Skip to main content

Introduction to Demography and Economics

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Economics and Ageing
  • 546 Accesses

Abstract

This chapter introduces key demographic concepts for the study of economics and ageing related to the three main demographic variables-fertility, mortality, and migration-and presents the main economic theories of demographic change. It closes with a discussion of how population ageing is measured.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 69.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 89.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Adamchak, Donald J., and Eugene A. Friedmann. “Societal Aging and Generational Dependency Relationships: Problems of Measurement and Conceptualization.” Research on Aging 5, no. 3 (1983): 319–338.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ———. “Some Thoughts on Reformulating the Dependency Ratio. Letter to the Editor.” The Gerontologist 26, no. 1 (1986): 97–97.

    Google Scholar 

  • Adams, Jean et al. “Socioeconomic Position and the Association Between Anticipated and Actual Survival in Older English Adults.” Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 68, no. 9 (2014): 818–825.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barbara, Griffin, Loh Vanessa, and Hesketh Beryl. “A Mental Model of Factors Associated with Subjective Life Expectancy.” Social Science and Medicine 82 (2013): 79–86.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bloom, David E. et al. The Effect of Subjective Survival Probabilities on Retirement and Wealth in the United States.” In Population Aging Intergenerational Transfers and the Macroeconomy. Edited by Robert L. Clark, Naohiro Ogawa, and Andrew Mason. 67–100. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2007.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bourdelais, Patrice. “The Ageing of the Population: Relevant Question or Obsolete Notion? In Old Age from Antiquity to Post-modernity Routledge Studies in Cultural History. Edited by Paul Johnson and Pat Thane. Chap. 6. London: Routledge, 1998.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bouvier, Leon F. “Replacement Migration: Is it a Solution to Declining and Aging Populations?” Population and Environment 22, no. 4 (2001): 377–381.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bucher-Koenen, Tabea, and Sebastian Kluth. Subjective Life Expectancy and Private Pensions. MEA Discussion Paper 265-2012. Munich Center for the Economics of Aging (MEA) at the Max Planck Institute for Social Law and Social Policy, 2012.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cairns, Andrew J. G., David Blake, and Kevin Dowd. “Modelling and Management of Mortality Risk: A Review”. Scandinavian Actuarial Journal 2008, no. 2–3 (2008): 79–113.

    Google Scholar 

  • Calasanti, Toni M., and Alessandro Bonanno. “The Social Creation of Dependence, Dependency Ratios, and the Elderly in the United States: A Critical Analysis.” Social Science & Medicine 23, no. 12 (1986): 1229–1236.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Canudas-Romo, V. “Three Measures of Longevity: Time Trends and Record Values.” Demography 47, no. 2 (2010): 299–312.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carman, Katherine Grace, and Peter Kooreman. “Probability Perceptions and Preventive Health Care.” Journal of Risk and Uncertainty 49, no. 1 (2014): 43–71.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caselli, Graziella, Jacques Vallin, and Guillaume Wunsch. “General Introduction.” In Demography: Analysis and Synthesis: A Treatise in Population Studies. Edited by Graziella Caselli, Jacques Vallin, and Guillaume Wunsch. Burlington, MA: Elsevier, 2006.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cigno, Alessandro, and Martin Werding. Children and Pensions. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2007.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Coale, Ansley J. “Convergence of a Human Population to a Stable Form.” Journal of the American Statistical Association 63, no. 322 (1968): 395–435.

    Google Scholar 

  • De Benedictis, Giovanna, and Claudio Franceschi. The Unusual Genetics of Human Longevity. Science of Ageing Knowledge Environment 2006, no. 10 (2006): pe20.

    Google Scholar 

  • Doerr, Ulrike, and Katharina Schulte. “Betting on a Long Life-the Role of Subjective Life Expectancy in the Demand for Private Pension Insurance of German Households. Schmollers Jahrbuch: Journal of Applied Social Science Studies/Zeitschrift für Wirtschafts-und Sozialwissenschaften 132, no. 2 (2012): 233–263.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dorfman, Mark C. et al. China’s Pension System: A Vision. Directions in Development. New York: World Bank Publications, 2013.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Dublin, Louis I., and Alfred J. Lotka. Length of Life a Study of the Life Table. New York: The Ronald Press Company, 1949.

    Google Scholar 

  • Espenshade, Thomas J., Juan Carlos Guzman, and Charles F. Westoff. “The Surprising Global Variation in Replacement Fertility.” Population Research and Policy Review 22, no. 5–6 (2003): 575–583.

    Google Scholar 

  • ETUI. Benchmarking Working Europe 2011. Brussels: European Trade Union Institute, 2011.

