Michael Cook
As Army shrinks, South Korea to recruit women soldiersMichael Cook | 4 Dec 2009From 2011 South Korea may start recruiting women volunteers for its Army to make up for its growing shortage of young men.Japan's new government seeks to boost birth rateMichael Cook | 3 Dec 2009Japan's new government, led by the Democratic Party of Japan, seems to be taking its population problem seriously. The world's number two economy is set to shrink from about 127 million to 95 million by 2050. This means that the number of workers available to support retirees will fall from 3 to 1.5. Because Japanese are notoriously hostile towards increased immigration, the government's options are limited. It is racking its brains for schemes to increase the birth rate. Here are some mentioned in an article by AFP:South Korea reluctantly becoming more diverseMichael Cook | 3 Dec 2009With the world's second-lowest birth rate and a gender imbalance to boot because of sex-selective abortions, South Korean men are going overseas to find brides. The growing number of mixed marriages is creating worrying social problems for the goverrnment. According to the New York Times, hundreds of thousands of women have migrated in recent years, mostly to marry men in rural areas. Most of them come from China, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.How many people have ever lived?Michael Cook | 25 Nov 2009How many people have ever lived upon earth? There is an urban legend from the 1970s that 75% of the world’s total population from the Year 0 to now is alive today. This, it turns out, is nonsense. Demographer Carl Haub, of the Population Reference Bureau, demolished this factoid a few years ago. His argument is one of the best-read articles on the PRB site, which republished it recently.Africa passes billion markMichael Cook | 23 Nov 2009A few interesting figures from the United Nations Population Fund report stand out.No people, no climate change, says UN Population FundMichael Cook | 23 Nov 2009From year to year, population grows at a glacial pace, so it’s tough job to bang the drum about over-population in a glossy annual report year after year. From a public relations point of view, the solution is to pick a trendy angle. The theme of the 2009 State of the World Population Report is women and climate change. |
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