Leo J.G. van Wissen – författare

In 1992, a summer course 'Demographic Perspectives on Living Arrangements' as well as a one-day workshop 'Recent Issues in Household Modelling' were held in Wassenaar, The Netherlands. This volume is based on the lectures delivered during the summer course, as well as on the presentations made in the workshop. As such, the present volume combines the two elements of transfer of knowledge, on the one hand, and updating the state-of-the-art in the field of household demography, especially in household modelling, on the other hand. In organizing the contents and structure of this volume, we have aimed at creating a book that covers the field of household demography and household modelling in a certain logical and comprehensive way. The purpose of this book is to offer a comprehensive treatment of recent developments in various aspects of the growing field of household demography. Since these recent developments have particularly occurred in household analysis and modelling, these topics will receive special emphasis. The book was written for demographers, social scientists, and planners who are involved in the study and projection of popUlation in general, and of households in particular.

This volume marks the culmination of the NOW Priority Programme on Population Issues, an eight-year research programme sponsored by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research. The contributors evaluate the Priority Programme's research results from an international perspective by comparing and contrasting Dutch population trends with those observed elsewhere, and by assessing the Priority Programme's contributions to the scientific literature.

In 1992, a summer course 'Demographic Perspectives on Living Arrangements' as well as a one-day workshop 'Recent Issues in Household Modelling' were held in Wassenaar, The Netherlands. This volume is based on the lectures delivered during the summer course, as well as on the presentations made in the workshop. As such, the present volume combines the two elements of transfer of knowledge, on the one hand, and updating the state-of-the-art in the field of household demography, especially in household modelling, on the other hand. In organizing the contents and structure of this volume, we have aimed at creating a book that covers the field of household demography and household modelling in a certain logical and comprehensive way. The purpose of this book is to offer a comprehensive treatment of recent developments in various aspects of the growing field of household demography. Since these recent developments have particularly occurred in household analysis and modelling, these topics will receive special emphasis. The book was written for demographers, social scientists, and planners who are involved in the study and projection of popUlation in general, and of households in particular.

In 1992, a summer course ''Demographic Perspectives on Living Arrangements'' as well as a one-day workshop ''Recent Issues in Household Modelling'' were held in Wassenaar, The Netherlands. This volume is based on the lectures delivered during the summer course, as well as on the presentations made in the workshop. As such, the present volume combines the two elements of transfer of knowledge, on the one hand, and updating the state-of-the-art in the field of household demography, especially in household modelling, on the other hand. In organizing the contents and structure of this volume, we have aimed at creating a book that covers the field of household demography and household modelling in a certain logical and comprehensive way. The purpose of this book is to offer a comprehensive treatment of recent developments in various aspects of the growing field of household demography. Since these recent developments have particularly occurred in household analysis and modelling, these topics will receive special emphasis. The book was written for demographers, social scientists, and planners who are involved in the study and projection of popUlation in general, and of households in particular.

This volume marks the end of an eight-year program of research on population issues, launched in 1990 by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research: The NWO Priority Program on Population Issues. Initiatives for this program of research were taken over ten years ago by Hans Van Ginkel-who became the first program chair - and Dirk Van De Kaa. The Dutch community of population scientists is deeply indebted to them for their early efforts. At the time, the program carried the name "Between Individual Development and Social Solidarity: Pop­ ulation and Society in a Period of Transition. " The goals of the Priority Program were threefold: To reduce the fragmentation of research on population issues; to increase collabora­ tion among population researchers with different disciplinary back­ grounds; and to strengthen the position of population studies in Dutch academe and in international forums. Looking back over eight years of programed research, we can safely say that the Priority Program has given an enormous impetus to population research in the Netherlands - as this volume attests. This program of research could not have been carried out success­ fully without the valuable contributions and constructive input of a large group of scientists. The scope and the focus of the Priority Program were defined by a preparatory committee chaired by Gerard Frinking.

On the threshold of a new century the organisers of the European Population Conference 1999 (EPC99) in The Hague decided not only to highlight the population trends that Europe is facing today but also the changes in the 2 pt century that are set to shape the future of Europe. They decided to focus on comparative issues, both in time and in space. In order to trace the degree of homogeneity and heterogeneity of European populations over time, converging and diverging population trends that are specific to contemporary and future Europe need to be explored. This is reflected in EPC99's motto: 'European Populations on the threshold of the new millennium; unity in diversity. ' Future demographic developments will be caused by specific economic, social and cultural conditions in Europe, and will, in turn, have a major influence on future economic and social conditions. To the extent that demographic trends differ across countries, separate countries may face different social and economic problems. As demographic trends tend to have long-lasting effects, it is important to assess the possible consequences of future demographic developments at an early stage. On the occasion of EPC99, two of the organisers, Statistics Netherlands (SN) and the Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute (NIDI), decided to produce a set of two population scenarios, showing the possible impact of converging and diverging population trends in the next century .