Works of a general and comprehensive nature. Studies that are limited to well-defined problems of demography are cited under the relevant topic and are cross-referenced to this division, if appropriate.
Comprehensive, book-length surveys of the present status of demography and its principal branches, including the historical development of these studies, analytical studies of demography as a whole, and global population studies.
63:20001 Gervais, Raymond R.
Demographic knowledge and use of power in the third world.
Historical perspectives. [Savoir démographique et pratique
du pouvoir dans le Tiers Monde. Perspectives historiques.] Cahiers
Québécois de Démographie, Vol. 25, No. 1, Spring
1996. 176 pp. Association des Démographes du Québec:
Montreal, Canada. In Fre. with sum. in Eng; Spa.
This special issue
contains five articles on demographic knowledge in the developing world
together with an introduction by Francis Gendreau. The focus is on
demography's dependence on data collected in censuses and vital
statistics systems, which in turn depend on a centralized
administration and the power of the state. The extent to which
demography can be independent from either the state or the predominant
culture is therefore in question.
Selected items will be cited in
this or subsequent issues of Population Index.
Correspondence:
Association des Démographes du Québec, C.P. 403,
Succursale Côte-des-Neiges, Montreal, Quebec H35 2S7, Canada.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:20002 Lassonde, Louise. Coping
with population challenges. ISBN 1-85383-435-1. 1997. xv, 173 pp.
Earthscan Publications: London, England. In Eng.
In this book,
which is translated from the original French, global demographic issues
are examined in light of the Programme of Action agreed upon at the
1994 Cairo International Conference on Population and Development.
"The author describes how the Programme of Action focalizes on
women's issues, reproductive choice and the notion of the individual.
However, she identifies a number of important but neglected areas of
the debate that the Programme failed to address and brings to light
some of the inconsistencies that need to be resolved if the Programme
is to be implemented. The author also looks at the underlying ethical
dimension of all choices relating to the population issue and suggests
measures and machinery for giving effect to states' commitments,
including reformulating problems and defining the appropriate economic
framework for solutions."
Correspondence: Earthscan
Publications, 120 Pentonville Road, London N1 9JN, England. E-mail:
earthinfo@earthscan.co.uk. Location: Princeton University
Library (SPR).
63:20003 Lassonde, Louise. The
challenges of demography: what quality of life for the twenty-first
century? [Les défis de la démographie: quelle
qualité de vie pour le XXIe siècle?] ISBN 2-7071-2555-5.
1996. 225 pp. Editions La Découverte: Paris, France. In Fre.
Global demographic issues are examined in light of the 1994 Cairo
International Conference on Population and Development. The author
suggests that the main issue is no longer whether the resources of the
planet are sufficient to cope with projected population growth;
instead, in view of the almost universal decline in fertility, the
question now centers on the practical issue of how to cope with a
global population of around 10 billion in the year 2050. Starting with
the plan of action adopted in Cairo, the author identifies the main
challenges posed for current patterns of global social and economic
organization, power structures, and values. The differing visions of
various societies around the world concerning future world development
are described, and the role of ethics in the demographic debate is
considered.
Correspondence: Editions La Découverte,
9 bis rue Abel-Hovelacque, 75013 Paris, France. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:20004 North, Richard D. Life
on a modern planet: a manifesto for progress. Issues in
Environmental Politics, ISBN 0-7190-4566-5. LC 94-28599. 1995. x, 326
pp. Manchester University Press: New York, New York/Manchester,
England. In Eng.
"This book has three main messages. The first
is that though human numbers have grown dramatically and will soon
double, this species and planet have rather good prospects....The
second message is that the wellbeing of human kind, and the planet on
which we live, depends on technical sophistication rather than
Ludditism....My third proposition is that the rich world indulges in a
dangerous idealism about the relations between human beings and nature
and would do well to attempt a sounder reconciliation between its
dreams and the realities of life. In particular, the tradition of
research, sound politics, commerce, and robust debate which
characterises the western world is much less flawed than is often
supposed." Particular attention is given to the issue of
population growth. The author takes issue with the concern of many
environmentalists about the population explosion, suggesting that there
is little that can be done to reduce the size of the world's
population, or even to slow its rate of growth, and that it is a
mistake to regret the numbers of humans who either live or will soon
live on the planet.
Correspondence: Manchester University
Press, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9NR, England. Location:
Princeton University Library (FST).
