Demography

obligatory courses

Knowledge of English at B2 level, both written and oral.

The aim of the course is to familiarize students with economic determinants of population processes and to facilitate their academic writing skills. An important element of the course is the analysis of interactions between demographic and economic phenomena on the global, regional, and local level, as well as developing the ability to make use of statistical data sources and scientific literature. The learning outcomes comprise the abilities to synthesize existing research output into reports, to search, analyse, interpret, and present demographic data, and of the knowledge of basic population theories, phenomena, and processes. In order to pass the course, students are required to actively participate in the classes and to write, submit, and present a report on a selected topic.

The aim of the course is pursued with the use of various teaching techniques that comprise of lectures, discussions, and workshops. Lectures are an important element of the course, since they create basis for subsequent discussions. Active participation from the students in classes consists of individual work, work in pairs or in groups on analytical tasks.

About 75 percent of the meetings will be devoted to learning Demographic topics. Students will write short quizzes at the beginning of each classes following classes on Demographic topics. The results of short quizzes will contribute in 50 percent to the final grade.

During the semester, students work individually on their reports, first by choosing the topic out of a list given by the course coordinator (or on an individually chosen topic upon the coordinator’s consent), next by preparing and presenting in classes a synthesis of existing research on that topic, and finally by editing a report (up to 2000 words), which will be reviewed and graded by the coordinator. The assessment of the in-class presentation and evaluation of the report will contribute in 50 percent to the final grade.

Classes on Demographic topics:

1. Demographic processes from a historical perspective. Have people always lived as long and had as few children as currently in Poland (and, if not, why)? World’s population since the Neolithic revolution

2. A theory of marriage. Who marries whom and why? Optimal sorting. Stable marriage problem. Assortative mating.

3. An economic analysis of marital instability. The role of uncertainty in optimal sorting. Which demographic, sociological, and economic characteristics of partners increase the likelihood of a divorce?

4. The demand for children. Why higher-income countries are characterized with lower fertility than lower-income countries? The quality-quantity model. Life-cycle models of fertility.

5. Mortality. Scientific debate over the causes of a secular decline in mortality rates since the year 1750.

6. Ageing. Measures of population ageing. Causes of ageing. Global trends towards rising life expectancy. Social and economic consequences of ageing.

7. Migration. The complexity of migration. Attitudes towards immigrants in host countries. Immigration policy in the US and in Europe now and in the past.

8. Demographic transition. Five stages of demographic transition. Differences in the speed of demographic transition. Economic development and demographic transition. The role of cultural factors and social norms in the demographic transition. The fifth stage of demographic transition: possible scenarios.

9. Main population doctrines. Premodern population doctrines. Mercantilist populationism. Malthusianism. Boserupian Theory. The impact of population size on innovation and technological progress (Michael Kremer, Julian Simon, Paul Romer, Simon Kuznets, etc.).

Obligatory:

Becker, G.S. (1976) The Economic Approach to Human Behavior, Chicago: University of Chicago Press. (Part 6. Marriage, Fertility, and the Family)

Becker, G.S., Landes, E.M., and Michael, R.T. (1977) “An Economic Analysis of Marital Instability,” Journal of Political Economy 85(6): 1141-1187.

Bodvarsson, Ö., Van den Berg, H. (2009) The Economics of Immigration. Theory and Policy. New York: Springer-Verlag. (Chapter 1. Introduction to Immigration Economics)

Facultative:

Gale D., Shapley L. (1962) “College Admissions and the Stability of Marriage,” American Mathematical Monthly 69: 9-14.

Bergstrom T., Bagnoli M. (1993) “Courtship as a waiting game,” Journal of Political Economy, 101(1): 185-202.

Bodvarsson, Ö., Van den Berg, H. (2009) The Economics of Immigration. Theory and Policy. New York: Springer-Verlag. (Chapter 14. Immigration Policy in the USA; Chapter 16. Immigration Policy in Europe)

Kremer, M. (1993) “Population growth and technological change one million B.C. to 1990”, Quarterly Journal of Economics 108: 681-716.

Kuznets, S. (1960) "Population Change and Aggregate Output," in Demographic and Economic Change in Developed Countries. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Simon, J. (1977) The Economics of Population Growth. Princeton, NY: Princeton University Press.

Simon, J. (1981) The Ultimate Resource. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

Bertaud, A. (2018) Order without Design: How Markets Shape Cities. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press.

Clemens, M. 2011. Economics and Emigration: Trillion-Dollar Bills on the Sidewalk? [Online] CGD Working Paper 264. Washington, D.C.: Center for Global Development. Available at: http://www.cgdev.org/content/publications/detail/1425376

K_W01 - Knows and understands in depth the key sociological theories on mobility and migration.

K_W04 - Knows and understands in depth the geopolitical context shaping past and present migration realities; understands theories and concepts derived from political sciences useful for analysing and interpreting international mobility.

K_W07 - Knows in depth the methods of analysis and interpretation of cultural texts.

K_U01 - Is able to obtain and critically evaluate information from a variety of scientific, popular science, journalistic and other sources.

K_U04 - Is able to select and use a variety of theoretical concepts within the disciplines of sociology, law, politics, demography, cultural studies to interpret social and spatial mobility.

K_K03 - Is ready to explore new research methods.

The grade will comprise in 50 percent of quiz score and in 50 percent of evaluation of the research paper.

To pass the course a student must get at least 50 percent of the maximum number of points for the quizzes. The student must also obtain 50 percent of the maximum number of points for the submitted report.

Absences:

- It is possible to have 2 absences;

- In case of 3 or 4 absences, it is possible to make up for them after consultation;

- In case of 5 absences there is no possibility for obtaining course credit.