1,721,081 research outputs found
Demographic perspectives in research on global environmental change
Full text linkHuman population is at the centre of research on global environmental change. On the one hand, population dynamics influence the environment and the global climate system through consumption-based carbon emissions. On the other hand, health and wellbeing of the population is already being affected by climate change. The knowledge on population dynamics and population heterogeneity thus is fundamental in improving our understanding of how population size, composition and distribution influence global environmental change and how these changes affect subgroups of population differentially by demographic characteristics and spatial distribution. Existing theoretical concepts and methodological tools in demography can be readily applied to the study of population and global environmental change but the topic has remained less central in demographic research. However, the increasing relevance of demographic research on the topic coupled with availability and advancement in data and computing facilities have contributed to growing engagement of demographers in this field. In the past couple of decades, demographic research has enriched climate change research both in the analysis of the impact of population dynamics on the global climate system as well as the impact of climate change on human population. The key contribution is in moving beyond the narrow view that population matters only in terms of population size but putting a greater emphasis also on population composition and distribution through presenting both empirical evidence and advanced population forecasting accounting for demographic and spatial heterogeneity. Whilst the research on how population dynamics influence the environmental and climate system is relatively advanced in recent years, what is missing in the literature is the study that investigates how global environmental change affect current and future demographic processes and consequently population trends. If global environmental change does influence fertility, mortality and migration, the three key demographic components underlying population change, population estimates and forecast need to adjust from the climate feedback in population projections. Indisputably, this is the new area of research that directly requires expertise in population science and contribution from demographers
Editors' Note on the December 2024 Issue
No full textPopulation and Development Review is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by Wiley-Blackwell on behalf of the Population Council. It was established in 1975 and the journal is co-edited by Raya Muttarak and Joshua Wilde. The journal covers population studies, the relationships between population and economic, environmental, and social change, and related thinking on public policy. Content types are original research articles, commentaries, data and perspectives on statistics, archival documents on population issues, book reviews, and official documents from population agencies or related organizations
Forecasting societies' adaptive capacities through a demographic metabolism model
No full textIn seeking to understand how future societies will be affected by climate change we cannot simply assume they will be identical to those of today, because climate and societies are both dynamic. Here we propose that the concept of demographic metabolism and the associated methods of multi-dimensional population projections provide an effective analytical toolbox to forecast important aspects of societal change that affect adaptive capacity. We present an example of how the changing educational composition of future populations can influence societies' adaptive capacity. Multi-dimensional population projections form the human core of the Shared Socioeconomic Pathways scenarios, and knowledge and analytical tools from demography have great value in assessing the likely implications of climate change on future human well-being
Greening through schooling: understanding the link between education and pro-environmental behavior in the Philippines
Full text linkIn recent years, changing lifestyle, consumption and mobility patterns have contributed to a global rise in greenhouse gases responsible for the warming of the planet. Despite its increasing relevance, there is a lack of understanding of factors influencing the environmental behavior of people from emerging economies. In this study, we focus on the role of formal education for pro-environmental behavior in the Philippines and study three potentially underlying mechanisms explaining the education effects: differential knowledge about climate change, risk perceptions, and awareness. Whilst there is some evidence showing that education is associated with pro-environmental behavior, little is known about the actual mechanisms through which it influences decision-making. Using propensity score methods, we find that an additional year of schooling significantly increases the probability of pro-environmental actions, e.g. planting trees, recycling, and proper waste management, by 3.3%. Further decomposing the education effects, it is found that education influences behavior mainly by increasing awareness about the anthropogenic causes of climate change, which may consequently affect the perception of self-efficacy in reducing human impacts on the environment. Knowledge and perceptions about climate risks also explain the education effect on pro-environmental behavior, but to a lesser extent
Climate change and seasonal floods: potential long-term nutritional consequences for children in Kerala, India
Full text linkIn the aftermath of the worst flooding Kerala has experienced in nearly a century, we highlight the urgency of considering the long-term health consequences of floods, especially on young children.
Based on the recent Demographic and Health Survey data for India in 2015–2016, we provided evidence showing that abnormally wet conditions increased the likelihood of undernutrition for children aged under 5 as measured by stunting and wasting.
Experiencing floods during infancy, being a girs with illiterate mothers making a child particularly vulnerable to being stunted while living in the rural area increases the risk of being wasted due to floods.
We put forward that nutritional and water and sanitation interventions at the critical period of flood exposure can reverse the course of undernutrition which in turn can reduce the cost of poor human development in the long run
After the floods: Differential impacts of rainfall anomalies on child stunting in India
Full text link• Excessive rainfall increases the risk of child stunting in India.
• Children from socially disadvantaged households display higher vulnerability to such shocks.
• Investment in women’s education can significantly reduce the risk of child stunting
Bowling Together: Scientific Collaboration Networks of Demographers at European Population Conferences
No full textStudies of collaborative networks of demographers are relatively scarce. Similar studies in other social sciences provide insight into scholarly trends of both the fields and characteristics of their successful scientists. Exploiting a unique database of metadata for papers presented at six European Population Conferences, this report explores factors explaining research collaboration among demographers. We find that (1) collaboration among demographers has increased over the past 10 years, however, among co-authored papers, collaboration across institutions remains relatively unchanged over the period, (2) papers based on core demographic subfields such as fertility, mortality, migration and data and methods are more likely to involve multiple authors and (3) multiple author teams that are all female are less likely to co-author with colleagues in different institutions. Potential explanations for these results are discussed alongside comparisons with similar studies of collaboration networks in other related social sciences
Universal education is key to enhanced climate adaptation
No full textOver the coming years, enormous amounts of money will likely be spent on adaptation to climate change. The international community recently made pledges of up to $100 billion per year by 2020 for the Green Climate Fund. Judging from such climate finance to date, funding for large projects overwhelmingly goes to engineers to build seawalls, dams, or irrigation systems (1). But with specific projections of future changes in climate in specific locations still highly uncertain, such heavy concrete (in both meanings) and immobile investments that can lock countries into certain paths may not be the best way to go (2). Our new study suggests that it may be efficient and effective to give part of this fund to educators rather than engineers. Public investment in universal education in poor countries in the near future should be seen as a top priority for enhancing societies' adaptive capacity vis-à-vis future climate change
Who is concerned about and takes action on climate change? Gender and education divides among Thais. Vienna Yearbook of Population Research|Vienna Yearbook of Population Research 2015|
No full textUsing data from Opinions about the Environment and Global Warming 2010, a nationally representative survey of 3900 adults, this study investigates demographic differentials in levels of concern about climate change and climate-relevant behaviours. The factor analysis of 11 environmentally friendly and carbon emissions reduction behaviours identifies two main factors that underlie climate-relevant behaviours: (1) efforts to save electricity and water, and (2) technical and behavioural changes. The multivariate analyses show that women and individuals with higher education are more likely than others to worry a great deal about global warming, and to make technical and behavioural changes. It may be the case that education is positively correlated with making technical and behavioural changes, but not with making efforts to save electricity or water, because the former set of actions require more effort and knowledge to pursue, while the latter set of actions are commonly undertaken for economic reasons. Having concerns about global warming and having experienced environmental problems are also associated with an increased adoption of climate-relevant behaviours
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