Birth spacing and long-term health and mortality
A large body of previous work has suggested that both short and long birth intervals are associated with poor birth outcomes such as low birth weight and preterm birth, as … Read more
The myth of the sandwich generation in Brazil
Due to rapid and profound demographic changes, population age structure in Brazil has changed sharply in the past few years. Contrary to widespread belief, however, Maria Carolina Tomás, Everton Emanuel … Read more
Present and future of female genital mutilation/cutting in Europe
Although previously unknown among natives in EU28, the practice of female genital mutilation/cutting is a present concern for European policymakers. As many as 500,000 foreign-born girls and women in Europe … Read more
Women, demography and politics
Demographic variables, female-related predictors in particular, have an independent effect on political structure. Comparing different countries over time, when fertility rates decline, we observe a growth in democracy.Due to changes … Read more
Older workers in Latin America: better health but shorter working lives
Trends in labour force participation and health status of older adults in Latin America reveal a puzzling pattern: the greatly improved health (and labour) conditions of recent years have translated … Read more
New data on life expectancy and standard of living in France
Surprising as it may seem, even in developed countries, systematic and large differences in survival exist between rich and poor populations. In France, for instance, Nathalie Blanpain tells us that … Read more
Facilitating family enlargement in Europe through dual parental employment
Using European panel data from 2003 to 2011 (EU-SILC), Angela Greulich, Mathilde Guergoat-Larivière and Olivier Thévenon show that dual-earner couples are more likely to have a second child than couples … Read more
Child loss in Finland: does it induce divorce or additional fertility?
Together with Fjalar Finnäs and Mikael Rostila, Jan Saarela shows that in Finland the death of a minor child has only a modest influence on the parental divorce risk, whereas … Read more
Increasing longevity may counterbalance the negative effects of reproductive aging
Previous research has indicated that being born to older parents is detrimental for offspring longevity. However, the secular trend of increasing longevity may moderate or even reverse any potential negative … Read more
Advanced maternal age and low birth weight
The negative association between advanced maternal age and low birth weight has become progressively weaker over time in the UK (between 1958-2001). This pattern, as Alice Goisis explains, is partly … Read more
Sexual and reproductive health in Argentina: a right for everyone?
Mortality from sexually transmitted diseases has been declining too slowly and unevenly in Argentina, compromising the right to sexual and reproductive health with equal opportunities. This is confirmed by Eleonora Rojas … Read more
U.S. teen mothers’ smoking risk in adulthood
After following about one thousand U.S. teen mothers into young adulthood, Stefanie Mollborn, Juhee Woo, and Richard Rogers, found that these women are 2.5 times as likely as other women … Read more
Effects of first birth postponement and assisted reproductive technology on completed fertility
Two forces with a contrasting impact on fertility have typically been overestimated in both scientific writing and the popular press. A marked postponement of fertility (by four years of age) … Read more
Healthy grandparenthood: how long is it, and how has it changed?
In North America, grandparents live for longer now than in the past, and spend more years in good health, despite being older. However, Rachel Margolis and Laura Wright also find … Read more
How long do older Americans work?
