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Europe today is characterized by aging populations, changing family patterns, dropping fertility rates and mass migration. With the potentially massive ramifications this has for pensions, health, housing, transport, family relations, employment and other sectors of society, The New Generations of Europeans sets out to assess what it is to be a citizen of a growing EU and what important demographic, social, and economic issues will have to be faced by European decision makers. Edited by leading demographers and sociologists, and made up of contributions from respected researchers in the fields of population and society from different parts of Europe, it presents the results of five years of research by the European Observatory on the Social Situation, Demography and the Family. With the aid of over 100 graphs and tables and a full discussion, this book asks how numerous, fertile and long-lived the new generations of European citizens will be. The state of families, immigration and health are all examined, especially in the context of the challenges that will be faced in maintaining social cohesion. Crucially, the question of how demographic changes will impact Europe's socioeconomic infrastructure is woven throughout.
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The New Generations of Europeans Demography and Families in the Enlarged European Union The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis is an interdisciplinary, nongovernmental research institution founded in 1972 by leading scientific organizations in 12 countries. Situated near Vienna, in the center of Europe, IIASA has been producing valuable scientific research on economic, technological and environmental issues for over three decades. IIASA was one of the first international institutes to systematically study global issues of environment, technology and development. IIASA’s Governing Council states that the Institute’s goal is: to conduct international and interdisciplinary scientific studies to provide timely and relevant information and options, addressing critical issues of global environmental, economic and social change, for the benefit of the public, the scientific community and national and international institutions. Research is organized around three central themes: – Energy and Technology – Environment and Natural Resources – Population and Society IIASA is funded and supported by scientific institutions and organizations in the following countries: Austria, China, Czech Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russian Federation, Sweden, Ukraine, United States of America. Further information: http://www.iiasa.ac.at The European Observatory on the Social Situation, Demography and Family 1998 to 2004 The European Observatory on the Social Situation, Demography and Family was a multidisciplinary network of independent experts established and funded by the European Com¨ mission. Between 1998 and 2004 the Austrian Institute for Family Studies (OIF) coordinated the Observatory. The European Observatory had a national expert in each of the then 15 member states of the European Union. These experts monitored and reported on political, demographic and socioeconomic changes and how these influenced the social situation and the family. This book, The New Generations of Europeans: Demography and Families in the Enlarged European Union, summarizes the insights from the research of the Observatory. Further information: http://europa.eu.int/comm/employment social/eoss/ This publication is based on articles and contributions presented during the closing conference of the European Observatory on Demography, the Social Situation and Family that took place from 27 to 28 September 2004. The Observatory was entirely funded by the European Commission. However, the reports and contributions in the present publication do not ne