ANU demographers taking homicide, migration insights to global conference

ANU demography research has found that homicides claimed the lives of more than half a million young men in Latin America and the Caribbean region in the decade to 2014.

Associate Professor Vladimir Canudas Romo’s research, conducted in conjunction with José Manuel Aburto of the Max Planck Odense Centre in Denmark, is among 20 papers which ANU demographers will present at the 29 October to 4 November 2017 International Population Conference in South Africa.

PhD candidate Qing Guan will discuss her research on the experiences of the Chinese-born student population in Australia since 1989, while Professor James Raymer will share his study into Australia’s migrant population growth between 1981 and 2011.

The Latin American violence study found homicide rates were highest in El Salvador (41.2 deaths per 100,000 people) and Honduras (90.4 deaths), and lowest in Cuba (4.2), and Chile (3.1).

“Evidence-based policy is pragmatic, it embraces policies that work and leaves behind those that do not,” Associate Professor Canudas Romo said.

“The so-called war on drug cartels has had an eroding consequence increasing homicide mortality and the perception of vulnerability in Mexico, as opposed to a truce between mayor gangs in El Salvador, which had major reductions in homicide violence.

“Thus, country-specific solutions are urgently needed in the region, and decision makers in Latin America and the Caribbean must prioritise investments on their young populations.”

PhD candidate Qing Guan’s study was the first of its kind to look specifically at Chinese migration to Australia between groups who arrived immediately before and after the 1989 Tiananmen incident, and 2001-2006.

She found humanitarian visa recipients comprised 71.8% of the first cohort, while 67.1% of the second cohort were skilled visa recipients.

Qing also examined migrants’ citizenship status as an indicator of their political and social inclusion in Australia.

“More than 90 percent of the 1988-93 migrants took Australian citizenship,” Qing says.

“By comparison, the proportion of 2001-06 migrants who did so was 10 percent in 2006, rising to 57 percent in the 2016 Census.”

Qing attributes lower citizenship rates among the newer arrivals compared to the first cohort to stricter permanent visa requirements, political unease in China after 1989, and that the 2001-2006 cohorts feeling more connected to their origin country.

Professor James Raymer and Dr Bernard Baffour’s paper examines 30 years of data on immigrant population change in Australia with a focus on “subsequent migration,” or the internal migration of immigrant populations.

In their analysis, they compare the internal migration patterns of the Australian-born population with those of immigrants born in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, China, and India.   

“Migrants born in China and India have strong preferences for remaining in Sydney and Melbourne and also choosing these locations as a subsequent destination if residing elsewhere in Australia,” they wrote.

“Migrants from New Zealand have a clear preference for resettling in Southeast Queensland (Brisbane), while Perth is especially attractive for immigrants born in the United Kingdom, followed closely by Sydney and Brisbane.”

They also found Australians and immigrants residing in regional areas of Australia were more likely to migrant internally than those in cities.

“Studying why this is occurring and the implications for regional development and society should be a high priority for the Australian government,” the authors added.

Other studies by ANU demographers to be presented at the conference that's held every four years include maternal work hours and children’s mental health and behaviour, premarital sex and pregnancy in Jakarta, and health expectancy of older people in Indonesia and the Philippines.

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