    Google Scholar 

  • European Commission. White Paper an Agenda for Adequate Safe and Sustainable Pensions. COM(2012) 55 Final. Technical report, Brussels, 2012.

    Google Scholar 

  • EUROSTAT. EUROSTAT Quality Profile. Technical report. Luxembourg, 2008.

    Google Scholar 

  • Falkingham, Jane. “Dependency and Ageing in Britain: A Re-examination of the Evidence.” Journal of Social Policy 18, no. 2 (1989): 211–233.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Foot, David K. Public Expenditures, Population Aging and Economic Dependency in Canada, 1921–2021. Population Research and Policy Review 8, no. 1 (1989): 97–117.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fuchs, Victor R. “Though Much Is Taken” Reflections on Aging Health, and Medical Care. NBER Working Paper 1269. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 1984.

    Google Scholar 

  • Funtowicz, Silvio O., and Jerome R. Ravetz. “Three Types of Risk Assessment and the Emergence of Post-normal Science.” In Social Theories of Risk, 251–273. Westport: Praeger, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gerschenkron, Alexander. Time Horizon in Balzac and Others. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 122, no. 2 (1978): 75–91.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gibson, Donald E. “Advancing the Dependency Ratio Concept and Avoiding the Malthusian Trap.” Research on Aging 11, no. 2 (1989): 147–157.

    Google Scholar 

  • Golini, Antonio. “Teaching Demography of Aging.” Genus 58, no. 3–4 (2002): 135–163.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gowers, Ernest. The Complete Plain Words. Revised Edition by Sir Bruce Fraser. London: Her Majesty’s Stationery Office, 1973.

    Google Scholar 

  • Griffin, Barbara, Beryl Hesketh, and Vanessa Loh. “The Influence of Subjective Life Expectancy on Retirement Transition and Planning: A Longitudinal Study.” Journal of Vocational Behavior 81, no. 2 (2012): 129–137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harper, Sarah. “Ageing Society.” The Oxford Magazine (2004).

    Google Scholar 

  • Hellström, T., and Merle Jacob. Policy Uncertainty and Risk: Conceptual Developments and Approaches. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2001.

    Google Scholar 

  • Heuvel, Wim J. A. van den. “The Meaning of Dependency.” In Dependency or Interdependency in Old Age, 162–173. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1976.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hock, Heinrich, and David N. Weil. “On the Dynamics of the Age Structure, Dependency and Consumption.” Journal of Population Economics 25, no. 3 (2012): 1019–1043.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holzmann, Robert. “Pension Policies in OECD Countries: Background, Trends and Implications.” Journal of Public Policy 9, no. 4 (1989): 467–491.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ———. A Provocative Perspective on Population Aging and Old-Age Financial Protection. Technical report. Bonn, Germany, 2013.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hu, Naijun, and Yansui Yang. “The Real Old-Age Dependency Ratio and the Inadequacy of Public Pension Finance in China.” Journal of Population Ageing 5, no. 3 (2012): 193–209.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Huynh, Kim P., and Juergen Jung. “Subjective Health Expectations.” Journal of Policy Modeling 37, no. 4 (2015): 693–711.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Iparraguirre, José. Age UK Chief Economist’s Report. Spring 2014. Technical report. London, 2014.

    Google Scholar 

  • Katz, Stephen. “Alarmist Demography: Power Knowledge, and the Elderly Population.” Journal of Aging Studies 6, no. 3 (1992): 203–225.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keyfitz, Nathan, and Hal Caswell. Applied Mathematical Demography, 3rd ed. New York, NY: Springer, 2005.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keynes, John Maynard. A Tract of Monetary Reform. London: Macmillan and Co, 1924.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Kézdi, Gábor, and Robert J. Willis. “Expectations, Aging and Cognitive Decline.” In Discoveries in the Economics of Aging. Edited by David A. Wise. 305–337. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2013.

    Google Scholar 

  • Khan, Mashfiqur, Matthew S. Rutledge, and April Yanyuan Wu. How Do Subjective Longevity Expectations Influence Retirement Plans? CRR Working Paper 2014-1. Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, 2014.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kohler, Hans-Peter, and José Antonio Ortega. “Tempo-Adjusted Period Parity Progression Measures: Assessing the Implications of Delayed Childbearing for Cohort Fertility in Sweden, the Netherlands and Spain.” Demographic Research 6, no. 7 (2002): 145–190.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kye, Bongoh. “An Alternative Index of Population Aging: Accounting for Education and Elderly Health in the Case of Korea.” Development and Society 45, no. 3 (2016): 563–589.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kye, Bongoh et al. “Education, Elderly Health, and Differential Population Aging in South Korea: A Demographic Approach.” Demographic Research 30 (2014): 753–794.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, Ronald D., and Andrew Mason. Population Aging and the Generational Economy: A Global Perspective. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2011.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Leroux, Marie-Louise, Pierre Pestieau, and Grégory Ponthière. Longévité différentielle et redistribution: enjeux théoriques et empiriques. Working Paper 2014-30. Ecole d’Economie de Paris, 2014.

