Advances in Cross-National Comparison: A European Working Book for Demographic and Socio-Economic Variables

401 Pages·2003·15.818 MB·English

by  Christof Wolf, Jürgen H. P. Hoffmeyer-Zlotnik (auth.), Jürgen H. P. Hoffmeyer-Zlotnik, Christof Wolf (eds.)

Advances in Cross
National Comparison
A European Working Book
for Demographic and
Socio-Economic Variables
Advances in Cross
National Comparison
A European Working Book
for Demographie and
Soeio-Eeonomie Variables
Edited by
Jürgen H. P. Hoffmeyer-Zlotnik
Centre for Survey Research and Methodology
Mannheim, Germany
and
Christof Wolf
University of Cologne
Cologne, Germany
Springer Science+B usiness Media, LLC
ISBN 978-1-4613-4828-3 ISBN 978-1-4419-9186-7 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-4419-9186-7
©2oo3 Springer Science+Business Media New York
Originally published by Kluwer AcademiclPlenum Publishers in 2003
Softcover reprint ofthe hardcover 1st edition 2003
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form
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Acknowledgments
Many colleagues and institutions have helped us to prepare this book. We
are indebtedtoall ofthem.
The Fritz Thyssen Stiftung (Cologne) was so kind as to finance a sympo
sium which we organised in 1999. Most of the papers presented at this
occasionhave been revised and are included inthis book. Asecond round of
papers were presented a year later during a session we organised in the
context of the Fifth International Conference on Logic and Methodology.
Again most of the papers presented at this occasion were revised by their
authors and are included in this volume. We want to thank all colleagues
who helped us and were in these two events. Especially those who were so
kind as to present and discuss their ideas with us and those who have
contributedtothis book.
Our gratitudealso goes to ESOMAR, theInternational Labour Office and
the UNESCO Institute for Statistics for granting their permission to reprint
material in this volume to which they hold the copyright. We are also
grateful to the Federal Statistical Office ofGermany and CEPS/INSTEAD
(Luxembourg) formaking their national versionsofthequestionnairesofthe
2002 pilot surveyofEU-SILCavailable tous.
Special thanks go to Rebecca Buller and Dagmar Krebs for translating
and proof-reading a number of articles. In addition we thank FRG, For
schung Raum und Gesellschaft (Mannheim), for its financial assistance for
this purpose.
We are also grateful for the support we received from GESIS-ZUMA,
Centre for Survey Researchand Methodology(Mannheim) and the Research
Institute for Sociologyatthe University ofCologne (Cologne).
Finally, our thanks goes to Joanna Lawrence and Joanne Duggan from
Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers,who encouragedus more than once to
carryon.
v
Contents
1. Measuring Demographicand Socio-Economic Variables in
Cross-National Research: An Overview
ChristofWolfandJiirgen H.P. Hoffmeyer-Zlotnik
Part I: HarmonisingDemographicand Socio-Economic
Variables: Objectives 15
2. HarmonisingData inOfficial Statistics:Development,
Procedures, and Data Quality
ManfredEhling 17
3. The ISSP and itsApproach to BackgroundVariables
MichaelBraun and RolfUher 33
4. HarmonisingSampling Framesand Indicators inInternational
MarketResearch:AGerman Perspective
Menno Smid and DorisHess 49
Part II: InternationalStandards for Demographic and
Socio-EconomicVariables 65
5. HarmonisationofSocio-Economic Variables inEU Statistics
LeneMejer 67
Appendix:EU-SILC Materials from the Pilot Study in2002
compiledby Uwe WarnerandJiirgen H.P. Hoffmeyer-Zlotnik 86
vii
VIII Contents
6. The ESOMARStandardDemographicClassification:A System
ofInternational Socio-Economic ClassificationofRespondents
to Survey Research
ESOMAR 97
Part III:International Instruments for Selected Variables 123
7. International Classification ofStatus inEmployment,ICSE-93
EivindHojJmann 125
8. International Statistical ComparisonsofOccupational and Social
Structures:Problems,Possibilities and the Role ofISCO-88
Eivind HojJmann 137
9. Three InternationallyStandardisedMeasures forComparative
Research on Occupational Status
Harry B.G.Ganzeboom and Donald1. Treiman 159
