Demographic potential: from the history of the concept

Abstract

This article discusses the main points of the formation and development of the concept«demographic potential» used for the purposes of management and forecasting in a changing environment. The need for demographic potential as an instrumental, supporting notion arose when researchers began to examine possible effects of demographic processes and their impact on the structure and size of population in the future, i.e. build population projections and population development models. Historically, researchers studied demographic potential separately for each component of the overall population growth. Beginning of the study of fertility potential is associated with the name of R. E. Fisher, life potential — with the work of L. Hersch, migration capacity — with the works of J. Q. Stewart, G. K. Zipf, S. A. Staufer and W. Izard. Attempts to assess the joint effect of different components of the overall population growth were episodic. Only in the 30s of the twentieth century the integrated synthesis indicators began to be used for describing the demographic potential. One of the indicators for capacity of population reproduction may be net reproduction rate. Modern interpretations of the potential of changes in fertility and mortality, migration capacity have a wider purpose and filling than at the time of these concepts’ formation. Demographic potential in a narrow sense is the potential population reproduction, including changes in fertility and mortality; in a broader sense, it is the total potential of population — potential of reproduction and migration potential, including possible changes in the population size and structure due to births, deaths, immigration and emigration.