Is immigration the answer to the aging problem in the lowest-low fertility countries? An introduction

Abstract

For nearly a century, Italy was a country of emigration. Due to the European economic crisis of 1973-74 and the subsequent closure of the borders in the traditional immigration countries, Italy became a final destination country of immigration, with currently about 5 million immigrants. Nowadays, the immigrant component tends to reduce the "excess" of elderly in the Italian population. The question whether immigration could be a solution to the prolonged low fertility levels, preventing or mitigating the aging of the population in the short, medium and long term, has generated broad scientific debate. Antonio GOLINI, Emeritus Professor, Sapienza University of Rome, Viale Regina Elena, n. 295, 00161-Roma, Italy. E-mail: antonio.golini@uniroma1.it . Eros MORETTI, Full Professor of Demography, Dipartimento di Scienze Economiche e Sociali, Polytechnic University of Marche, Ancona, Italy. E-mail: e.moretti@univpm.it .