10. International Standard Classification ofEducation,ISCED 1997
UNESCO 195
11. The CASMIN Educational Classification inInternational
Comparative Research
HildegardBrauns,Stefani Scherer, and Susanne Steinmann 221
12. The ClassificationofEducation as aSociological Background
Characteristic
Jiirgen HP. Hoffmeyer-Zlotnik 245
Part IV: Suggested Conventions for Selected Variables for
Which Comparative InstrumentsDoNot Exist 257
13. How to Measure Sex/Genderand Age
ChristofWolfandJiirgen HP.Hoffmeyer-Zlotnik 259
14. How to Measure Race and Ethnicity
JiirgenHP.Hoffmeyer-Zlotnik 267
15. How to Measure Householdand Family
WalterBien and Holger Quellenberg 279
16. How to Measure (New) WorkSituations
BettinaLangfeldt 295
17. How to Measure Income
Uwe Warner andJiirgenHP.Hoffmeyer-Zlotnik 307
Contents ix
PartV: Cross-Cultural Comparisons: Empirical Applications 325
18. UsingCASMIN:The Effect ofEducationonWages inBritain
and Germany
Malcolm Brynin 327
19. Educationand Unemployment Risks among Market Entrants:A
Comparison ofFrance,the United Kingdom and West Germany
HildegardBrauns.Markus Gangl.andStefani Scherer 345
20. The Validity ofIncome Measurements inComparative
Perspective: Non-Responsesand Biases
ChristianHolst 367
PartVI: HarmonisingDemographic and Socio-Economic
Variables:Synthesis 387
21. Comparing Demographicand Socio-EconomicVariables Across
Nations:Synthesisand Recommendations
JiirgenHP.Hoffmeyer-Zlotnikand ChristofWolf 389
ContributingAuthors 407
Index 409
Chapter 1
Measuring Demographic and Socio-Economic
Variables in Cross-National Research
An Overview
CHRlSTOF WOLF AND JORGEN H.P.HOFFMEYER-ZLOTNIK
1. INTRODUCTION
In the context of cross-national research the comparative measurement of
demographic and socio-economic variables has not received much attention
in the social sciences so far. Though there are many books and numerous
articles dealing with measurement problems in cross-national research (e.g.
Kohn 1989;Lonnerand Berry 1986;Niessen and Peschar 1982;0yen 1990;
Przeworski and Teune 1970; Saris and Kaase 1997; Szalai and Petrella
1977), only very few concentrate on the specific problems of comparing
background variables across nations (a comprehensive discussion can be
found in Braun and Mohler 2002; discussions with respect to particular
variables are, for example, presented by Braun and Miiller 1997;Inkeles and
Rossi 1956; Schweitzer 1979; Treiman 1977). The main objective of this
volume is to help fill this gap, at least, with regard to comparisons between
European countries but many arguments made by the authors in this book
and most ofthe instruments presented here will also be applicable to coun
tries outside ofEurope. However, one should be especially cautious when
researching countries with totally different cultural traditions situated in
diverse developmental stages (lowell 1998; Kuchler 1998; Scheuch 1989).
Demographic and socio-economic variables, often also called back
ground variables, "contain information necessary to define homogeneous
subgroups, to establish causal relations between attitudes and societal facts,
and to define differences between scores on scales. Inshort,they allowus to
define contexts in which respondents' opinions, attitudes, and behavior are
AdvancesinCross-NationalComparison, EditedbyHoffrneyer-ZlotnikandWolf
KluwerAcademic/PlenumPublishers,NewYork.2003
2 ChristofWolf,Jiirgen H.P.HofJmeyer-ZIotnik
socio-economically embedded" (Braun and Mohler 2002: 112). Though we
will not make the attempt to develop a comprehensive list of background
variables (in this respect see Zetterberg 1965: 58-60), there should be wide
agreement that measures ofage, sex or gender, education, status in employ
ment, occupation, nationality, ethnicity, and household or family related
variables are all attributes that fall into this category. Even though back
ground variables play such a central role in social research, be it national or
cross-national, the measurement problems these variables pose are only
rarely addressed in detail and, as was mentioned before, books specifically
dealing with these problems are hard to find. With the current volume we
hope to improve this situation for those interested in cross-national social
research.
