EPC 2012

The European Population Conference 2012 has begun !  Some interesting papers.

Assorted Links

1. London is now France's sixth biggest city !
   
   
2. Two hundred years of hospital costs and mortality, as seen through the lens of one hospital (via MR)
   
   
3. Another paper on China’s recent fertility decline and its impact on the country’s long-term development
   
   
4. Population density and human fertility
   
   
5. (delayed) Happy Birthday, Erving Goffman! 
   
   
6. Migration and barriers to social mobility in China
   
   
7. Mapping London urban structure by Duncan Smith

LA Light Timelapse

LA Light Timelapse by Colin Rich  (via)

LA Light from Colin Rich on Vimeo.

What is on a Demographer’s Mind?

A worldwide survey conducted among IUSSP members (970 demographers) shows what is on Demographers’ Minds. A nice paper (via)!

And the prize for 'the most important population issue' goes to 'Population Aging'!  'Urbanization' got the second place, except in Europe (Figure 2).

The general remarks of the paper are closely related to this recent article by The Economist "A new science of population". Quote:

“Now though, […] the focus of demographers has switched from the overall size of populations to their composition—that is, to age groups and their relation to one another. Instead of high fertility rates, demographers study ageing, dependency ratios, the “demographic dividend” (a bulge of working-age adults) and distorted sex ratios, which result when millions of parents choose the sex of their children, often by aborting baby daughters.”

Figure 2: What do demographers think are the most important problems in their country of residence? Percentages of demographers who think a problem is very important

[click to enlarge image]

 

Image source

US Newspapers, 1690-2011

Growth of newspapers across the US  1690-2011 (via flowing data)

The Growth of US Newspapers, 1690-2011 from Geoff McGhee on Vimeo.

Data sources: Chronicling America collection, Library of Congress, Urban population estimates from NASA

Data visualization by the Rural West Initiative, Bill Lane Center for the American West, Stanford University
Credits: Dan Chang, Krissy Clark, Yuankai Ge, Geoff McGhee, Yinfeng Qin and Jason Wang

Message of the Day

via

Leaving London tomorrow

I am leaving London tomorrow. I have really enjoyed this experience of "living' in this great city for one month! I'll try to post a few photos and make more comments about this in the near future.

In the meantime, I'm making a short trip to Greece before going back to Brazil. I'll see what I can do for their economy.

Image: London Subterranea by Stephen Walter via PD Smith

I would like to thank Daniel da Mata and his lovely wife Fabiana for their hospitality in Cambridge.

Soundtrack: Home

Labor Force supply (stocks vs. flows)

A short and interesting article by Bryan Caplan on The Myth of the Education Plateau (via MR)

Figure source: Digest of Education Statistics 2010

Assorted Links

1. Population Association of America (PAA) on the elimination of the American Community Survey
   
2. Prof. Michael Sandel will be in London for a public lecture at St. Paul's Cathedral on next Wednesday (I have just received my ticket!)
   
3. Intellectuals go to the beach: Albert S. (funny pictures)
   
4. Dramatic Differences in Childbearing by Age in U.S., Japan, and South Korea
   
5. Mind the Map: Inspiring art, design and cartography (exhibition at the London Transport Museum)
   
6. Dramatic Changes on London Streets in the Congestion Pricing Era
   
7. A good post on population density at Bostonography

Population density in the Greater Boston area 2010.

3 weeks in London

I have been now for almost three weeks in London. Here is what I have learned so far.

• Everybody is always in a hurry, especially in the metro stations (poor elderly people).
• The underground system (aka "Tube") is really impressive although it could be better...

• Every time you ride an escalator here in London, people who are just standing/riding stay to the right side to ensure a clear lane for others. Its' the same in Tokyo and other civilized overcrowded cities. 

• There's no such thing as a “queue” though.

• It's all pretty much well organized and signalized (I have taken the wrong train only once.. ok, twice).
• Here is an excellent travel time map of the Tube 

• The street markets are great, and the main streets are overcrowded.
• I already have my tickets to this presentation!
• One could spend hours and hours listing good and bad things about this amazing metropolis. I prefer to go to sleep. Tomorrow I'll make a visit to Cambridge.

By the way, here is the New Simplified Map of London.