November 18, 2004 | Press Release

Looking across the border to Scandinavia
"Nordic Population Research" Workshop at the MPIDR in Rostock on November 25 and 26

A workshop on the aspects of population development will take place on November 25 and 26, 2004, at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR). The conference, which begins on Thursday at 10 a.m., is jointly organized by the MPIDR and Statistics Sweden.

The workshop has a regional focus on Sweden, Norway, and Denmark. The first day of the event considers different aspects of family dynamics in Sweden, including divorce risks and the influence of family policy and education on fertility. The second day of the workshop focuses in addition on mortality developments, such as in socio-economic differences in and seasonal factors of mortality.

Against the background of demographic change and the resulting consequences for the respective welfare systems, a discussion is currently taking place in the countries of Western Europe as to which socio-political means are the most adequate to respond to these changes; according to the MPIDR organizer of the workshop, Gunnar Andersson, politicians from Germany among other countries often look at Scandinavia for a comparison. Several other members of the MPIDR, among them Prof. Dr. Jan Hoem, and scientists from Scandinavia will participate in the workshop.