Demography

Objective

Classic demography is formal in its essence and describes with mathematical means the empirical structure of populations and their dynamics shaped by fertility, mortality, and migration. Social demography goes beyond the statistical description of a population and creates an interdisciplinary link to other, theoretically informed behavioral sciences with the goal of explaining central demographic and socioeconomic phenomena with social behavior and beyond.

In this course, we will learn about several important explanations for demographic behavior and trends at the population level (macro), the intermediate or meso level, and the individual level (micro). The topics that will be covered in this course include: demographic theories, fertility, mortality, morbidity, migration, urbanization, causality and demographic, and recent advancements in Social Demography. We will learn about different methodological approaches to address these topics and discuss available data sources.

After attending this course, students should be equipped with important analytical tools to understand the connection between the social world and central population and developmental indicators and have an overview over the current research frontiers.

Planning

Week 1: Population Size and Vital Structure

Week 2: Fertility and Family Formation

Week 3: Migration and Segregation

Week 4: Mortality and Health

Week 5: Inequality, Discrimination, and Population

Week 6: Conclusion

References