The Fertility Of Migrants And Minorities In Europe PDF Download

In this book, nineteen European scholars describe the characteristics and trends evident in the European population at a crucial point in its history. The volume opens with accounts of the general character of the population, its history since the last century, and its current geographical distribution. The authors then discuss mortality, health provision and culture; fertility, abortion and pro-natalist policies; the ageing population, retirement and state provision; the nuclear family and its future, one-parent households, divorce, remarriage, cohabitation and the increase in lone individuals; regional patterns of provision and demand for education; variations in employment and the informal economy; and the contrasting roles of women and attitudes to gender within Europe. Migrants and minorities, whether dominant, repressed or tolerated, have characterized Europe throughout its history and continue to do so. Four chapters consider the related issues of migration within Europe, immigration from outside, national and Community policies, and the autonomy of ethnic minorities. The European Community is populous and rich: with little more than one-twentieth of the world's population on one fifteenth of its land, it controls over one quarter of its wealth. The last may grow; relative to the rest of the world the first is fast declining. Europe is moving towards an as yet undefined unity that already includes freedom of movement and employment, but its variety of national, regional and ethnic cultures is likely to disappear, however convergent social and economic policies become. An understanding of this multiplicity of culture and behaviour is vital to Europe's well-being. In balanced, clear and articulate analyses of often controversial issues, this book makes an important contribution to that understanding.