Demographic Change and Public Policy

Catalog description

This course will examine the interplay between demographic trends and public policies, largely in the United States. Students will be exposed to the two-way relationship between public policy and demographic change, considering both the impact of policies on demographic outcomes as well as the effect of changing demographic structures on public policy development. Demographic trends play an important role in driving public policy change, especially given the extent to which shifts in population composition emphasize different areas of public policy. Similarly, public policies have implications for outcomes related to population structure and composition, including health, life expectancy, marriage, childbearing, migration, aging, disability, and retirement. Inequality across race, ethnicity, nativity, gender, socioeconomic status, and geographic location is a common thread that runs through each of these relationships. The course provides a detailed examination of each process. The course will involve an introduction to demography and public policy and will cover topics including immigration, health policy and life expectancy, family policies, family structure and fertility, migration and immigration policy, race and racism, housing and urban policy, population aging and pensions, social policy and inequality, and climate and environmental policy. Readings will be a mix of scholarly articles and popular press pieces. Class meetings involve significant expectations for student discussion and participation. Students will complete a policy project that engages with a contemporary demographic issue.