Immigrant's ages and the structure of stationary populations with below-replacement fertility.
A sustained regime of low fertility plus immigration yields an unusual kind of stationary population. The author demonstrates that all stationary populations have a common structure, and that the familiar replacement-level fertility population is the youngest among the many stationary populations corresponding to a particular life table. This finding has important consequences for policy because although fertility increase and immigration are equally effective at halting population decline, immigration is inferior as a means of rejuvenating low-fertility populations. In fact, an immigration-based policy could make a low-fertility population older rather than younger. The paper includes examples using U.S. and West German vital rates.
Schmertmann
C P
CP
Center for the Study of Population, Florida State University, Tallahassee 32306-4063.
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003710:Demography; D004641:Emigration and Immigration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005006:Ethnicity / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005298:Fertility; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008875:Middle Aged; D015233:Models, Statistical