Christian Dudel and Mikko Myrskylä study how the length of working life has developed in the U.S. since the early 1990s. While overall life expectancy has increased, there has been … Read more
Fewer consanguineous marriages of Muslims in Israel
Consanguinity has important implications for public health as it increases the risk of passing on autosomal recessive genetic disorders to the next generation. Thus, it is important that we learn … Read more
Internal migration and spatial de-concentration of population in Latin America
Little is known about the details of migration across the urban hierarchy in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Building on their recent work, Jorge Rodriguez Vignoli and Francisco Rowe … Read more
The rights of homosexual families in Europe: the LawsAndFamilies database
Starting in the late 1980s, new laws concerning same-sex unions were passed, first in Denmark (registered partnerships in 1989) and the Netherlands (marriage in 2001), and then in several other … Read more
Age, gender, alcohol, and traffic accidents in Brazil
According to the World Health Organization’s Global Report Status Report on Road Safety 2015, more than 1.2 million people die every year on the roads around the world, most of … Read more
Summertime, and the livin’ is easy … and longer
“Summertime, and the livin’ is easy” — so begins one of the most famous American songs, Summertime from the Gershwin brothers’ Porgy and Bess. Is the living really easier in … Read more
Retirement timing and grandparenthood in Sweden
In most Western European countries, retiring and entering grandparenthood are relatively parallel events for most individuals, with grandparenthood often occurring a few years before retirement (Leopold and Lechner, 2015).Does being … Read more
Thinking about the future: the four billion question
The “population question”, central to the debate about humankind’s future since the 18th century, has slipped away from center stage and fallen into a coma in recent years. The international … Read more
Global population, development aspirations and fallacies
The debate in this forum between Lam (2017) and Grossman (2017) concerning the outlook for the world’s next four billion people is opportune. Both essays highlight critical issues and make … Read more
Relationship stability is important for abortion decisions in Finland
In a recent study (Väisänen 2017), I examined how women make decisions to terminate a pregnancy within the wider context of their lives – including the state and quality of … Read more
Older immigrants’ living arrangements in the U.S. and sending countries
Older immigrants are more likely to share residence with their adult children and other family members compared to native-born older adults in the United States. Two major explanations for this … Read more
Dementia risk on the rise as old-age life expectancy increases
As America’s population ages, the number of Americans with dementia is increasing. Because people with dementia often need help with activities of daily living, the cost of caring for a … Read more
All U.S. states are becoming more racially diverse… for now
Universal patterns or trends are rare in demographic research. Yet we have uncovered one: since 1980, all 50 U.S. states have become more ethnically and racially diverse (Lee et al. 2017).Such … Read more
30 years of experience of the two-child policy in Yicheng, China
More and more countries have been adopting population policies to increase birth rates, in order to deal with the growing challenges of aging (United Nations 2013). Following the recent trend, … Read more
The pace of fertility decline in Sub-Saharan Africa
Global social changes that diffuse across the world from country to country often proceed most quickly in those places that start last. Change in the pioneer regions is delayed by … Read more
Parental leave uptake among migrant and native mothers in Belgium
Family policies such as parental leave schemes increasingly support the work-family balance. Although labour force participation has increased in recent decades among mothers in majority populations, maternal employment levels and … Read more
Half the world’s population reaching below replacement fertility
According to the most recent UN estimates (United Nations 2017), almost one half of the world’s population lives in countries with below replacement fertility (BRF), i.e. with a total fertility … Read more
Smoking inequalities in France and the United States
While public health officials worry about the distressingly high levels of tobacco use across the world, they increasingly recognize that smoking also worsens inequalities in health and life expectancy.Trends in … Read more
Women’s schooling, child mortality, and fertility in Sub-Saharan Africa
Over time, women’s educational attainment in sub-Saharan Africa has been increasing (Barro and Lee, 2013), while infant and child mortality have been decreasing (United Nations, 2015). Both changes have contributed … Read more
The world in which the next 4 billion people will live
I was pleased to read Professor David Lam’s N-IUSSP essay “The world’s next 4 billion people will differ from the previous 4 billion” (Lam 2017). He outlines past, present and … Read more
Poverty is falling faster for female-headed households in Africa
Living standards have risen generally, and poverty rates have fallen across Sub-Saharan Africa since the late 1990s (Chen and Ravallion, 2013). Less is known about how different groups have fared.In … Read more
Unstable union history linked to higher childhood mortality risk
The marriage-go-round can be a costly ride for children in post-industrial countries as family instability is associated with elevated risk of negative outcomes like teen pregnancy, depression, aggression, asthma, and … Read more
The Icelandic Saga. Fertility in the midst of delayed family formation
In European demography, Iceland has been an outlier until recently, with a fertility rate well above that of most countries on the continent. Between 1982 and 2014, the Icelandic total … Read more
Are U.S. whites ‘hunkering down’ in racially-diverse cities and neighborhoods?