    Google Scholar 

  • Levi, Primo. The Drowned and the Saved. London: Abacus, 1989.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ludwig, Alexander, and Alexander Zimper. “A Parsimonious Model of Subjective Life Expectancy.” Theory and Decision 75, no. 4 (2013): 519–541.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lutz, Wolfgang, Warren C. Sanderson, and Sergei Scherbov. “The Coming Acceleration of Global Population Ageing.” Nature 451 (2008): 716–719.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mariolis, Theodore, George Soklis, and Heleni Groza. “Estimation of the Maximum Attainable Economic Dependency Ratio: Evidence from the Symmetric Input-Output Tables of Four European Economies. The Journal of Economic Analysis 3, no. 1 (2012): 52–71.

    Google Scholar 

  • Messerschmidt, Reinhard. ““Garbled Demography” or “Demographization of the Social”? A Foucaultian Discourse Analysis of German Demographic Change at the Beginning of the 21st Century.” Historical Social Research 39, no. 1 (2014): 299–335.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moultrie, T. A., and B. Zaba. “Parity Progression Ratios.” In Tools for Demographic Estimation. Edited by T. A. Moultrie et al. Paris: International Union for the Scientific Study of Population, 2013.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mullan, Phil. The Imaginary Time Bomb: Why an Ageing Population is Not a Social Problem. London: I. B. Tauris, 2002.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, Richard R. “A Theory of the Low-Level Equilibrium Trap in Underdeveloped Economies.” The American Economic Review, 46 , no. 5 (1956): 894–908.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nicholls, Nicky, and Alexander Zimper. “Subjective Life Expectancy”. In The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Adulthood and Aging 3 Volume Set, 1368–1372 . Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2016.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parent, Daniel, and Ling Wang. “Tax Incentives and Fertility in Canada: Quantum vs Tempo Effects.” Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue canadienne d’économique 40, no. 2 (2007): 371–400.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pitacco, Emanno et al. Modelling Longevity Dynamics for Pensions and Annuity Business. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009.

    Google Scholar 

  • Poston, Dudley L., and Leon F. Bouvier. Population and Society: An Introduction to Demography. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Rau, Roland, Magdalena M. Muszyńska, and James W. Vaupel. “Europe, the Oldest-Old Continent.” In The Demography of Europe. Edited by G. Neyer et al. Chap. 6, 119–137. Dordrecht: Springer, 2013.

    Google Scholar 

  • Riffe, Timothy L. M. “The Two-Sex Problem in Populations Structured by Remaining Years of Life.” Ph.D. Thesis. Barcelona: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 309 pp. (2013). http://sociales.cchs.csic.es/jperez/PDFs/2013TesisRiffe.pdfCreativeCommonsAttribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs3.0.

  • Riffe, Tim, Jeroen Spijker, and John MacInnes. Decomposing and Recomposing the Population Pyramid by Remaining Years of Life. 2013 Annual Meeting. 1–3 May 2013. Marriot Copley Place. Boston, MA: Population Association of America, 2013.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rowland, Donald T. Demographic Methods and Concepts. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ryder, Norman B. “Notes on Stationary Populations.” Population Index 41, no. 1 (1975): 3–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Salm, Martin. “Subjective Mortality Expectations and Consumption and Saving Behaviours Among the Elderly.” Canadian Journal of Economics/Revue Canadienne d’Économique 43, no. 3 (2010): 1040–1057.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanderson, Warren C., and Sergei Scherbov. “Average Remaining Lifetimes Can Increase as Human Populations Age.” Nature 435, no. 7043 (2005): 811–813.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ———. “A New Perspective on Population Aging.” Demographic Research 16, no. 2 (2007): 27–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ———. “The Characteristics Approach to the Measurement of Population Aging.” Population and Development Review 39, no. 4 (2013): 673–685.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • ———. Prospective Measures of Population Aging. Version 1.0. International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, 2014. http://www.iiasaacat/web/home/research/researchPrograms/WorldPopulation/Reaging/Indicators.html.