Short (fewer than 100 pages), general works on population and global population studies. Items on activities of research institutions in demography are also included.
63:20005 Dumont,
Gérard-François. Demography: unfounded fears
concerning the year 2000. [Démographie: les fausses peurs
de l'an 2000.] Politique Internationale, No. 73, Autumn 1996. 345-65
pp. Paris, France. In Fre.
The author takes issue with those who
maintain that current and future rates of global population growth pose
a major problem for the future. He first reviews current demographic
trends, noting that the period of peak growth is now behind us, and
that the rate of growth is now declining. He goes on to point out that
many of the more pessimistic forecasts are not soundly based in fact.
Attention is also given to the long-term nature of the effects of
demographic changes, the diversity of demographic conditions in
different countries, the causes of south-north migration pressures, and
the significance of migration streams within the developing world. He
concludes that it would be more useful to concentrate on the problems
associated with demographic aging rather than on those associated with
population growth.
Correspondence: G.-F. Dumont,
Université de Paris-Sorbonne, Institut de Démographie
Politique, 191 rue Saint-Jacques, 75005 Paris, France. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:20006 Peron, Jim. Exploding
population myths. ISBN 1-874930-10-4. 1995. xii, 80 pp. Heartland
Institute: Palatine, Illinois; Free Market Foundation: Johannesburg,
South Africa. In Eng.
In this study, the author challenges the
conception that the world faces a problem of overpopulation. Instead,
he argues that "food production is increasing faster than
population, leading to a world that is better fed than any time in the
past, natural resources are becoming cheaper and thus less scarce,
there is more than enough room in the world for everyone, world
population growth is declining and will probably stabilise, Africa is
the last bastion of famine, but this is due to politics and not high
birth rates, [and] if anything, Africa is probably
underpopulated." He also suggests that the major groups concerned
today with population control evolved out of the eugenics movement of
the early 1900s.
Correspondence: Free Market Foundation,
P.O. Box 785121, Sandton 2146, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:20007 Petrioli, Luciano. The
world population. [La popolazione mondiale.] Studi e Documenti
sulle Populazioni dei Paesi Sottosviluppati, No. 1, Jan 1994. 10-32 pp.
Siena, Italy. In Ita.
This article examines the current
characteristics of the world population and those that might be
expected if recent projections are found to be substantially correct. A
comparison is made between the populations of Europe and Africa, taking
into consideration certain socio-demographic aspects of Sub-Saharan
Africa.
Correspondence: L. Petrioli, Università
degli Studi di Siena, Facoltà di Scienze Economiche e Bancarie,
Piazza S. Francesco 17, 53100 Siena, Italy. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
Discussions of the main principles of demography and population theory not applied to actual data, including such concepts as Malthusianism, the demographic transition, overpopulation, optimum population, and stable and stationary population models as distinct from methodological studies and models using data, which are classified under N. Methods of Research and Analysis Including Models.
63:20008 Keyfitz, Nathan.
Emerging topics in demographic research. [Temi emergenti nella
ricerca demografica.] Studi e Documenti sulle Populazioni dei Paesi
Sottosviluppati, No. 1, Jan 1994. 1-9 pp. Siena, Italy. In Ita.
This paper summarizes key issues in demography. These include life
expectancy and healthy life expectancy; the fertility transition;
family, divorce, and the changing status of women; international
migration, the development gap, and migration policy; urbanization and
development; population projections; population aging, social security,
and retirement; the interplay between population and the environment,
including the question of sustainable development; hypothetical limits
on population; and the relations between population and development.
For each of these topics, the author touches on some of the questions
currently being raised and suggests directions for further
research.
Correspondence: N. Keyfitz, International
Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, Schloßplatz 1, 2361
Laxenburg, Austria. Location: Princeton University Library
(SPR).
63:20009 Pressat, Roland.
Demographic research and training: some random reflections.
[Recherche et enseignement en démographie: réflexions
diverses.] In: Demografia: analisi e sintesi. Cause e conseguenze dei
processi demografici, edited by Graziella Caselli. Apr 1996. 241-51 pp.
Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza, Dipartimento di
Scienze Demografiche: Rome, Italy. In Fre.
The author comments on
the interrelation of demography with other disciplines and also defines
its unique role and strengths, including the quantitative analysis of
population data. In addition, he briefly discusses analyzing the causes
and consequences of demographic phenomena in various disciplinary
contexts, the study of micro-populations, the demand for demographic
research, and issues in training demographers.
