Is the Millennial Generation Left Behind? Inter-Cohort Labour Income Inequality in a Context of Economic Shock

This paper provides new evidence on how intergenerational income inequality evolves during the period 2005-2019. Using the Continuous Sample of Working Histories (CSWH), which includes administrative data about working lives and personal characteristics of Spanish workers, we shed light on the effect of the Great Recession on income inequality between cohorts in Spain. As a proxy of income, we employ monthly earnings data, provided by the CSWH. From a life course approach, we use two age-period-cohort (APC) models which allow us to separately identify three components: cohort, age and period effects. First, we examine relative earnings which will reveal whether there are income differences between generations. Second, we measure how absolute earnings have developed over time. Our results suggest that some generations are more disadvantaged in terms of income by their year of birth than others. Likewise, the evidence points out that the economic context experienced by a generation in their transition to the labour market is a key factor in the development of their income.

Incidence trends of vulvar squamous cell carcinoma in Italy from 1990 to 2015

OBJECTIVE

The incidence of vulvar squamous cell carcinoma has increased for decades in most Western countries - a trend virtually restricted to women aged <50 or 60 years. In southern Europe, conversely, the trends have been insufficiently studied. This article reports a study from Italy.

METHOD

Thirty-eight local cancer registries, currently covering 15,274,070 women, equivalent to 49.2% of the Italian national female population, participated. Invasive cancers registered between 1990 and 2015 with an International Classification of Diseases for Oncology, 3rd revision, topography code C51 and morphology codes compatible with vulvar squamous cell carcinoma (n = 6294) were eligible. Incidence trends were analysed using joinpoint regression models, with calculation of the estimated annual percent change (EAPC), and age-period-cohort models.

RESULTS

Total incidence showed a regular and significant decreasing trend (EAPC, -0.96; 95% confidence interval (CI), -1.43 to -0.48). This was entirely accounted for by women aged ≥60 years (EAPC, -1.34; 95% CI, -1.86 to -0.81). For younger women, the EAPC between 1990 and 2012 was 1.20 (95% CI, 0.34 to 2.06) with a non-significant acceleration thereafter. This pattern did not vary substantially in a sensitivity analysis for the effect of geographic area and duration of the registry. The age-period-cohort analysis revealed a risk decrease in cohorts born between 1905 and 1940 and a new increase in cohorts born since 1945.

CONCLUSIONS

The decreasing trend observed among older women and the resulting decrease in total rate are at variance with reports from most Western countries. Age-period-cohort analysis confirmed a decreasing trend for earliest birth cohorts and an opposite one for recent ones.

Young cohorts of Russians drink less: age-period-cohort modelling of alcohol use prevalence 1994-2016

BACKGROUND AND AIMS

Young Russians have been drinking less alcohol, and fewer strong spirits in particular, in recent years. This study aimed to disentangle age, period and birth cohort effects for the first time in Russia to improve our understanding of these trends.

DESIGN

Age, period and cohort analysis of annual nationally representative repeated cross-sectional surveys [Russian Longitudinal Monitoring Survey- Higher School of Economics (RLMS-HSE)] using separate logistic models for each gender.

SETTING

Russia 1994-2016.

PARTICIPANTS

A total of 195 234 respondents aged 14-85 years.

MEASUREMENTS

Age (14 groups: 14-17 to 76+ years), period (21 years: 1994-2016) and birth cohorts (17 groups: 1920-24 to 2000-02). Outcome measures were 30-day overall and beverage-specific alcohol use prevalence accounting for vodka, moonshine, beer and wine. Controls were per capita income, education, marital status, ethnicity, residence type and regional climate.

FINDINGS

Controlling for age and period effects, the most recent cohorts had lower rates of participation than older cohorts. Findings were valid for females born in 1995-2002 (P = 0.000) and males born in 1990-94 (P = 0.002) and 1995-2002 (P = 0.000). The period effects were strong in 1994-2003 due to intensive substitution of beer in place of vodka. Period effects were also important in determining a decline of prevalence in 2008-15 due to restrictive alcohol policy. Age effects showed an inverse U-shaped trend in both genders, except for moonshine and wine. Overall, drinking profiles were beverage-specific. Models indicated diverse beverage-specific effects of income, ethnicity, education, marital status and residence on the prevalence of alcohol use.

CONCLUSION

The recent downward trend in alcohol use in Russia appears to be attributable to reduced participation rates among younger cohorts born after 1990.