America’s new racial diversity has upended conventional empirical approaches to residential segregation based on simple binary notions of the color line: white–black, white–nonwhite, or black–nonblack.Multiculturalism, pluralism, and racial hierarchy are … Read more
Migration reduces climate risk for many but not for all
As the consequences of climate change accumulate, many experts expect to see migration away from the world’s most impacted regions as people seek a climate and an economy that better … Read more
Immigrant receptivity and local area unemployment in the U.S.
Recent political events in many countries have made it clear that the receptivity of immigrants by destination area citizens is a contentious issue. Natives in arrival countries have demonstrated both … Read more
Children born to a lone mother and their well-being in the UK
Numerous studies have looked at the relationship between family structure and child well-being. Overall, the evidence suggests that children who grow up in a household with two married biological parents, … Read more
Sharing routine housework and desire for more children in East Asia
Low fertility levels have become a typical characteristic of industrialised countries where two distinct patterns are observed. A number of countries, especially in southern Europe and East Asia, have persistently … Read more
Fertility in the time of economic crisis
When uncertain about the stability of their present or future earnings or jobs, individuals postpone life-changing decisions. Scientific research confirms conventional wisdom and shows that the Great Recession that started … Read more
Persistent high fertility in rural Africa
The fertility transition, defined as a change from high and natural fertility (in a range of five to nine children per woman) to low and controlled fertility (down to two … Read more
Majority to minority: the declining U.S. white population
In this essay we document the demography of the decline of the white population in the United States, a country with a long history of white supremacy.Despite the fact that … Read more
Internal migration drives population change in Asia
The three giants of Asia – China, India and Indonesia – make up 40% of the world’s population and 49% of the population of countries defined by the United Nations … Read more
Surrogacy: a multi-faceted phenomenon
Although still rare among assisted reproductive technologies (ART)¹, surrogacy is a very controversial subject: some consider it as a new way to overcome infertility,others see it as a new reproductive … Read more
The world’s next 4 billion people will differ from the previous 4 billion
When the world population reached 7 billion in 2011, it marked the amazing addition of 4 billion people in just over 50 years, the world having attained the 3 billion … Read more
Family planning in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya
In Kenya, rapid population growth has occurred amidst poor urban governance and limited employment opportunities, leading to widespread urban poverty that is concentrated in informal settlements or slums. In Nairobi, … Read more
The rise of divorce, separation, and cohabitation in the Philippines
“What God has put together let no man put asunder”. This biblical quote is frequently heard among Filipinos, particularly among the older generations, to discourage young people from leaving an … Read more
Recent trends in premarital fertility in sub-Saharan Africa
Age at first marriage has been rising throughout sub-Saharan Africa for more than twenty-five years. The median age at first marriage has increased by an average of 1-2 years across … Read more
Think race and ethnicity are permanent? Think again
Add something else to the list of things that seem simple but are actually complicated – the way someone reports their race or ethnicity. In a recently-published research article (Liebler … Read more
Marriage is useless (for wages)
On average, in the United States, men earn more per hour when married than when single, even after adjusting for differences such as age and education. However, despite the suggestive … Read more
Recent fertility changes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is the third most populous country in sub-Saharan Africa, and one of the countries with the highest fertility in the world, at 6.6 … Read more
ISIS genocide of the Yazidi religious minority of Sinjar, Iraq
A UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry has determined that ISIS acts against the Yazidi religious minority of Sinjar constitute a case of ongoing genocide (OHCR 2016). While ISIS’s intent … Read more
Non-cohabiting relationships: mainly a transitional situation
Formerly synonymous with marriage, cohabitation has become a lasting form of union in France and this country is now among those where the practice is most widespread (Prioux 2009).Moreover, the … Read more
Population density interacts with sanitation to predict child health
Studies on child health in developing countries often find that children are healthier in urban areas than in rural areas. There are many reasons for this disparity. People in urban … Read more
Teenage immigrants fare worse than younger immigrants in Norway
Immigration during childhood represents an important turning point for future developmental trajectories, and the timing of this event (i.e., age at arrival) has an impact on later-life educational success and … Read more
Past fertility and living alone in later life in Spain
The prevalence of living alone during later life varies widely across developed countries but everywhere its recent growth has been remarkable, even in societies with traditionally strong family ties. Fertility … Read more
Increasing residential age segregation in Britain
The age differentiation of neighbourhoods is often viewed as natural, inevitable or unproblematic, with the view of particular places as appropriate for some age groups while others are not. Increases … Read more
First birth postponement and fertility in Europe
The postponement of first childbirth has been occurring in most European countries for some decades now. In public and media discussion, delayed childbearing is often rather glibly associated with the … Read more
How comparable are self-reported health data on the older population in Europe?
