Monthly Archives: April 2012

Data on Foreign Born Population in Each US State

April 30, 2012 – 9:02 pm

The Migration Policy Institute, an independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit think tank dedicated to the study of the movement of people worldwide, provides an interactive map and data on the foreign born population in each US state.  Access the map here.

By populyst | Posted in Demographics, Immigration, United States, US Economy | Comments (0)

Video: LA Light

April 30, 2012 – 1:58 pm

Greater Los Angeles is the 13th largest metropolitan area in the world and second in the United States, with a population of 16.5 million. LA LIGHT is a time lapse video by Colin Rich showing the city at night. It has been shortlisted for the 2012 Vimeo Awards Lyrical category.

By populyst | Posted in California, Demographics, Los Angeles, Video | Comments (0)

USC Research: California Population Growth Returning to Normal

April 30, 2012 – 1:36 pm

A new report by John Pitkin and Dowell Myers from USC’s PopDynamics Research Group argues that the population of California will grow at a lower rate than was estimated by the state’s Department of Finance in 2007.  The authors believe that growth in each of the next four decades will be of the order of 3 to 4 million people.  This constitutes a return to normality and is in line with each of the past five decades, with the notable exception of the 1980s when the state’s population grew by a record 6.1 million. The new figures imply a decline in the rate of growth.  As elsewhere in the developed world, the number of seniors will rise sharply. read the summary or the full report.

By populyst | Posted in California, Demographics, Economy, US Economy | Comments (0)

Royal Society: ‘People and the Planet’ Report

April 26, 2012 – 2:43 pm

The Royal Society, the UK’s 350-year old academy of science, issued a report today calling for ‘a more equitable future for humanity’. The 134-page People and the Planet report highlights the rapid growth of the world population and its resulting pressures on natural resources and the environment.  It makes the nine following recommendations:

Recommendation 1: The international community must bring the1.3 billion people living on less than $1.25 per day out of absolute poverty, and reduce the inequality that persists in the world today. This will require focused efforts in key policy areas including economic development, education, family planning and health.

Recommendation 2: The most developed and the emerging economies must stabilise and then reduce material consumption levels through: dramatic improvements in resource use efficiency, including: reducing waste; investment in sustainable resources, technologies and infrastructures; and systematically decoupling economic activity from environmental impact.

Recommendation 3: Reproductive health and voluntary family planning programmes urgently require political leadership and financial commitment, both nationally and internationally. This is needed to continue the downward trajectory of fertility rates, especially in countries where the unmet need for contraception is high.

Recommendation 4: Population and the environment should not be considered as two separate issues. Demographic changes, and the influences on them, should be factored into economic and environmental debate and planning at international meetings, such as the Rio+20 Conference on Sustainable Development and subsequent meetings.

Recommendation 5: Governments should realise the potential of urbanisation to reduce material consumption and environmental impact through efficiency measures. The well planned provision of water supply, waste disposal, power and other services will avoid slum conditions and increase the welfare of inhabitants.

Recommendation 6: In order to meet previously agreed goals for universal education, policy makers in countries with low school attendance need to work with international funders and organisations, such as UNESCO, UNFPA, UNICEF, IMF, World Bank and Education for All. Financial and non-financial barriers must be overcome to achieve high-quality primary and secondary education for all the world’s young, ensuring equal opportunities for girls and boys.

Recommendation 7: Natural and social scientists need to increase their research efforts on the interactions between consumption, demographic change and environmental impact. They have a unique and vital role in developing a fuller picture of the problems, the uncertainties found in all such analyses, the efficacy of potential solutions, and providing an open, trusted source of information for policy makers and the public.

Recommendation 8: National Governments should accelerate the development of comprehensive wealth measures. This should include reforms to the system of national accounts, and improvement in natural asset accounting.

Recommendation 9: Collaboration between National Governments is needed to develop socio-economic systems and institutions that are not dependent on continued material consumption growth. This will inform the development and implementation of policies that allow both people and the planet to flourish.

 

 

By populyst | Posted in Demographics, Economy, Environment, Natural Resources, Poverty, United Kingdom | Comments (0)

City Journal: Florida Has Reversed its Demographic Decline

April 26, 2012 – 5:36 am

Wendell Cox writes in City Journal:

One of the leading demographic stories of the past decade was Florida’s population slump. But a surprising story of the new decade is Florida’s population rebound. read more.

