Unit Demography and International Population Policies
- Course
- International relations
- Study-unit Code
- A001438
- Curriculum
- Cooperazione internazionale e state building
- Teacher
- Donatella Lanari
- Teachers
-
- Donatella Lanari
- Hours
- 32 ore - Donatella Lanari
- CFU
- 6
- Course Regulation
- Coorte 2020
- Offered
- 2020/21
- Learning activities
- Affine/integrativa
- Area
- Attività formative affini o integrative
- Academic discipline
- SECS-S/04
- Type of study-unit
- Opzionale (Optional)
- Type of learning activities
- Attività formativa monodisciplinare
- Language of instruction
- English Language.
- Contents
- In the first part of the course students will familiarize with Key concepts of demography: methods and analysis of the growth and structure of populations, including measurement of fertility, mortality and migration patterns. Sources of demographic data: the main national and international surveys. Recent demographic trends: population ageing and low fertility.
The second part of the course aims to explain the changes that involved the demographic patterns over time, the role of populations policies and international migrations.
The history of human population growth and carryng capacity. Demographic transitions. The
populations of the developing countries: trends from the 1950s to the 2017. The future scenarios of the world population. Considerations on population policies. From he Action Plan of Il Cairo (1994) to its revision in 2010. The international migrations in the past. The recent changes of international migratory flows, their role in Europe and Italy. - Reference texts
- -M. Livi Bacci
A Concise History of World Population, 6th Edition, 2017 Wiley-Blackwell
-M. Livi Bacci
Our Shrinking Planet, 2017,
Polity Press
-Selected papers, Lecture notes and documents will be available on the e-learning website (unistudium) - Educational objectives
- Students will acquire the appropriate instruments and abilities necessary for a correct interpretation of the different evolutions of populations in rich and poor countries. By the end of the course, students will be able to identify the interrelations between demographic, economic and social phenomena; they will correctly interpret the data, trends and implications for future demographic developments. Knowledge of the population policies and the role of international migrations will be achieved.
- Prerequisites
- Not required
- Teaching methods
- Face-to-face lectures; seminars
- Learning verification modality
- The final test consists of an oral examination (20-25 minutes) on all the contents of the course and the topics examined in depth trough the recommended texts.
- Extended program
- The course is divided into three parts.
Firstly, it aims to explain the most important changes that involved the demographic patterns over time during the demographic transition. Secondly, the course will highlight the role of the population policies in encouraging the development of the poorest countries and in modifying their demographic behaviours. Finally, we will discuss the role of the international migrations.
First part: The space and strategies of the population growth. Outline of the earth's population. The demographic development between choice and constraint. The contemporary demography from "dispersion to efficiency". Demographic transitions in developed and developing countries. Relationship between demographic and economic growth. The populations of developing countries: trends from the 1950s to 2020.
Second part: Population policies. The UN world conferences on population. The Action Plan of Il Cairo (1994) and its revisions; monitoring the objectives in 2010. Human development indicators (UN). The future scenarios of world population; relations with the economic growth and emerging limits.
Third part: The international migrations. Sources: limitations and problems. International migrations in the past, with a focus on Italian emigration in the last century. The recent changes in the international migration flows: migrations and development; irregular migration; the consequences of the economic crisis. The contemporary European migrations and migration policies in the European Union. Italy in the new system of international migrations: foreign immigration in Italy: sources, trends, policies and perspectives