Population Economics
Gustav Feichtinger and Alexia Fürnkranz-Prskawetz
The focus of our group is on the study of economic determinants and consequences of changes in population structure and dynamics. We carry out research into these complex processes using advanced methodologies drawn from several disciplines.
Our emphasis is on the following themes:
Population Ageing and the Labour Market
In most industrialized countries, the economic output will be achieved by a smaller and older labour force in the future and this will in turn affect the productivity and economic performance of a population. In this project we empirically study the relation between age and productivity based on a new matched employer-employee data set for Austria. We also investigate formal models on age- structured labour market models to study the optimal age-specific labour demand and human capital investment in an ageing population. more
Interrelationship Between Demographic and Economic Variables
During recent years there has been an increasing awareness of the explanatory power of demographic variables in economic growth regressions. We study the effects of age-structure change on economic growth controlling also for different vintages of human capital. Two further research topics we are currently pursuing are the time-series and cross-sectional variation of the relation in female labour force participation and total fertility rate and the relation between poverty and fertility dynamics in developed countries. more
Population, Environment and Economic Development
The relation between population, environment and economic development has been a focus in population economics since the days of Malthus. New evidence of this interrelationship in primitive societies has initiated research in this topic on the intersection of institutional economics, demography and environmental studies. Within the framework of nonlinear dynamical systems theory we are currently investigating the dynamics of population, resources and economic development in Easter Island. In recent years, the impact of population dynamics and structure on the environment has gained increasing attention in developed countries as well. In particular the changing household structure may have a pronounced influence on energy use in the future. We are currently studying the role of demographic changes in future U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, we examine the relationship of human fertility and population density in order to explore whether a limited/reduced living space would induce people to desire, and eventually, to have a fewer number of children. more
Age- and Duration-Specific Dynamic Models
The application of age-structured models in demography and its neighbouring disciplines (economics, manpower planning, etc.) is manifold. Cost-benefit analysis and vintage models in population dynamics call for intertemporal optimization that lead to distributed parameter control problems. Within this methodological framework we currently study the optimal mix of prevention and treatment of disease (HIV/AIDS) and drug use that leads to minimal social costs. A related field is the «double” vintage approach in population economics. We are currently exploring the dynamics of optimal labour demand and human capital investment accounting for age structure of the population and the physical capital. more
Agent-based Computational Models and Social Interactions in Demography
Since many demographic events cannot be explained by economic fundamentals but rather non-market interactions, an important methodological focus of our group is on modelling social interactions. In most of our research we focus on the micro-macro link to explain demographic events and dynamics. To that end we have advanced the use of agent- ased computational demography. more
Changing Family Pathways
In recent decades, most Western countries have witnessed large changes in family behaviour and structures, but most of the studies on family formation have only focused on single events, e.g. the intensity of entering a first union or first parenthood. In this project we consider explicitly the relationships among the family-building processes and their outcomes they produce. For instance, we analyze the micro-level relationships between union formation or dissolution and childbearing and their joint effect on the total level of fertility. more