Course 2005-2006 a.y.

Go to class group/s: 31

GM-LS (6 credits - I sem. - AI) - MM-LS (6 credits - I sem. - AI) - OSI-LS (6 credits - I sem. - AI) - AFC-LS (6 credits - I sem. - AI) - CLAPI-LS (6 credits - I sem. - AI) - CLEFIN-LS (6 credits - I sem. - AI) - CLELI-LS (6 credits - I sem. - AI) - CLEACC-LS (6 credits - I sem. - AI) - DES-LS (6 credits - I sem. - AI) - CLEMIT-LS (6 credits - I sem. - AI) - CLG-LS (6 credits - I sem. - AI)

Course Director:
FRANCESCO CANDELORO BILLARI

Course Objectives

The relevance of demographic change for present economic and societal dynamics can hardly be exaggerated. Low fertility and population ageing have emerged in developed countries, while health threats largely intertwined with poverty continue to affect population dynamics and economic development in developing countries. Migration importantly connects the North and South of the world. This course provides a graduate-level introduction to the study of population, ranging from formal and applied demographic techniques to the study of current population trends and of their interrelationships with the economy. In the first part, students are introduced to the methods and materials of demography, including computer-based examples based on real data. In the second part, specific topics of key relevance are discussed, with reference to up-to-date population research. All topics are dealt with using an interdisciplinary approach that draws from economics, sociology, and other social and biological sciences.

Course Content Summary

First part: methods and materials of demography (with reference to present populations)

• Basic concepts and measures
• Age-specific rates and probabilities
• The life table
• Fertility and reproduction
• Population projections
• The micro-based approach: survivor functions, hazard modelling
• Examples and computer-based exercises (also available through Learning Space)

Second part: key issues in population dynamics and economics

• The transition to adulthood in the developed and in the developing world
• The emergence of low and lowest low fertility
• Consequences of population change: ageing and policy responses at the national and at the international level
• International migration
• Demographic change and economic development
• Social interaction and demographic choices in developing countries
• HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa: determinants and consequences

Detailed Description of Assessment Methods

The assessment is based on: 50% written partial exam on the first part; 50% an individual essay (about 5,000 words) on the second part to be agreed with one of the instructors.

Textbooks

• S.H. PRESTON, P. HEUVELINE, M. GUILLOT, Demography. Measuring and Modeling Population Processes, Oxford, Blackwell Publishers, 2001 (Chapters 1-3 and 5-6).
• Other references will be provided in the detailed syllabus.

Exam textbooks & Online Articles (check availability at the Library)

Last change 06/04/2005 00:00