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Volume 66
№ 2, July 2011
The world at 7 billion
By Carl Haub and James Gribble
Even though the world population growth rate has slowed
from 2.1 percent per year in the late 1960s to 1.2 percent today,
the size of the world's population has continued to increase - from
5 billion in 1987 to 6 billion in 1999, and to 7 billion in 2011.
This Population Bulletin looks at the four phases of the demographic
transition as descriptive of past and future population growth.
We highlight four countries to illustrate each phase and its implications
for human well-being: Uganda (high birth rate, fluctuating death
rate); Guatemala (declining birth and death rates); India (approaching
replacement-level fertility); and Germany (low or very low birth
and death rates).
http://www.prb.org/pdf11/world-at-7-billion.pdf
December 2011
A post-recession update on U.S. Social and economic
trends
By linda A. Jacobsen and Mark Mather
The Great Recession in the United States began in December
2007 and officially ended in June of 2009, resulting in a broad-based
decline in America's economic well-being and security.1 The job
and housing markets have still not recovered, and the number of
people in poverty increased more between 2009 and 2010 than in the
year following any other recession since 1962.2 This update focuses
on the period since 2008 to assess the ongoing impact of the recession
in the United States.
Between November 2009 and November 2011, the seasonally
adjusted unemployment rate in the United States dropped from 9.9
percent to 8.6 percent. Rates remain high among all major racial
and ethnic groups, although they have declined from the peak levels
of 2009
http://www.prb.org/pdf11/us-economic-social-trends-update-2011.pdf
Volume 67
№ 1, September 2012
Household change in the United States
By Linda A. Jacobsen, Mark Mather, and Genevieve Dupuis
The number of households in the United States more than
tripled between 1940 and 2010-from 35 million to 117 million-and
household growth outpaced population growth in every decade across
this time period. Accompanying this growth in the number of households
has been a gradual but significant transformation of household structure.
While in 1940 the overwhelming majority of households (90 percent)
contained families-two or more persons who were related to each
other-by 2010, this share had dropped to 66 percent. Household structure
plays an important role in the economic and social well-being of
families and individuals. The number and characteristics of household
members affect the types of relationships and the pool of economic
resources available within the household.
In this Population Bulletin, examine the dramatic changes
in U.S. household structure in the last 70 years, and how households
differ by important characteristics such as age, race and ethnicity,
and education. The authors analyze trends in the key social processes
driving household change, and examine groups of people born in the
same year or decade (birth cohorts) to see how the lifetime experiences
of individuals have changed. New types of households and families
are emerging in the United States in response to changing social
norms, economic conditions, and laws governing marriage, and we
discuss challenges in capturing these new family forms in demographic
surveys.
http://www.prb.org/pdf12/us-household-change-2012.pdf
№ 2, January 2013
Achieving a Demographic Dividend
By James N. Gribble and Jason Bremner
One of the goals of development policies is to create
an environment for rapid economic growth. The economic successes
of the "Asian Tigers" during the 1960s and 1970s have
led to a comprehensive way of thinking about how different sectors
can work together to make this growth a reality. Referred to as
the "demographic dividend," this framework helps explain
the experience of certain countries in Asia, and later successes
in Latin America, and is creating a sense of optimism for improving
the economic well-being of developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan
Africa.
The demographic dividend refers to the accelerated economic
growth that begins with changes in the age structure of a country's
population as it transitions from high to low birth and death rates.
With fewer young people relative to the population of working-age
adults, and with the successful implementation of key national policies
over the long term, countries such as Thailand and Brazil have reaped
the rewards from their demographic dividend. But many policymakers
mistakenly think that a demographic dividend results automatically
from a large population of young people relative to the population
of working-age adults without the needed population, social, and
economic policies. This is not the case.
This Population Bulletin explains the demographic dividend
in terms of demographic changes, investments in human capital, and
economic and governance policies. The experiences of Asia and Latin
America in achieving their dividends are highlighted, as are the
prospects for African nations. The last section outlines issues
that countries need to plan for as they move beyond their demographic
dividend.
http://www.prb.org/pdf12/achieving-demographic-dividend.pdf
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