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‘Migration and globalization’ shows how international migration is an important dimension of globalization. Growing developmental, demographic, and democratic disparities provide powerful incentives to move and the segmentation of labour markets in richer countries is creating increasing demand for migrant workers there. Migration has been facilitated by revolutions in communications and transport; the development of migration networks; and the establishment of rights and entitlements for migrant workers. The growth of a migration industry adds further momentum to international migration, even where it is not officially permitted. There are more reasons and additional means to migrate than ever before. ...Less

How we interact with others, with the physical and social environment, as well as how well we cope with life events, role changes, and positive and negative stresses all affect how we age. Later life is also intimately connected to, and affected by, circumstances and decisions earlier in life. Social support and engagement are critical for physical and emotional well-being. ‘Social and interpersonal aspects of ageing’ explores ageing in a social and societal context. The ways in which older adults engage with younger cohorts and their contribution to their family, communities, and society more broadly have changed over time and have also been affected by social and technological advances. ...Less

‘A demographer’s toolbox’ looks at the tools, models, methods, assumptions, and uncertainties within the practice of demography. Demographers need to know that they are really finding out the things they want to know and that their methods and sources of data are robust and are accurately answering their questions. There are four main sources of demographic data: census, registration records, surveys, and ethnographic material. The 1980s and 1990s saw an increasingly sophisticated adoption of mathematical models, needed to cope with the growing availability of demographic data. The arrival of modern computing methods also transformed the power of demographic analysis. Recently, probability, competing risks, hazard functions, and bio-markers have been added to the demographer’s toolbox. ...Less

How has the construct of ageing, and attitudes towards it, changed over time? How have human beings from various historical epochs, cultures, and perspectives viewed ageing? What impact have these views about ageing had on individuals and our broader society? ‘Ageing, a brief history’ considers these questions and shows that from the ancient world to the modern there have been conflicting views on ageing. It examines historical trends in longevity and lifespan, and factors influencing life expectancy and ageing. We are now at a point in history where the number of individuals over the age of 65 will surpass those aged 5 and under, across the developed and developing world. ...Less

The size, growth, density, distribution, and age structure or composition of a population is broadly dependent on three drivers: fertility (numbers of births), mortality (number of deaths), and migration (number of moves in and out of that population). ‘The drivers’ explores the ideas behind our understanding of these drivers on which most demographic analysis is focused. It explains that the main measures of fertility in a population are the Crude Birth Rate and the Total Fertility Rate. The main measures of mortality are the Crude Death Rate and life expectancy. Migration is different in that while mortality and fertility are typically studied within a closed population, migration introduces the notion of an open population. ...Less

Population policies aim to modify the growth rate, composition, or distribution of a population. In practice, they can be explicit or implicit. The two main areas in which governments attempt to control or influence through population polices are fertility and migration. ‘Population policies and future challenges’ also considers some key population challenges of the 21st century. Will fertility rates fall to replacement in sub-Saharan Africa? What is the relationship between environment, population, and consumption in different parts of the world? How will we feed and provide water for the projected 9 or 10 billion of us by 2050? What will be the impact of the ageing of the world’s population and of technological change? ...Less

The demographic transition is regarded as a centrepiece of demography. It is the series of changes that occur as countries evolve from a stable state of high mortality and high fertility to one of low mortality and low fertility, but its timing and drivers are strongly debated. ‘The demographic transition—centrepiece of demography’ explains that demographic transition theory can be divided into three broad components: first, the changes over time in mortality and fertility, based on clear data and therefore generally uncontested; second, and the most controversial, the construction of causal models to explain the timing, pace, and drivers of these changes; and third, the attempt to predict future changes especially for countries of the South. ...Less

While most of the social science disciplines deal with people, some have developed a specific interest in demographic analysis and demographic theories, and these have been formalized into sub-disciplines of demography. In many cases they represent a merging of an area within the main discipline of demography. ‘Sub-disciplines arise’ looks at several of these sub-disciplines in turn: anthropological demography, bio-demography, economic demography (or population economics), family demography, historical demography, mathematical demography, palaeodemography, population geography (or spatial demography), population studies, and social demography. These all now form part of a broad field of population studies that analyse the relationships between economic, social, cultural, and biological processes influencing a population. ...Less