schooling reforms implemented in six European countries during the 1950s and 1960s. Using data of individuals, approximately age 60, from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), we assess the causal effect of education on memory, fluency, numeracy…
A cross-country comparison of math achievement at teen age and cognitive performance 40 years later
Maintaining cognitive functioning through mid- to late-life is relevant for the individual and societal aim of active ageing. Evidence shows considerable stability in individual-level rank-ordering of cognitive functioning, but little attention has been gi
Population (59 obras) · Demography (57 obras) · Medicine (46 obras) · Sociology (44 obras) · Economics (28 obras) · Environmental health (28 obras) · Fertility (28 obras) · Geography (27 obras) · Psychology (24 obras) · Demography (22 obras)