Europe has large projected increases in the proportion of older people in the population (United Nations 2013). Therefore, high quality, representative longitudinal data on the older European population are essential … Read more
The demography of Trump’s wall
A major feature of the presidential campaign of Donald Trump was his pledge to build a wall on the southern border of the United States that would stop once and … Read more
The economic and fiscal impact of immigration in the US
More than 40 million people living in the United States were born in other countries, and almost an equal number have at least one foreign-born parent. Together, immigrants and their … Read more
Will international adoption be replaced by surrogacy?
Until the 1960s and 1970s, infecund (sterile) Western couples who desired a child but could not have one of their own could usually adopt a child in their home country. … Read more
Does birth spacing matter for long-term outcomes?
In a study recently published in the journal Demography, my co-author Martin Kolk and I examined whether the length of spacing between births is related to long-term cognitive, educational, and … Read more
Marriage then the baby carriage?
The mid-20th-century was a Golden Age of marriage in Europe and the United States. People married early, usually in their early-to-mid-20s, and often, with over 90% of people marrying at … Read more
Eradicating induced abortion? Lessons from 20th Century France
In France, for two decades – roughly from the late 1930s to the late 1950s – induced abortion was not only prohibited, it was well and truly the target of … Read more
Childlessness in Europe
High levels of childlessness may seem typical of individualized modern societies. However, the phenomenon has been widespread throughout human history. From the Early Modern Period, marriage and childbearing were strictly … Read more
Assimilation and birth outcomes of Hispanics in the US
The immigrant health effect is a well-known public health fact observed in many advanced economies. Immigrants tend to be healthier than natives, though their health advantage erodes over time.In the … Read more
Vital registration in Africa: when will it be complete?
Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CR/VS) is an essential administrative system in modern societies. The registration of births and deaths defines a number of basic rights and duties, and is … Read more
Health effects of working beyond State Pension Age in England
Paid work in adulthood is generally considered beneficial for physical and psychological health and well-being (Woodell and Burton 2006) but its effects at older ages are unclear. Research on work … Read more
International differences in life expectancy gains (and in their cost)
Ongoing increases in life expectancies may slow the growth of living standards in developed countries. One reason for this is that reductions in mortality rates, which these days are generally … Read more
Does parental separation increase inequality of educational opportunity?
Our research (Bernardi & Boertien 2016a; 2016b) has led us to the conclusion that, while children growing up without one parent in the household do have lower educational attainment,family structure … Read more
In France, male managers live six years longer than male manual workers
We all die one day, but we are not all equal in this respect, because death tends to strike at different ages. Take men and women, for instance: in France, … Read more
Strong growth projected for Australia’s Indigenous population
Australia’s Indigenous population Australia’s Indigenous population consists of its Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Aboriginal peoples are estimated to have settled the Australian continent approximately 50,000 years agowhilst the … Read more
How does parental separation affect children’s day-to-day life?
