1st Edition

The New Generations of Europeans Demography and Families in the Enlarged European Union

Edited By Wolfgang Lutz, Rudolf Richter, Chris Wilson Copyright 2007

    Europe today is characterized by aging populations, changing family patterns, dropping fertility rates and mass migration. With the potentially massive ramifications this has for pensions, health, housing, transport, family relations, employment and other sectors of society, The New Generations of Europeans sets out to assess what it is to be a citizen of a growing EU and what important demographic, social, and economic issues will have to be faced by European decision makers. Edited by leading demographers and sociologists, and made up of contributions from respected researchers in the fields of population and society from different parts of Europe, it presents the results of five years of research by the European Observatory on the Social Situation, Demography and the Family. With the aid of over 100 graphs and tables and a full discussion, this book asks how numerous, fertile and long-lived the new generations of European citizens will be. The state of families, immigration and health are all examined, especially in the context of the challenges that will be faced in maintaining social cohesion. Crucially, the question of how demographic changes will impact Europe's socioeconomic infrastructure is woven throughout.

    PART I: Introduction and Overview * Introduction * The Social Situation in the European Union, 2004 * PART II: Fertility Trends in an Enlarged European Union * Low Fertility and the Scope for Social Policy: Understanding the Context * Childbearing Behavior in the New EU Member States: Basic Trends and Selected Attitudes * Alternative Paths for Future European Fertility: Will the Birth Rate Recover or Continue to Decline? * PART III: Family Forms and the Young Generation in an Enlarged Union * Europe's Coming Generations: The Influence of the Past * Youth Transitions and Family Support in a Transforming Social Context Reflections from the New Member States * Family Forms and the Young Generation in the New Europe: Future Trends * PART IV: Migration Developments in an Enlarged European Union * Migration, Migrants and Their Families in the EU15 Member States * International Migration Patterns in the New EU Member States * The Future European Union Facing Migration * PART V: Family and Health in an Enlarged European Union * Family and Health: A Model and European Facts * The Polish Health System in Europe: Situation, Reforms and Challenges * Issues for the Future of Health Care in an Enlarged EU * PART VI: Challenges Ahead for the European Union * Civic Society and the Family: On the Formation of Social Capital in Europe * Europe's Future Generations: Closing Thoughts *

    Biography

    Wolfgang Lutz is leader of the World Population Program at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) and director of the Vienna Institute of Demography. Rudolf Richter is professor of sociology and dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Vienna Chris Wilson is a senior research scholar at IIASA.