“It makes the buzz” – putting the demographic dividend under scrutiny
<p>We contribute to this theme issue on “(Re)Thinking population geography” with a critical engagement with the concept of the demographic dividend (DD). We put the DD – a concept based on interactions between demography, development and policy making – under scrutiny and investigate in partic...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | deu |
| Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2022-03-01
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| Series: | Geographica Helvetica |
| Online Access: | https://gh.copernicus.org/articles/77/141/2022/gh-77-141-2022.pdf |
| Summary: | <p>We contribute to this theme issue on “(Re)Thinking population geography” with a critical engagement with the
concept of the demographic dividend (DD). We put the DD – a concept based
on interactions between demography, development and policy making – under
scrutiny and investigate in particular whether a <i>demographization</i> of politics, a criticism
concerning political decision-making based on a reductionist use of
demographic data, as described by Barlösius (2007) and Schultz (2019),
is happening.</p>
<p>Our findings, based on literature analysis and interviews with experts
working in the field of development cooperation, policy advocacy and
demographic research, show that simplistic demographic explanations for
economic growth are appealing to political leaders and advocacy groups. In
the context of the DD, demographization is being strategically used by advisors and
scientists to convince and engage decision makers at all administrative
levels in order to promote voluntary family planning, multi-sectoral
development policies and human rights.</p>
<p>Our research suggests that the well-established and widely used paradigm of
the DD might be a prominent example of what we call <i>positive demographization</i>. At the same time,
particularly when it comes to the politicization of the female body through
demographic intervention, the concept of the DD remains potentially prone to
politically motivated interpretation and use.</p> |
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| ISSN: | 0016-7312 2194-8798 |