Applied Demography

The course provides an applied overview of common methodological approaches, major conceptual issues, and recent empirical research in demography. Demography is the study of the causes and consequences of population change. Populations change in size and composition in response to three basic phenomenon: fertility, mortality, and migration. Course readings and discussions will draw on research in multiple disciplines to provide students a framework for evaluating how social, economic, historical, cultural, and political factors interrelate with these demographic processes. Students will be introduced to the data, statistics, and substantive issues of demography including mortality, fertility, migration, population composition, population distribution, population policy and the relationship between population and environment.