8 Billion and Counting: How Sex, Death, and Migration Shape Our World

by Jennifer D. Sciubba Narrated by Christine Williams

Overview

A provocative description of the power of population change to create the conditions for societal transformation

As the world nears eight billion people, the countries that have led the global order since World War II are becoming the most aged societies in human history. At the same time, the world's poorest and least powerful countries are suffocating under an imbalance of population and resources. In 8 Billion and Counting, political demographer Jennifer D. Sciubba argues that a deeper understanding of fertility, mortality, and migration trends points us toward the investments we need to make today to shape the future we want tomorrow.

Drawing from decades of research, policy experience, and teaching, Sciubba employs stories and statistics to explain how demographic trends, like age structure and ethnic composition, signal crucial signposts for future violence and peace, repression and democracy, poverty and prosperity. Provocative and engrossing, 8 Billion and Counting is required listening for business leaders, policymakers, and anyone eager to anticipate political, economic, and social risks and opportunities.

Editorial Reviews

Thought Economics - Vikas Shah Mbe

"Provocative and penetrating...[Sciubba shows] how a deeper understanding of fertility, mortality, and migration trends point us toward the investments we need to make today to shape the future we want tomorrow."

Valerie Hudson

"Demography may not be destiny, but it’s destiny’s kissing cousin. Jennifer Sciubba’s easily accessible writing will make an armchair demographer of even those without any background in the subject. Demography is key to understanding the most important trends affecting nations, regions, and the world today, and this book proves a wise guide in that endeavor."

Kirkus Reviews

2021-12-24
If you want to know where we are going and where we have been, look at the trends of demography.

The field of demography has seen more than its share of doomsayers, but the reports have varied widely, with some arguing that there are too many people, some that there are not enough, and others that they are in the wrong places. Sciubba, a professor of international relations and former demographics consultant to the United States Department of Defense, is unfailingly thorough in her research for this authoritative book. She traces the history of the debates, focusing on the key issues of fertility, mortality, and immigration. She notes that the global population is currently around 8 billion and that most of the future growth will be in Africa. With economic development, population growth stabilizes and then starts to fall, due to fewer births and longer life spans. Japan could soon fall below the level needed to sustain the country, and South Korea is not far behind. Population growth in the U.S. has been bolstered by waves of immigration, which has kept the numbers up but is also changing the social composition. Immigration has become a political flashpoint in many countries, but generally there are long-term benefits in larger populations. For developing nations, there can be a demographic dividend if policymakers are willing to make investments in education and infrastructure to take advantage of a bubble in the labor force structure. But Sciubba also looks at how large numbers of unemployed or underemployed young people can lead to social disruption. Some of the old assumptions, such as that a large population is needed for a dynamic manufacturing sector or a strong military, might no longer hold true due to technological changes. Posing interesting and important questions, the author writes in clear, jargon-free language. She is generally optimistic, as long as the issues are properly understood and the right decisions are made.

An articulate, absorbing examination of where the demographic road is leading and how we can avoid the emerging pitfalls.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940177998213
Publisher:	Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Publication date:	06/28/2022
Edition description:	Unabridged

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