The main driving force behind the effort to edit this volume is our
conviction that instruments allowing the compatible measurement ofdemo
graphic and socio-economic variables are badly needed. The ever growing
number of European research projects and the fact that research today is
more and more frequently funded by European institutions (e.g. the Euro
pean Commission or the European Science Foundation) will increase the
demand for such instruments inthe future.
This book is primarily directed towards scientists involved in cross
national research such as the International Social Survey Programme, the
European Social Surveyor the World Health Survey. Although these
researchers come from various disciplines - e.g. sociology, political sci
ences, psychology, economy, epidemiology - they all have the common
problem ofharmonising the measures ofbackground variables in compara
tive perspective.Inotherareas ofresearch, especiallyin market research and
in the field of official statistics, there is a somewhat longer tradition of
working on harmonised measures. The globalisation of markets and the
process ofEuropean integration both resulted inpressingneeds for the com
parative measurement of demographic and socio-economic variables. We
have therefore included contributions from representatives of these two
researchareas in this volume, since we believe that they have much to add to
the topic presentedhere.
The title we have chosen, is intended to indicate our purpose to presenta
'working book', i.e. a book presenting the ongoing work with respect to the
measurement ofbackground variables and serving as a reference source for
this matter. Since this line ofwork is far from complete and a standardised
commonly accepted instrument for the measurement of background vari
ables is not in reach so far, the volume is not a handbook but only reflects
the developments achieved up to now. We hope to be able to update the
book periodicallyto extendthe discussion to more variablesand includenew
measurement instruments.
MeasuringDemographicand Socio-Economic Variables 3
2. GENERALASPECTS OFCROSS-NATIONAL
RESEARCH
To be sure, the harmonisation of background variables is only a relatively
small, although important aspect in cross-national research. Other problem
areas include the comparative measurement of opinions and behaviours,
sampling techniques, the mode ofdata collection, data coding and process
ing (for a recent overview ofproblems in cross-national research see Hark
ness, van de Vijver, and Mohler 2002). With respect to survey questions
regarding opinions and behaviours special translation techniques have been
developed that help assure functional equivalence ofindicators. Since some
excellent texts are available that cover these techniques we do not discuss
them in this volume (see, for example,Behlingand Law 2000; Harkness and
Schoua-Glusberg 1998;Mohler,Smith,and Harkness 1998).
Nonetheless, it should be stressed that in addition to translating survey
questions from one cultural context into another, questions concerning the
design ofthe studyhave to be solved.For instance, the comparabilityoftwo
or more data sets is only guaranteed if the sampling frames and sampling
procedures are compatible, e.g. random samples, and if the sampling is
carried out in a comparable form. Ofcourse, this depends on the kinds of
registers or alternative techniques available for sampling the target popula
tion in the countries involved and the comparability of these registers or
techniques. What makes the situation even more complicated is that the
optimal sampling approach not only is contingent on the target population
but also depends on the mode ofdata collection.Hence, comparable random
samples for telephone surveys differ considerably from samples for face-to
face interviews and these in turn differ from samples for mail surveys.The
mode ofdata collection does not only influence the sampling procedure but
has implications for the design of the questionnaire and the wording of
questions, too.Ofcourse, all these points do not only apply to international
research but also to comparisons of different national studies. However,
since national conventions differ in all ofthe above mentioned areas these
problems are more pronounced in cross-national studies. Consequently,
studies from different countries are only comparable in the strict sense ifall
ofthese problems are considered and every measure is taken to conduct the
studies in the same way. Obviously, this is an ideal situation that will never
fully be achieved. But it should be clear that the more the studies that shall
becompareddepart from this idealsituation, the less comparable they are.
General discussions ofthe different aspects ofsampling and data collec
tion are beyond the scope of this volume. However, in those cases where
these problems are directlyrelated to specificvariables they are discussed in
the respective chapters, e.g. in Chapter 18 in connection with the measure-