Re-Examining the Fertility Assumptions for Pacific Asia in the UN's 2010 World Population Prospects

Re-Examining the Fertility Assumptions for Pacific Asia in the UN's 2010 World Population Prospects

Author: Stuart Basten

Publisher:

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13:

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Pacific Asia is currently home to some of the lowest fertility rates - and hence the fastest aging populations - in the world. This Barnett Paper presents a systematic overview of both the reasons for this low fertility, and why it is unlikely to increase markedly in the near future. As well as a comprehensive review of scholarly opinion, the paper examines the uniquely low fertility ideals in the region; the results of a global survey of population experts on the future of Asian fertility; the assumptions of local statistical offices and the theoretical background of 'feedback' effects. Furthermore, the paper includes an extended discussion on the prospects for immediate fertility increase in China. This Barnett Paper systematically challenges the assumptions presented by the United Nations in their most recent global population projections which are based upon statistical models, suggesting that any assumption of fertility increase is profoundly Eurocentric and ignores the unique demographic experience of Pacific Asia over the past four decades. As such, the theoretical contribution of the text is to challenge the universality of a two-child norm as an endpoint to fertility transition. This is then considered in the context of other countries in South and South-East Asia who are in the midst of rapid fertility decline. The main policy conclusion of the paper, meanwhile, is that any assumption of an immediate increase in fertility could be extremely counter-productive in terms of leading to complacency among policymakers. Indeed, the paper argues that radical family policy interventions as well as huge cultural shifts in work-life balance and gender roles will be the only way to challenge such low fertility.


World Population Prospects 2019: Highlights

World Population Prospects 2019: Highlights

Author: United Nations Publications

Publisher:

Published: 2019

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9789211483161

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The United Nations population estimates and projections form a comprehensive set of demographic data to assess population trends at the global, regional and national levels. They are used in the calculation of many of the key development indicators commonly used by the United Nations system, including for more than one third of the indicators used to monitor progress towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. The 2019 revision of the World Population Prospects is the twenty-sixth edition of the official United Nations population estimates and projections, which have been prepared since 1951 by the Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs. The 2019 revision presents population estimates from 1950 until the present for 235 countries or areas, which have been developed through country-specific analyses of historical demographic trends. It builds on previous revisions by incorporating additional results from the 2010 and 2020 rounds of national population censuses as well as information from vital registration and recent nationally representative household sample surveys. The 2019 revision also presents population projections to the year 2100 that reflect a range of plausible outcomes at the global, regional and country levels. These Highlights summarise key population trends described by the estimates and projections presented in World Population Prospects 2019.


Routledge Handbook of Asian Demography

Routledge Handbook of Asian Demography

Author: Zhongwei Zhao

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2017-12-14

Total Pages: 717

ISBN-13: 1351373447

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Home to close to 60 per cent of the world’s population, Asia is the largest and by far the most populous continent. It is also extremely diverse, physically and culturally. Asian countries and regions have their own distinctive histories, cultural traditions, religious beliefs and political systems, and they have often pursued different routes to development. Asian populations also present a striking array of demographic characteristics and stages of demographic transition. This handbook is the first to provide a comprehensive study of population change across the whole of Asia. Comprising 28 chapters by more than 40 international experts this handbook examines demographic transitions on the continent, their considerable variations, their causes and consequences, and their relationships with a wide range of social, economic, political and cultural processes. Major topics covered include: population studies and sources of demographic data; historical demography; family planning and fertility decline; sex preferences; mortality changes; causes of death; HIV/AIDS; population distribution and migration; urbanization; marriage and family; human capital and labour force; population ageing; demographic dividends; political demography; population and environment; and Asia’s demographic future. This handbook provides an authoritative and comprehensive reference for researchers, policymakers, academics, students and anyone who is interested in population change in Asia and the world.


The Demographic Dividend

The Demographic Dividend

Author: David Bloom

Publisher: Rand Corporation

Published: 2003-02-13

Total Pages: 127

ISBN-13: 0833033735

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

There is long-standing debate on how population growth affects national economies. A new report from Population Matters examines the history of this debate and synthesizes current research on the topic. The authors, led by Harvard economist David Bloom, conclude that population age structure, more than size or growth per se, affects economic development, and that reducing high fertility can create opportunities for economic growth if the right kinds of educational, health, and labor-market policies are in place. The report also examines specific regions of the world and how their differing policy environments have affected the relationship between population change and economic development.


