Advanced Introduction to Demography: (Elgar Advanced Introductions series)

Elgar Advanced Introductions are stimulating and thoughtful introductions to major fields in the social sciences, business and law, expertly written by the world’s leading scholars. Designed to be accessible yet rigorous, they offer concise and lucid surveys of the substantive and policy issues associated with discrete subject areas. Highlighting the power of multi-dimensional demography, this Advanced Introduction addresses the most consequential changes in our societies and economies using quantitative approaches. It defines three demographic theories with predictive power - demographic metabolism, transition and dividend - and repositions the discipline at the heart of social science. Key features include: Discussion of alternative demographic scenarios in the context of sustainable development Introduction of national human resource management as the population policy for the 21st century An outline of how the significant demographic theories discussed form the building blocks of a Unified Demographic Theory An argument for cognitive changes as the primary driver of demographic transition rather than changing economic conditions, demonstrated by the impact of changing educational attainment structures. This Advanced Introduction is a must-read for demographers around the globe for its concise summary of the concepts, theories and power of multi-dimensional demography, as well as students of demography at all levels. It will also be useful to academics in other social sciences, including human geography, development studies and sociology scholars interested in what state-of-the-art demography has to offer their fields.

Table of Contents:
Contents: Preface 1. Demographic concepts and data 2. Demographic theories 3. Education and cognition as drivers of mortality and fertility decline 4. Demographic futures and sustainable development Index

About the Author :
Wolfgang Lutz, Professor of Demography, Department of Demography, University of Vienna; Director of the Vienna Institute of Demography, Austrian Academy of Sciences; Research Group Leader, International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and Founding Director, Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital (IIASA, OeAW, University of Vienna) Austria

Review :
‘Wolfgang Lutz secured his place among the handful of the world's most influential demographers by decades of pioneering empirical research, theoretical exploration, and institutional leadership. This succinct book is a capstone to his contributions. Lutz envisions multi-dimensional demography (including age, sex and other attributes like education) as the foundation for a theory that integrates demographic metabolism (cohort replacement), the demographic transition, and the demographic dividend. Demographers, social scientists, and policy makers need to read this important book.’ ‘Wolfgang Lutz has put together his encyclopaedic demographic knowledge in this excellent Advanced Introduction. Far from being a conventional introduction, his central theme is that demography must have scientific rigour to offer “predictive power” for social change and human welfare. Three theories are key: intergenerational change, demographic transition and the demographic dividend, central to economic change. Thereby demography can become an “intervention science” to enhance welfare. Education, particularly of girls, takes centre stage. These ideas underpin a stimulating look at population change and the central issues of sustainable development and the global future.’ ‘Wolfgang Lutz is one of the most accomplished demographers in the world, and this book is a major accomplishment. Building on prior demographic research, including his and that of his research team, he creates a unified demographic theory importantly incorporating education into our demographic view of the world. This book should be required reading for everyone–not just demographers. I guarantee that you will better understand how the world works once you have absorbed what Professor Lutz is telling us.’ 'A masterful survey, analysis, and exposition. Studying this text will yield a broad and deep understanding of demographic theories and perspectives, along with the uses of demography, that is simply not attainable in any other two or three sources combined. Alongside, Lutz consolidates considerations of human capital--education and health--into the very core of demographic science, projections, and policy. Students equipped with this knowledge will understand the foundations of what they are doing as demographers AND what they are observing in the world as citizens. A remarkable achievement.'