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The Dynamics of Populations Large and Small: Processes, Models and Futures

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Population Dynamics and Projection Methods

Part of the book series: Understanding Population Trends and Processes ((UPTA,volume 4))

Abstract

This chapter is written as a reflection on population changes over the past and future half centuries. Demographic analysis focuses on the processes which add members to populations and which subtract members. The key population processes are therefore fertility which adds babies, mortality which subtracts mainly older adults and migration which adds and subtracts people mainly in the young adult ages. Migration operates on local, national and international scales. Only migration between spatial units alters their population. The chapter looks at both recent trends and the future. Societies that pay attention to their potential futures are normally more successful than societies that pay no attention. As individuals, we are interested in what might happen over our remaining lifetimes, over the remaining lifetimes of our children and grandchildren.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    The UPTAP projections are so called because they have been produced through a research project (RES-163-25-0032: ‘What happens when international migrants settle? Ethnic group population trends and projections for UK local areas’) that was part of the ESRC ‘Understanding Population Trends and Processes’ initiative.

  2. 2.

    The Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition Government has announced in 2010 the intention to remove PCTs as the commissioning authorities within the NHS and create General Practitioner Consortia to become the NHS’s commissioning authorities. These new arrangements will be worked out over 2010–2012.

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Rees, P. (2011). The Dynamics of Populations Large and Small: Processes, Models and Futures. In: Stillwell, J., Clarke, M. (eds) Population Dynamics and Projection Methods. Understanding Population Trends and Processes, vol 4. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8930-4_1

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