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Ageing Populations

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Abstract

Population ageing is represented by an increase in the relative number of older persons in a population and is associated with an increase in the median age of the population. The age structure of a population is determined by its mortality, fertility, and net migration experience. Although life tables and survivorship rates date from the 17th century, the development of mathematical demography is essentially a 20th-century innovation. The techniques of mathematical demography can be used to show how the age structure of a population changes with alternative transition rates.

This chapter was originally published in The New Palgrave: A Dictionary of Economics, 1st edition, 1987. Edited by John Eatwell, Murray Milgate and Peter Newman

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Clark, R.L. (1987). Ageing Populations. In: The New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_171-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/978-1-349-95121-5_171-1

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-349-95121-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Economics and FinanceReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

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