Events

Jointly organized by J Y Pillay Comparative Asia Research Centre, Asia Research Institute, and Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, National University of Singapore.

CHAIRPERSON

Prof Gavin Jones, J Y Pillay Comparative Asia Research Centre, National University of Singapore.

ABSTRACT

The past century, and especially the past few decades, has been a period of demographic change that can be described without any exaggeration as dramatic, even tumultuous — at least when compared to the stately pace of most demographic change. Of the three key drivers of demographic change – mortality, fertility, and migration – all have been actively in play and often quite volatile. All three carry with them large political implications, both international and domestic, and all are in turn affected in substantial ways by political actions taken by governments. While no one can predict the future, the stage seems set for more and perhaps even more powerful demographic turbulence over the coming decades.

It is surprising that the connections between demographic and political change have received only sparse attention from the two academic disciplines – demography and political science — that arguably have the most to contribute to their understanding. “Political demography” – described by Weiner over 40 years ago as the “study of the size, composition, and distribution of population in relation to both government and politics” – warrants more serious attention by both political scientists and demographers, and better understanding by political leaders and publics. The political implications of the likely rapid and volatile demographic trends of the future deserve more serious scholarly attention among political scientists, while the under-attended political drivers and effects of demographic change deserve more thoughtful scrutiny by demographers. Looking forward, even if through a foggy crystal ball, there is reason for hope that such research will provide valuable contributions to understanding of these potent processes over the coming decades.

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Michael S. Teitelbaum is Wertheim Fellow at Harvard Law School and Senior Advisor to the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation in New York City. From 1983 to 2010, Dr Teitelbaum served as a Program Director and later as Vice President at the Sloan Foundation. Previously he was a faculty member at Princeton and Oxford Universities, and served as Vice Chair and Acting Chair of the U.S. Commission on International Migration. He was educated at Reed College and at Oxford University, where he was a Rhodes Scholar. Dr Teitelbaum is a demographer, with research interests that include the intersections of demography and politics; causes and consequences of very low fertility rates; the processes and implications of international migration; and patterns and trends in science and engineering labor markets in the U.S. and elsewhere. He is author, co-author or editor of numerous books and a large number of articles on these subjects. His books include, The Global Spread of Fertility Decline: Population, Fear, and Uncertainty, with Jay Winter (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2013), Political Demography, Demographic Engineering, with Myron Weiner (New York and Oxford: Berghahn Books, 2001), A Question of Numbers: High Migration, Low Fertility, and the Politics of National Identity, with Jay Winter (New York: Hill & Wang, 1998), International Migration and International Trade, with Sharon Stanton Russell (Washington: The World Bank, 1992), The Fear of Population Decline, with J.M. Winter (Academic Press, New York and London, 1985), The British Fertility Decline: Demographic Transition in the Crucible of the Industrial Revolution (Princeton University Press, 1984).

REGISTRATION

Admission is free and seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis. We would greatly appreciate if you RSVP Mr Jonathan Lee via email: jonathan.lee@nus.edu.sg