20234 - POPULATION DYNAMICS AND ECONOMICS
Department of Social and Political Sciences
Course taught in English
Go to class group/s: 31
ACME (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-S/04) - AFM (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-S/04) - AI (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-S/04) - CLMG (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-S/04) - DSBA (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-S/04) - EMIT (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-S/04) - ESS (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-S/04 | STAT-03/A) - FIN (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-S/04) - GIO (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-S/04) - IM (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-S/04) - MM (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-S/04) - PPA (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-S/04) - TS (6 credits - I sem. - OP | SECS-S/04)
Course Director:
ARNSTEIN AASSVE
ARNSTEIN AASSVE
Suggested background knowledge
There are no specific prerequisites for this course, though it is helpful to have a decent knowledge of statistics, some experience of data management and use of statistical software packages. You will however be OK even if you do not have that background.
Mission & Content Summary
MISSION
The interplay between demographic change and economic and societal development has never been more consequential. Fertility decline and rapid population ageing are reshaping Europe, East Asia, and increasingly middle-income countries including China and India. Persistent high fertility and youth bulges characterise much of sub-Saharan Africa. Large-scale migration connects the Global South to the Global North. And overlapping crises - armed conflict, climate change, economic disruption - compound these dynamics in ways demographers now study under the concept of the polycrisis.
This course offers a graduate-level introduction combining formal demographic methods with engagement with contemporary research frontiers. It is divided into two parts.
The first part covers core demographic tools: fertility, mortality, and migration measurement; life tables and stable population theory; population projections; and actuarial methods with applications to pension systems and health economics.
The second part addresses cutting-edge questions including the demography of the polycrisis, transitions to adulthood under uncertainty, reproductive choice, and the consequences of ageing for welfare states and intergenerational equity. A central concept is demographic resilience — how individuals and institutions absorb, adapt to, and transform in response to demographic shocks. Students will leave with a firm grounding in demographic methods, global population trends, and relevant deb
CONTENT SUMMARY
The key themes of the course are:
- Population structure and demographic processes (fertility, mortality, migration).
- Life expectancy, mortality and inequality.
- Actuarial techniques
- COVID-19, Climate change, Armed conflict
- Fertility trends
- Poverty and fertility
- Cultural and institutional aspects of population dynamics
- Family change: women's revolution, labor force participation and gender equality.
- Resilience, recessions and population change
- Digital demography
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILO)
KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
At the end of the course student will be able to...
- Explain and estimate the basic concepts and measures of population structure.
- Describe the processes of births, migration and deaths in historical and current perspective (the demographic transition).
- Estimate age distributions and illustrate its relevance for the economy.
- Describe and estimate measurements of fertility, and distinguish postponement and tempo effects.
- Describe the role of fertility for economic development.
- Describe international patterns of migration.
- Explain the concept of the "second demographic" transition.
- Describe the concept of life course analysis.
- Explain the concept of gender equity and equality.
- Estimate life tables and life expectancy.
- Summarize contemporary debates on longevity and mortality.
APPLYING KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING
At the end of the course student will be able to...
- Apply demographic methods to compute measures of population structure and processes.
- Analyze and compare country differences in terms of demographic behaviour.
- Compare and examine countries in terms of the first and second demographic transition.
- Evaluate country differences in terms of life expectancy and mortality rates.
- Design, plan and prepare an independent research paper on population dynamics.
Teaching methods
- Lectures
- Guest speaker's talks (in class or in distance)
- Practical Exercises
- Individual works / Assignments
- Collaborative Works / Assignments
DETAILS
There will be exercises that are discussed in class. It is expected that students study the assigned material prior to class. Part of the assessment is based on a written project/assignment that can be done either individually or in a group of no more than three students. We discuss in class topics and the approach for implementing those assignments. We also provide topics and data sources for possible projects.
Assessment methods
| Continuous assessment | Partial exams | General exam | |
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ATTENDING AND NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS
The written exam counts 50% whereas an assignment/research paper counts for the remaining 50%.
- The written exam consists of a 1st partial (covering the material presented in the first part of the course). The 2nd partial covers the material from the second part of the course.
- The research paper can be done in groups (up to maximum of four students). The length should be around 5,000 words, and should be based on the themes presented in the course. Data sources and instructions on how to implement the assignment are provided. The exam and the essay are valid until the end of the academic year.
Teaching materials
ATTENDING AND NOT ATTENDING STUDENTS
Course material consists of lecture slides, book chapters and a series of journal articles. These are made available to the students at the beginning of the semester.
Last change 25/05/2026 16:13