The course provides the basic concepts and tools for the analysis of the demographic structure of populations and their behaviours: social and demographic sources of data, measure of mortality, fertility, nuptiality, migration; population growth issues, population projection.
These concepts and measures will be then used to understand how contemporary populations have changed in the recent decades, and which are the main demographic challenges of the future.
Introduzione alla demografia. Analisi e interpretazione delle dinamiche di popolazione, di A. Rosina e A. De Rose, Egea, 2022.
Students can nevertheless choose among the various books on Demography available.
Learning Objectives
a) to understand demographic dynamics (interplay of stock and flow data);
b) to know where to retrieve demographic information
c) to calculate autonomously the main demographic indicators, cross-sectionally and longitudinally, given the proper raw numbers
d) to know how and why the European and world populations have changed in the last two centuries, and the implication for its future development.
At the end of the course, the student will be able to measure and describe a population, in terms of dimensions and structure, its trends, and to use the most important Italian demographic data sources.
The student will be able to understand the problems and challenges of the world populations, and to indicate possible solutions.
Prerequisites
Preparatory teaching: Statistics I
Teaching Methods
Lectures, exercises
Further information
For additional material (e.g., ppt slide), exercises and a few examples of the examination test see the Moodle page of the course.
No differences between attending and non attending students.
Type of Assessment
The exam consists of both a written and an oral interview .
The written part (duration 1 h 30’) includes 3-5 exercises, for a total score equal 30.
The oral part consists in the discussion of the written exam and of the part of the course related to the world population history.
Written and oral part have the same weight in the final evaluation.
Course program
Introduction: main concepts, purposes, and tools.
Rates and probabilities; time, age and events; generation, cohorts and contemporaries. Lexis diagram.
Demographic flows: mortality (probability and rates, life table); fertility (generic and specific rates, reproduction, substitution level); migration (sources and measures; cause and consequences of the migration process).
Dimension and structure of the population: stocks and flows, population equation, indices of structure, age pyramids, link between dynamic and structure. Growth population rate. Raw and specific rates. Standardization.
Basis of population projections. Data sources.
An overview of the population history and of trend characterizing contemporary populations (with a specific focus on the Italian one).