  • Satariano, William. Epidemiology of Aging: An Ecological Approach. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2006.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sauvy, Alfred. Le point de vue du nombre. Institut National d’Études Démographiques (INED), 1936.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. “Social and Economic Consequences of the Aging of Western European Populations.” Population Studies 2, no. 1 (1948): 115–124.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shoven, John B., and Gopi Shah Goda. “Adjusting Government Policies for Age Inflation.” In Demography and the Economy. Edited by John B. Shoven. 143–162. Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, 2010.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Shripad, Tuljapurkar. “Renewal Theory and the Stable Population Model.” In Encyclopedia of Population. Edited by Paul Demeny and Geoffrey McNicoll. 4th edn. New York, NY: Macmillan Reference USA - Thomson Gale, 2003.

    Google Scholar 

  • Siegel, Jacob S., and David Swanson. The Methods and Materials of Demography. New York, NY: Elsevier Academic Press, 2004.

    Google Scholar 

  • Solinge, Hanna van, and Kène Henkens. “Living Longer Working Longer? The Impact of Subjective Life Expectancy on Retirement Intentions and Behaviour. The European Journal of Public Health 20, no. 1 (2010): 47–51.

    Google Scholar 

  • Spaenjers, Christophe, and Sven Michael Spira. “Subjective Life Horizon and Portfolio Choice.” Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 116 (2015): 94–106.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strehler Bernard, and Albert Mildvan. “General Theory of Mortality and Aging.” Science 132, no. 3418 (1960): 14–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Strulik, Holger, and Sebastian Vollmer. “Long-Run Trends of Human Aging and Longevity. Journal of Population Economics 26, no. 4 (2013): 1303–1323.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Teitelbaum, Michael S. “The Media Marketplace for Garbled Demography.” Population and Development Review 30, no. 2 (2004): 317–327.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thatcher, A. R. “The Long-Term Pattern of Adult Mortality and the Highest Attained Age.” Journal of the Royal Statistical Society: Series A (Statistics in Society) 162, no. 1 (1999): 5–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • The Economist. “The World Reshaped. The End of the Population Pyramid.” The Economist, 20 November 2014. The World in 2015, 2014.

    Google Scholar 

  • United Nations. Replacement Migration: Is It a Solution to Declining and Ageing Populations? Economic & social affairs. Population Studies Issue 206. Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Population Division, United Nations, 2001.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. World Population Ageing 1950–2050. Population Studies, vol. 207. New York: Department of Economic and Social Affairs. Population Division, 2002.

    Google Scholar 

  • ———. World Fertility Report 2009. New York: Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, 2009.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vallin, Jacques, and Giovanni Berlinguer. “From Endogenous Mortality to the Maximum Human Life Span. In Demography: Analysis and Synthesis: A Treatise in Population Studies. Edited by Graziella Caselli, Jacques Vallin, and Guillaume Wunsch. Vol. 2. Burlington, MA: Elsevier, 2006.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vandresse, Marie. “Le vieillissement de la population sous l’angle de l’âge prospectif.” In Vieillissement et entraide: Quelles méthodes pour décrire et mesurer les enjeux?. Edited by Sylvie Carbonnelle et al. 39–54. Namur: Presses Universitaires de Namur, 2017.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vaupel, James W. “Gompertz, Benjamin.” In Encyclopedia of Population, Edited by Paul Demeny and Geoffrey McNicoll. 469–470. New York, NY: Macmillan Reference USA Thomson Gale, 2003.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wachter, Kenneth W. Essential Demographic Methods. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2014.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Walker, Alan. “Dependency and Old Age.” Social Policy & Administration 16, no. 2 (1982): 115–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wallace, Paul. Agequake: Riding the Demographic Rollercoaster Shaking Business, Finance and Our World. London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 2001.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weber, Lars. Demographic Change and Economic Growth: Simulations on Growth Models. Heidelberg: Physica-Verlag, 2010.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Weon, Byung Mook. “A Solution to Debates Over the Behavior of Mortality at Old Ages. Biogerontology (2015): 1–7. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10522-015-9555-2.

  • Wöss, Joseph, and Eric Türk. “Dependency Ratios and Demographic Change the Labour Market as a Key Element.” ETUI Policy Brief European Economic and Employment Policy 4 (2011): 1–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wuebker, Ansgar. “Who Gets a Mammogram Amongst European Women Aged 50–69 Years?” Health Economics Review 2, no. 1 (2012): 6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yin, Peter, and Marsha Shine, “Misinterpretations of Increases in Life Expectancy in Gerontology Textbooks. The Gerontologist 25, no. 1 (1985): 78–82.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Iparraguirre, J.L. (2018). Introduction to Demography and Economics. In: Economics and Ageing. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93248-4_5

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93248-4_5

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-93247-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-93248-4

  • eBook Packages: Economics and FinanceEconomics and Finance (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics