Skip to main content
Discussion papers

Discussion Papers

While the policy briefs provide a condensed, four-page overview on a specific policy-relevant topic, the discussion papers tackle more general aspects and perspectives of population developments, and go more in-depth into an issue.

Image
Discussion Paper No. 10: Gender (In)Equality over the Life Course
The collection of articles included in this Discussion Paper captures the state-of-the-art research in the field of Gender (In)Equality. The contributions present in a condensed version the key theories, socio-demographic trends and remaining questions regarding gender (in)equality across multiple domains of life. All of the articles also draw their empirical evidence from data from the Generations & Gender Programme (GGP). GGP is a social science research infrastructure devoted to the study of the life course and family dynamics.   Contents:

The collection of articles included in this Discussion Paper captures the state-of-the-art research in the field of Gender (In)Equality. The contributions present in a condensed version the key theories, socio-demographic trends and remaining questions regarding gender (in)equality across multiple domains of life.

All of the articles also draw their empirical evidence from data from the Generations & Gender Programme (GGP). GGP is a social science research infrastructure devoted to the study of the life course and family dynamics.  

Image
Discussion Paper No. 9: Ageing Workforce, Social Cohesion and Sustainable Development
The analyses presented in the Discussion Paper ‘Ageing Workforce, Social Cohesion and Sustainable Development’ are a result of thorough scientific evidence and discussions among experts from research, policy and societal organisations from eleven Baltic Sea States. Results suggest, for instance, that regional and national policies aimed at creating sustainable ageing societies should better support small and medium-sized enterprises in adapting to new characteristics of the working force.
Image
Discussion Paper No. 8: Similar but Different
Social cohesion and cultural integration of immigrants is a recurrent topic in most public discourses in European countries (Algan et al., 2012). The persistent discussion about a dominant, guiding culture in Germany (the so-called Leitkultur-Debatte) or the French debate on the nature of secularism and the challenges of Islam (débats sur la Laïcité) are just some examples.
Image
Discussion Paper No. 7: Knowing the Unknown
This report aims at contributing to the advancement of research on irregular migration in Germany by describing how irregular migration is defined by German law, which data is available to study this phenomenon as well as its limitations, what researchers have explored so far, and how to move forward.

This report aims at contributing to the advancement of research on irregular migration in Germany by describing how irregular migration is defined by German law, which data is available to study this phenomenon as well as its limitations, what researchers have explored so far, and how to move forward. Read more.

 

 

Image
Discussion Paper No. 6: Green Book Ageing Society
This Green Book covers a wide spectrum of topics, bringing together perspectives from leading experts in various scientific disciplines, ranging from demography, sociology, psychology and epidemiology, to economics, politics and history. In their short contributions, the authors present evidence that sheds light on these fundamental questions. It is clear that the topics discussed here do not provide a complete picture of the diversity of demographic change, which includes an even wider range of questions, for example, related to family and migration policies.
Image
Discussion Paper No. 6: Grünbuch Alternde Gesellschaft
Das vorliegende Grünbuch versammelt eine breite Palette an Themen und bringt führende Experten aus unterschiedlichen wissenschaftlichen Disziplinen zusammen – von der Demografie und Soziologie über die Psychologie, Epidemiologie hin zu den Wirtschafts-, Politik- und Geschichtswissenschaften –, um in kurzen Beiträgen einige grundlegende Fragen evidenzbasiert zur Diskussion zu stellen.
Image
Discussion Paper No. 4: Social Vulnerability as an Analytical Perspective (2017)
Europe is and further will be facing new challenges related to the consequences of demographic change. Among other socio-demographic transformations, population ageing is inevitable in most European states due to long-term demographic trends. Therefore, social and health policies are focusing more and more on the circumstances and effects of longer lives, e.g. with regard to promoting active and healthy ageing, encouraging longer working lifetimes and designing new public-private pension arrangements to ensure adequate material well-being in old age.
Image
Discussion Paper No. 3: EU Civil Society and Demographic Change (2015)
This paper focuses on the views and concepts of European civil society actors on the issue of demographic change and related fields. Chapter 1 clarifies the scope of this paper in terms of how EU civil society is understood, what aspects of demographic change and population policy are considered and which period of time is cov­ered. Chapter 2 provides examples of institutionalised forms of exchange between the EU and civil society organisations at the European Commission level in areas relevant to the issue of demographic change.
Image
Discussion Paper No. 2: Demographic Change on the Political Agenda of the European Commission (2015)
This paper offers insights into how demographic change is discussed as a political challenge at the European Union (EU) level, specifically the European Commission. Chapter 1 provides basic conceptual specifications and definitions on how population policies and demographic change are understood in this paper. Chapter 2 describes the institutional set-up and framework of population policies at the EU level. Chapter 3 gives a short overview of how demographic issues are institutionally framed as areas of political action within the European Commission.