“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...

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Main Authors: M. Hilbig, E. Loichinger, B. Köppen
Format: Article
Language:deu
Published: Copernicus Publications 2022-03-01
Series:Geographica Helvetica
Online Access:https://gh.copernicus.org/articles/77/141/2022/gh-77-141-2022.pdf
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author M. Hilbig
E. Loichinger
B. Köppen
author_facet M. Hilbig
E. Loichinger
B. Köppen
author_sort M. Hilbig
collection DOAJ
description <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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spelling doaj.art-c72917dbb9dc4c598073ae3ae6bf9f432022-12-21T21:10:03ZdeuCopernicus PublicationsGeographica Helvetica0016-73122194-87982022-03-017714115110.5194/gh-77-141-2022“It makes the buzz” – putting the demographic dividend under scrutinyM. Hilbig0E. Loichinger1B. Köppen2Department of Geography, Institute for Integrated Natural Sciences, University of Koblenz-Landau, Campus Koblenz, 56070 Koblenz, GermanyFederal Institute for Population Research (BiB), 65185 Wiesbaden, GermanyDepartment of Geography, Institute for Integrated Natural Sciences, University of Koblenz-Landau, Campus Koblenz, 56070 Koblenz, Germany<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>https://gh.copernicus.org/articles/77/141/2022/gh-77-141-2022.pdf
spellingShingle M. Hilbig
E. Loichinger
B. Köppen
“It makes the buzz” – putting the demographic dividend under scrutiny
Geographica Helvetica
title “It makes the buzz” – putting the demographic dividend under scrutiny
title_full “It makes the buzz” – putting the demographic dividend under scrutiny
title_fullStr “It makes the buzz” – putting the demographic dividend under scrutiny
title_full_unstemmed “It makes the buzz” – putting the demographic dividend under scrutiny
title_short “It makes the buzz” – putting the demographic dividend under scrutiny
title_sort it makes the buzz putting the demographic dividend under scrutiny
url https://gh.copernicus.org/articles/77/141/2022/gh-77-141-2022.pdf
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