Correspondence:
R. Pressat, Institut National d'Etudes Démographiques, 27
rue du Commandeur, 75675 Paris Cedex 14, France. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:20010 Simon i Tarrés,
Antoni. A summary of demographic thought in
Catalonia. [Aproximació al pensament demogràfic a
Catalunya.] Biblioteca de Cultura Catalana, No. 80, ISBN 84-7256-910-1.
1995. 168 pp. Curial: Barcelona, Spain. In Cat.
This book
summarizes the contribution of Catalan scholars to the study of
demography from the seventeenth century to the present day. There are
separate chapters on Catalan contributions to the study of the
relationship between population growth and economic development; the
mortality decline; pronatalism and anti-Malthusianism;
neo-Malthusianism, abortion, and the fertility of working women; race
and immigration; and historical demography.
Correspondence:
Curial Edicions Catalanes, carrer del Bruc 144, 08037 Barcelona,
Spain. Location: Princeton University Library (SPR).
63:20011 Vilquin, Eric. The
history of demographic thought. [Histoire de la pensée
démographique.] In: Demografia: analisi e sintesi. Cause e
conseguenze dei processi demografici, edited by Graziella Caselli. Apr
1996. 213-39 pp. Università degli Studi di Roma La Sapienza,
Dipartimento di Scienze Demografiche: Rome, Italy. In Fre.
The
history of demographic theory is described from Confucian China through
Classical Greece and Rome and the major religions up to Malthus and his
contemporaries. Some consideration is also given to more modern
theories, including the demographic transition.
Correspondence:
E. Vilquin, Université Catholique de Louvain, Institut de
Démographie, 1 place Montesquieu, B.P. 17, 1348
Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium. Location: Princeton University
Library (SPR).
Interdisciplinary studies of demographic problems and studies of the interaction of demography with other disciplines. This coding is also used for reports, studies, and surveys from other disciplines that include information of demographic interest.
63:20012 Ginsburg, Faye D.; Rapp,
Rayna. Conceiving the New World Order: the global politics
of reproduction. ISBN 0-520-08913-8. LC 94-29011. 1995. xii, 450
pp. University of California Press: Berkeley, California/London,
England. In Eng.
This book is the product of a conference on the
politics of reproduction, held in Teresopolis, Brazil, in November
1991. The book has two stated agendas, which are to transform
traditional anthropological analyses of reproduction and to clarify the
importance of making reproduction central to social theory. The 23
papers are divided into six parts. The first part looks at the politics
of birthing, and how the availability of new technologies may create
contradictions for those who have access to them. The second part
examines how pregnancy, birth, and child care are shaped by the
hierarchical social arrangements surrounding parenting. In the third
part, some of the conventional theories on the consequences and control
of human fertility are questioned. The fourth part focuses on the
reproductive consequences of dire situations and disasters. The fifth
part explores how developments in reproductive technologies are
embedded in cultural contexts. The sixth and final part investigates
the history of reproductive concepts through various
disciplines.
Correspondence: University of California
Press, 2120 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, CA 94720. Location:
Princeton University Library (SPR).
Major demographic textbooks and teaching aids, general surveys and collections of readings that are particularly suitable as supplements to coursework, studies on the organization and coverage of training programs in demography, and selected items on population education.
63:20013 Bähr, Jürgen; Jentsch,
Christoph; Kuls, Wolfgang. Population geography.
[Bevölkerungsgeographie.] Lehrbuch der Allgemeinen Geographie,
Vol. 9, ISBN 3-11-008862-2. 1992. xiv, 1,158 pp. Walter de Gruyter:
Berlin, Germany. In Ger.
This textbook systematically covers the
field of population geography, giving an overview of research and
results in the various subject areas. After a short historical summary
of the field and a brief overview of current issues, methodologies, and
sources, the work is organized into the following five broad topics:
the spatial aspect of population, including spatial distribution,
population density, and environmental issues; population structure,
including age and sex distribution, marital status, nuptiality, family
and household, cultural issues, and socioeconomic status; population
dynamics, including mortality and fertility in the developed and
developing world, the demographic transition, population projections,
and population policy; migration, including urbanization; and
circulation, including temporary migration, commuting, and leisure
travel. An extensive bibliography on each topic is
included.
Correspondence: Walter de Gruyter & Co.,
Postfach 303421, 10728 Berlin, Germany. Location: Princeton
University Library (SPR).