By populyst | Posted in Demographics, Economy, Florida, US Economy | Comments (0)

Bundesbank: Germany Needs 200,000 New Immigrants Per Year

April 24, 2012 – 3:34 pm

A report by the Bundesbank, published on April 23rd, comments on Germany’s impending demographic decline and asserts that the German economy needs an additional 200,000 immigrants every year (vs. 177,300 in 2011). The 200,000 annual influx would amount to 0.24% of the existing population, less than the usual 0.32% taken in by the US every year, but in line with the exceptionally low US immigration total in 2011. Because of the weak economy, the US took in only 703,000 immigrants in 2011, down from a more typical 1 million.

The report outlines other measures needed to compensate for the country’s demographic decline, including postponing the retirement age beyond the current age of 67 and facilitating child care for working parents.

It is not the first time that the Bundesbank models the effect of increased immigration on the German economy.  In a May 2011 report, the central bank had analyzed three separate scenarios with immigrants numbering 50,000, 100,000 and 200,000.

By populyst | Posted in Demographics, Economy, Euro, Europe, European Union, Germany, Immigration | Comments (0)

Singapore: 2012 is a Demographic Turning Point

April 24, 2012 – 12:10 pm

by Sami Karam

The National Population and Talent Division of the Prime Minister’s Office in Singapore released an ‘Occasional Paper’ outlining five different scenarios for the city-state’s population.  It calls 2012 ‘a demographic turning point’ and forecasts that, with the current fertility rate of 1.2 children per woman, the population of citizens now numbering 3.3 million would start shrinking by 2025 and could decline by nearly 20% by 2060. The various scenarios discuss the impact of accepting different numbers of immigrants ranging from 15,000 to 25,000 annually. It deems that “an immigration inflow of between 20K and 25K new citizens each year will keep the citizen population size stable” but recognizes that the median population age would still rise owing to the country’s high life expectancy. “There will be fewer citizens at the working-ages to support the growing pool of elderly citizens”, warns the report. read the full report.

By populyst | Posted in Asia, Demographics, Immigration, Singapore | Comments (0)

Pew Research: Net Migration from Mexico Falls to Zero

April 23, 2012 – 3:37 pm

Jeffrey Passel, D’Vera Cohn and Ana Gonzalez-Barrera write for the Pew Research Center:

Source: Pew Research Center

The largest wave of immigration in history from a single country to the United States has come to a standstill. After four decades that brought 12 million current immigrants—more than half of whom came illegally—the net migration flow from Mexico to the United States has stopped—and may have reversed. read summary here or full Pew Research report here.

By populyst | Posted in Demographics, Economy, Immigration, Mexico, US Economy | Comments (0)

The Demographic Dividend

April 17, 2012 – 10:28 am

by Sami Karam

The Futures Institute with support from the USAID Health Policy Initiative has developed an interactive graphic to show the demographic dividend by country.  A country reaps a ‘demographic dividend’ about two decades after a big decline in its birth rate. The dividend comes when the number of dependents per working adult also declines, allowing the diversion of capital towards other uses.

“To see how the demographic dividend evolves you can compare the age structures of two countries. This will be most apparent if you select an Asian country, such as Thailand, to show in the left-hand pyramid and a high-fertility country, such as Uganda, for the right-hand pyramid. Then click the time arrow to see the simulation.”

Click here to access the graphic.

By populyst | Posted in Demographics, Economy | Comments (0)

FT: The End of Asia’s Demographic Dividend

April 16, 2012 – 2:39 pm

David Pilling writes in the Financial Times:

“Many countries in the region are reaching the end of their demographic free ride. China’s workforce will contract from 2017.”
Back in 1994, Paul Krugman enraged Asians with his Foreign Affairs article “The Myth of Asia’s Miracle”. In it, he argued that seemingly remarkable growth in countries such as Singapore was not so remarkable after all. None of the expansion was the result of a rise in productivity, he said. Rather, all could be explained by an increase in measured inputs, namely of labour and capital.
Mr Krugman’s paper triggered not a little outrage. Leaders who had overseen what seemed to them like a startling transformation of their economies didn’t take kindly to his arguments. They saw themselves as statesmen who had engineered economic miracles, not lucky beneficiaries of favourable demographics and of thrifty populations whose savings could be recycled into factories and roads. read more.
By populyst | Posted in Asia, China, Demographics, Economy | Comments (0)