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Policy Briefs

Population Europe’s policy brief series “Population & Policy Compact” comprehensively summarises cutting-edge research results and provides policy recommenda­tions on specific population topics. Within four pages, each volume provides a concise and succinct synthesis of key research findings by eminent researchers from the Network and other leading European experts.

The Mental Toll of Being Connected

The Mental Toll of Being Connected

What kind of impact is social media having on adolescent health?
Download Population & Policy Compact 19/2018 (700.7 KB)
Key messages: Adolescence is a time when young people establish habits, certain health behaviours and lifestyles that shape later life outcomes, however, there is not a wide range of research on adolescents’ health. The number of adolescents dealing with mental illness, specifically depression, is growing. Depression at this young age can have implications on one’s future mental and physical health. Social media use among adolescents has resulted in higher levels of unhappiness, anxiety and depression among young people.

Key messages: 1) Adolescence is a time when young people establish habits, certain health behaviours and lifestyles that shape later life outcomes, however, there is not a wide range of research on adolescents’ health.  2) The number of adolescents dealing with mental illness, specifically depression, is growing. Depression at this young age can have implications on one’s future mental and physical health. 3) Social media use among adolescents has resulted in higher levels of unhappiness, anxiety and depression among young people.

Preventing Inequalities in Ageing Societies

Preventing Inequalities in Ageing Societies

Is there a rising risk of more unequal ageing?
Download Population & Policy Compact 18/2018 (544.38 KB)
Key messages: Inequality in old age is a reflection of individuals’ paths over their entire life course. Younger generations in Europe today are likely to face higher inequality in old age due to less stable labour market conditions and widening inequalities in the distribution of earnings and household income. The reduction of inequalities inside societies must be tackled by measures addressing both intra-generational and intergenerational inequalities.
A One-Size-fits-All Solution for Increasing the Employment Level of Older People?

A One-Size-fits-All Solution for Increasing the Employment Level of Older People?

Insights from a High-Level Policy Expert Meeting
Download Population & Policy Compact 17/2018 (679.77 KB)
In upcoming decades, population ageing in the Baltic Sea States is inevitable due to long-term population trends such as low birth rates and increasing life expectancy, as well as migration. As a consequence, the labour force will substantially shrink and become significantly older. Population ageing, therefore, will not only exert pressure on the sustainable funding of pension and healthcare systems, but also represents a challenge to economic prosperity, social cohesion and social sustainability between generations as a whole.
Social Inequalities in Mortality

Social Inequalities in Mortality

The increasing advantage of the married
Download Population & Policy Compact 16/2018 (783.74 KB)
Key Messages Married individuals live longer than the non-married, and in Norway and some other countries, this mortality gap has become larger over recent decades. Among the never-married in Norway, mortality did not fall over the last decades of the 20th century, and in 2005-08, mortality was as high for them as it was for the married three decades earlier.

It is widely known that better educated persons tend to live longer than the less educated. There is apparently less public and political awareness of the fact that marital status is also strongly associated with mortality. Yet, hundreds of studies carried out over more than 150 years have shown that those who are married have better health and live longer than those who are never-married, divorced or widowed. In combination with the large proportion of non-married in European countries, and the likely future increase, such a gap in health and mortality between married and non-married persons may be seen as a major public health challenge. The situation will be particularly worrying if the mortality disadvantage of the non-married increases, as it has done over recent decades in several countries.

Changing Partnership Patterns, Housing and New Social Vulnerabilities

Changing Partnership Patterns, Housing and New Social Vulnerabilities

Download Population & Policy Compact 14/2017 (606.66 KB)
Key Messages: Increasing divorce and separation rates have major implications for current and future levels of housing inequality, patterns of social stratification and opportunities for spatial mobility. Prolonged residential instability after separation could lead to instability for individuals in other life domains (e.g. psychological wellbeing, children’s schooling, access to friendship networks, post-separation socio-economic status).
Becoming an Adult in Europe

Becoming an Adult in Europe

It’s time to provide more cross-sectorial support to young people
Download Population & Policy Compact 13/2017 (746.84 KB)
Key messages: Policy proposals for young Europeans should be based on a life course perspective. Challenges faced by individuals should be seen as a consequence of a series of intertwined life events that occur within particular policy, socio-economic and cultural contexts. Independence in young adulthood should be viewed as a multi-dimensional concept, which includes residential, economic and psychological independence. 
The Demographic Impact of the EU Referendum

The Demographic Impact of the EU Referendum

EU migrants in the UK
Download Population & Policy Compact 12/2016 (1.4 MB)
Key messages: EU-born migrants are more likely to be young, in employment, skilled with qualifications and in good health than UK citizens. Many of them are in partnerships with UK-born partners and a significant share of these couples have children. Withdrawing entitlements to social support from EU migrants, and thereby individualising their social risks, makes it much harder for work-focused migrants to use their skills and capabilities to the fullest extent – with significantly negative consequences for the UK economy.
Vulnerability in Times of Family Diversity

Vulnerability in Times of Family Diversity

A practitioners’ view
Download Population & Policy Compact 11/2016 (2.94 MB)
Key messages: Practitioners can provide valuable insights into the situation of today’s vulnerable families and help delineate areas where policy interventions are essential. No family configuration inevitably leads to vulnerability, but some are more “at risk” than others. Decisive for family wellbeing is the ability to combine family life with paid employment.
Who Pays for Demographic Change?

Who Pays for Demographic Change?

Public finances and intergenerational transfers
Download Population & Policy Compact 10/2015 (545.08 KB)
Key messages: Economic consequences of population ageing are not just determined by demographic change, but to a large extent by the characteristics of the economic life cycle. The concept of the life cycle deficit provides a new way to measure dependency based on the difference between age-specific consumption and production. Maintaining the fiscal sustainability of the public transfer systems in many European countries requires a rethinking of the average economic life cycle.