From the Desk of the Chief Editor

Abstract

We are pleased to launch the June 2017 issue (2nd issue) of the third volume of our journal, viz. Social Science Spectrum. With this issue, our journal enters into the double-digit mark (in terms of number of issues published since inception). The present issue is a bit slim in terms of volume, though in terms of content, the issue is rich and covers some interesting articles. In the first article of the issue, Kruse discusses the state of old age care in Sweden, a country known as one of the leading welfare states in the world. The author discusses the role of three institutions – notably, family, market and the state – in providing the old age care in Sweden. In the second article of the issue, Singh et. al. focus on under utilization of public health facilities and health insurance among urban poor in three emerging cities, viz. Bhubaneswar, Jaipur and Pune, using data from 5720 households. The remaining two papers have one thing in common: both are regional studies on health economics and demography with respect to North-South divide in the country. While Patel and Gouda in their paper examine the differentials and determinants of IMR in Northern and Southern regions of India, Yadav, Singh and Viswakarma discuss the changes in marriage patterns in Northern and Southern parts of India and find that ‘changes in marriage pattern have occurred in both the regions, but the transition in Northern region is rapid compared with the South’. We hope the researchers will find key insights and information in all these papers and the social scientists, especially the demographers, and persons from medical and health science would find the coverage useful. I, on behalf of the Social Science Spectrum fraternity, acknowledge our gratitude to all our well-wishers, editors, and contributors for showing patience and reposing faith on us; their cooperation has given us courage to scale new heights.