Low and Lower Fertility

Low and Lower Fertility

Author: Ronald R. Rindfuss

Publisher: Springer

Published: 2015-10-12

Total Pages: 190

ISBN-13: 3319214829

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This volume examines two distinct low fertility scenarios that have emerged in economically advanced countries since the turn of the 20th century: one in which fertility is at or near replacement-level and the other where fertility is well below replacement. It explores the way various institutions, histories and cultures influence fertility in a diverse range of countries in Asia, Europe, North America and Australia. The book features invited papers from the Conference on Low Fertility, Population Aging and Population Policy, held December 2013 and co-sponsored by the East-West Center and the Korea Institute for Health and Social Affairs (KIHASA). It first presents an overview of the demographic and policy implications of the two low fertility scenarios. Next, the book explores five countries currently experiencing low fertility rates: China, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and South Korea. It then examines three countries that have close to replacement-level fertility: Australia, the Netherlands and the United States. Each country is featured in a separate chapter written by a demographer with expert knowledge in the area. Very low fertility is linked to a number of conditions countries face, including a declining population size. At the same time, low fertility and its effect on the age structure, threatens social welfare policies. This book goes beyond the technical to examine the core institutional, policy and cultural factors behind this increasingly important issue. It helps readers to make cross-country comparisons and gain insight into how diverse institutions, policies and culture shape fertility levels and patterns.


Completing the Fertility Transition

Completing the Fertility Transition

Author:

Publisher: United Nations Publications

Published: 2009

Total Pages: 507

ISBN-13: 9789211513707

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This series focuses on population studies carried out by the United Nations, its specialized agencies and other organizations. This issue deals with the guidelines for the projection of fertility. The publication aims to increase understanding of likely fertility trends in the diverse countries of the world.


World Fertility and Family Planning 2020: Highlights

World Fertility and Family Planning 2020: Highlights

Author: United Nations

Publisher:

Published: 2021-01-06

Total Pages: 40

ISBN-13: 9789211483215

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The main contents are key findings and messages regarding the relationship between contraceptive use and fertility, for 195 countries or areas of the world. These highlights will draw mainly from World Population Prospects 2019, and model-based estimates and projections of family planning indicators 2019. Policy-related implications of and responses to trends in family planning and fertility will be integrated throughout the text. In particular, these issues are of relevance for contextualizing Sustainable Development Goals 3.7.1. and 3.7.2. and the achievement of the 2030 Agenda.


World Population & Human Capital in the Twenty-First Century

World Population & Human Capital in the Twenty-First Century

Author: Wolfgang Lutz

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2017-10-20

Total Pages: 777

ISBN-13: 0192542842

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Condensed into a detailed analysis and a selection of continent-wide datasets, this revised edition of World Population & Human Capital in the Twenty-First Century addresses the role of educational attainment in global population trends and models. Presenting the full chapter text of the original edition alongside a concise selection of data, it summarizes past trends in fertility, mortality, migration, and education, and examines relevant theories to identify key determining factors. Deriving from a global survey of hundreds of experts and five expert meetings on as many continents, World Population & Human Capital in the Twenty-First Century: An Overview emphasizes alternative trends in human capital, new ways of studying ageing and the quantification of alternative population, and education pathways in the context of global sustainable development. It is an ideal companion to the county specific online Wittgenstein Centre Data Explorer.


Why Demography Matters

Why Demography Matters

Author: Danny Dorling

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons

Published: 2017-12-08

Total Pages: 224

ISBN-13: 0745698441

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Demography is not destiny. As Giacomo Casanova explained over two centuries ago: 'There is no such thing as destiny. We ourselves shape our own lives.' Today we are shaping them and our societies more than ever before. Globally, we have never had fewer children per adult: our population is about to stabilize, though we do not know when or at what number, or what will happen after that. It will be the result of billions of very private decisions influenced in turn by multiple events and policies, some more unpredictable than others. More people are moving further around the world than ever before: we too often see that as frightening, rather than as indicating greater freedom. Similarly, we too often lament greater ageing, rather than recognizing it as a tremendous human achievement with numerous benefits to which we must adapt. Demography comes to the fore most positively when we see that we have choices, when we understand variation and when we are not deterministic in our prescriptions. The study of demography has for too long been dominated by pessimism and inhuman, simplistic accounting. As this fascinating and persuasive overview demonstrates, how we understand our demography needs to change again.


Development in an Ageing World

Development in an Ageing World

Author: United Nations. Department of Economic and Social Affairs

Publisher:

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 216

ISBN-13: 9789211091540

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Greater longevity is an indicator of human progress in general. Increased life expectancy and lower fertility rates are changing the population structure worldwide in a major way: the proportion of older persons is rapidly increasing, a process known as population ageing. The process is inevitable and is already advanced in developed countries and progressing quite rapidly in developing ones. The 2007 Survey analyses the implications of population ageing for social and economic development around the world, while recognising that it offers both challenges and opportunities. Among the most pressing issues is that arising from the prospect of a smaller labour force having to support an increasingly larger older population. Paralleling increased longevity are the changes in intergenerational relationships that may affect the provision of care and income security for older persons, particularly in developing countries where family transfers play a major role. At the same time, it is also necessary for societies to fully recognise and better harness the productive and social contributions that older persons can make but are in many instances prevented from making. The Survey argues that the challenges are not insurmountable, but that societies everywhere need to put in place the policies required to confront those challenges effectively and to ensure an adequate standard of living for each of their members, while respecting and promoting the contribution and participation of all.