Ms. magazine is the unabashed holy grail of feminism. Right on the masthead it says “More than a Magazine, a Movement.” But just what is feminism? Like many buzz words in our pestilential popular culture, the term is used like a sledgehammer to set the parameters of permissible public discourse. It is a set piece of […]
Promoting marriage is likely the most successful way to promote more births in Asia, according to recent research by Mengni Chen, a research scientist at the University of Cologne in Germany and University of Louvain in Belgium, and Paul Yip, the chair professor (population health) at the University of Hong Kong. 2020 estimates continue to place the […]
The Balkans used to be the powder keg of Europe, the fault line between Christian Europe and the Ottoman Empire, the sparring ground for Russia and Austria-Hungary; the killing fields of Milosovic. Nowadays however, the fire seems to have gone out of the Balkans. Instead, the peninsula is sloping into demographic stagnation and decline brought […]
Norway is a country that appears to have fared well during the Covid-19 pandemic thus far. However, the country has another worrying problem it must also face: the population is aging fast, meaning tough economic times still lie ahead. Norway is a country that appears to have fared well during the Covid-19 pandemic thus […]
Will we be working until we’re 75 because we’re not having enough children to pay for pensions? WATCH and share
As we usher in the 2020s with a coronavirus outbreak and massive wildfires, one feels tempted to make forecasts for the upcoming decade with a glimmer of hope amidst the gloom. However, when it comes to demographics for East Asia, there is no silver lining. Through comparing the present to what might happen in 2030 […]
This year is a big year for the USA. What happens in 2020 will shape the course of the country for years to come with far-reaching political and economic effects. Of course, I am talking about the decennial census which is being held this year. Although the official “Census Day” (I wonder if they make […]
The world’s major economies are being hit hard by demographic change. From China to Europe, they may well grow old before they grow any richer. Over the next three decades, the global number of older persons is projected to more than double, reaching over 1.5 billion persons in 2050. Currently, Eastern and South-Eastern Asia are home to the […]
It is incredible how rare babies are becoming in the Republic of Korea. In 2018, the country’s total fertility rate (the number of babies a woman will have on average in her lifetime) crashed down to 0.98. That’s far below the rate of 2.1 considered necessary for a stable population and is about the lowest […]
Fine Gael’s election campaign seems to have been derailed in part by the understandable anger felt by voters at the mess the government has made of the pensions issue. The issue has arisen because private sector workers retire at 65 but since 2014 they have not been entitled to access the State pension until 66 […]