Parental separation increases children’s risk of poverty The proportion of children experiencing parental divorce or separation has increased across Western countries. As a result, in 2014 about 16% of children … Read more
Gender quotas beat Italy’s “male gerontocracy”
A boost to female empowerment Women are underrepresented in top positions everywhere in the world. Even in countries where more women participate in the labor market, only a minority makes … Read more
Demographic dividend in Africa: macro- and micro-economic effects
A fashionable but controversial concept The ‘demographic dividend’ has become a fashionable concept over the past 20 years, and was the focus of the recent UAPS conference held in South … Read more
The geography of female-breadwinner and equal-income couples in Europe
An increasing number of couples today are dependent upon women’s labour income. Along with an increase in dual-earner couples, couples where the woman out-earns her partner are also on the … Read more
The 21st century – the century of centenarians
The emergence of large numbers of centenarians has accompanied the ageing of our populations. The number of people aged 100 years and over in England and Wales, for example, increased … Read more
Demography vs ethnography (or Understanding AIDS in Malawi)
Daniel Scott Smith, a historical demographer, said it well: demography has all the ingredients of the best novels, sex and death, but they hide the pleasure of the former under … Read more
Beyond mothers who father: the study of female headship
More than half of a century has passed since Edith Clark first wrote “My Mother Who Fathered Me” in 1957, a classic study on single motherhood (marriage, sex, and concubinage) … Read more
Are population policies effective?
Let us look at four types of objective that can legitimize population policies in a given context: reducing mortality (Vallin et Meslé, 2006), limiting fertility if the population is growing … Read more
What stops parents from having a second child?
Parents of one child are commonly confronted by the first child’s persistent pleas for a little brother or sister. However, they might be skeptical about satisfying their child’s request because … Read more
Demographic data are inadequate for many older Africans
Why do we need better data on older people? To accurately understand population change – its scale, speed, determinants and variants – we need accurate data on the age of … Read more
The shrinking population of Europe, ageing and productivity
Europe’s population is bound to shrink before 2050: according to the latest revision (2015, medium variant) of the UN (2015) projections, it will decline by 4.5% (31 million) between 2015 … Read more
Loneliness among seniors in Europe. Far higher risk in the East
Loneliness is widely perceived as a problem of old age, as part of “normal” aging. Research shows, however, that only 5 to 15% of adults aged 60–80 report frequent feelings … Read more
Neonatal mortality trend in Indian states, 1981-2011
According to the most recent estimates, under-five mortality¹ in India is decreasing, but the annual number of under-five deaths is still as high as 1.2 million, the largest in the … Read more
Bilan de dix ans de mariage universel en Espagne (2005-2014)
En 2005, l’Espagne est devenue le troisième pays de l’Union Européenne à légaliser le mariage pour les personnes du même sexe, après les Pays Bas en 2001 et la Belgique … Read more
China after the one-child policy: parents bereaved of their only child
In 1980, China launched its national one-child policy, in response to both a huge concern about the prospects of rapid population growth impacting on resources and a desire to increase … Read more
The emergence of the one-child family in India
The whole world knows and talks about the “one-child” phenomenon in China. Most of this discussion is tied to analyses of the one-child policy instituted by the Chinese government in … Read more
The drivers of children’s outcomes in Australia
Childhood has gained renewed attention from academics, researchers and policy makers, as evidence shows that this stage of life deeply affects future educational achievements and labour market success (Blanden, Gregg … Read more
In France, second unions now more resilient than first
If at first you don’t succeed … The first union used to be the one that would last “until death do us part”. The transformation in partnership behaviour emerging in … Read more
Better education has become a stabilizer of marriages in Taiwan
While divorce is usually lower in Asian than in Western societies, a drastic rise in crude divorce rates has been reported in many East Asian countries in the recent past … Read more
Which adult children live with their elderly parents in China?
Co-residence between elderly parents and independent, married adult children is a common phenomenon in East Asian societies. For example, according to the 2005 China Inter-Census Survey data, two thirds of … Read more
On marriage, happiness, and gender specialization of work
The married are happier and more satisfied with their lives than the unmarried (Verbakel, 2012; Gove et al., 1990). Yet, as divorce and cohabitation increase, we may be facing a … Read more
Migration background and parental leave uptake in Sweden
Introduction Family policy in Sweden is designed to strongly encourage parents (and especially women) to combine work and family formation. The parental leave system makes it profitable for people (women) … Read more
How women in South Korea juggle work and family life
Employment and childbearing are important stages in a woman’s life course. Their relationship is influenced not only by individual characteristics, but also by the socio-economic and institutional context. Availability of … Read more
Growing education-related disparities in length of life in the US
“Time and chance happeneth to them all. For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are … Read more