Eurasian Population Project

In the historical demography hall of fame at that topographic point is but a unmarried bust -- that of Thomas Malthus. (I'm joking --...

In the historical demography hall of fame at that topographic point is but a unmarried bust -- that of Thomas Malthus. (I'm joking -- at that topographic point is no historical demography hall of fame.) Malthus is the theorist alongside the most enduring theories in addition to hypotheses almost population behaviour across the world. Most cardinal amidst his theories is a causal hypothesis almost population change: dissimilar cultures embody significantly dissimilar mechanisms for adjusting population size to available resources. Malthus believed that Europe in addition to Asia differed inward exactly this way: the household unit of measurement norms of Western Europe controlled fertility according to the grade of available resources, whereas the household unit of measurement norms of Asia controlled population size through excess mortality when resources were short. These were the preventive in addition to positive checks that Malthus described inward An Essay on the Principle of Population.

The most basic importance of the Eurasian Population Project is exactly its refutation of Malthus's substance theory. (The Coursera offering described before inward a ship service on "A New History for a New China" provides a skillful introduction to the EPP; link.) EPP scholars bring demonstrated that at that topographic point is no fundamental difference inward the population dynamics of Europe in addition to Asia, at to the lowest degree along the lines postulated past times Malthus. The get-go gear upwards of findings of this grouping are presented inward Life nether Pressure: Mortality in addition to Living Standards inward Europe in addition to Asia, 1700-1900 [2004]. 

[Our study] is an international comparing of short-term mortality responses at the microlevel inward past times times…, designed to amend our agreement of the private in addition to household unit of measurement demographic responses to social in addition to economical pressure. Its hallmarks are geographic breadth, temporal depth, in addition to detailed longitudinal data. It examines non only ane people, but a diversity of micro-populations inward West Europe in addition to East Asia; non only ane period, but a menstruum of eighty to 150 years, largely from the nineteenth century; non only ane community but ane hundred communities alongside 2.5 1000000 longitudinally linked individual-level records; in addition to non only mortality, the plain of report of this book, but inward afterwards volumes of this series, the entire make of demographic behavior, including reproduction, nuptially, in addition to migration. (4)

In particular, at that topographic point is bear witness from sites across Asia that demonstrate a mortality responsiveness to changing economical circumstances that is highly similar to that flora inward Western European sites. And specifically on Malthus' sentiment of Asian demographic behavior:

Contrary to the Malthusian claim that the positive banking concern gibe was to a greater extent than of import inward the East than inward the West, nosotros demonstrate that mortality responses at to the lowest degree to short-term economical clitoris per unit of measurement area were only every bit great, indeed ofttimes greater, inward the West every bit inward the East. Contrary to the neo-Malthusian characterization of mortality every bit a business office of ecology in addition to human biology, nosotros demonstrate the importance of human way non only inward the East, but inward the West every bit well. (5)

There is a crucial methodological supposition that distinguishes the EPP approach from traditional historical demography. This has to practise alongside its focus on communities rather than national populations. 

Our focus on comparing of communities, non countries, represents a novel approach to social scientific discipline history. While nosotros generalize almost for certain aspects of human behavior, nosotros practise so inside the cultural, economic, in addition to historical contexts of specific communities, non at the national level. In contrast alongside the dominant thrust inward academic research, nosotros ignore contemporary nation-state boundaries in addition to measure historical chronologies. Thus piece our results illuminate the behaviour of specific Belgian, Chinese, Italian, Japanese, in addition to Swedish populations identified inward map 1.1 from the early on eighteenth to the early on twentieth century, nosotros clitoris from them implications for the demography non of specific countries, but of social in addition to economical systems. This strategy of comparing private contexts rather than countries avoids the occupation of representativeness unremarkably inherent inward community studies. (7)

The enquiry programme that holds together the numerous local projects encompassed past times the Eurasian Population Project is innovative in addition to important. It frames a significantly novel way of designing enquiry into large-scale social processes extended over a long menstruum of time.

At the same time, it seems fair to inquire whether the information currently available through the EPP is broad plenty to accomplish the group's ambitious goals. The studies of each site are rattling data-rich; but at that topographic point is of necessity alone a rattling express lay out of sites that volition have this form of intensive information collection in addition to analysis. Let's assume that the endeavour results eventually inward ii dozen careful local inquiries from Sweden to Japan. This is alone a minuscule option of sites from the universe of possibilities. So what makes us intend that the patterns in addition to processes that are identified inward these studies are really to a greater extent than full general features of the totality of demographic behavior?

The respond nosotros give to this inquiry seems to depend quite a chip on our background assumptions almost social variation. How much variability is at that topographic point across Scandinavia, North China, or Nihon when it comes to social in addition to political arrangements, spousal human relationship institutions, in addition to economical institutions? If nosotros intend that most of the institutional arrangements demonstrate a lot of variation, in addition to then it is difficult to justify the thought that ane or ii careful local studies volition hold upwards skillful indicators of the to a greater extent than regional patterns. If, on the other hand, nosotros intend that the relevant institutional arrangements are substantially to a greater extent than widespread in addition to stable, in addition to then the local studies are to a greater extent than probable to hold upwards reliable every bit indicators of larger regional patterns.

James Lee, Cameron Campbell, in addition to Wang Feng conclude their essay on comparative mortality patterns alongside this nuanced disceptation that highlights both variation in addition to universality:

In spite of the popularity of convergence theory, human gild remains divergent, a production of specific historical processes. This departure transcends national boundaries betwixt the northeast Asian in addition to northwest European communities, respectively, but persists betwixt continental boundaries. The irony, of course, is that piece the Eurasian Project is an initial pace to make a non-national history based on private data, non aggregate data, written at the community level, non the the world level, our preliminary efforts to make a social scientific history for the twenty-first century bring to to a greater extent than or less extent likewise reconfirmed the meta-geography of the nineteenth century. (130)

I believe this approach to historical demography is ane of the really of import innovations inward the historical social sciences inward quite a long time. It represents a rattling dissimilar way of trying to gain access to the kinds of processes in addition to mechanisms that bring led to of import social outcomes inward the past times ii centuries. And it provides a dissimilar form of "microscope" through which to interrogate the past, ane that depends on substantially larger in addition to to a greater extent than collaborative enquiry efforts past times scholars throughout the footing piece working alongside a substantially to a greater extent than localistic conception of where the activity is to hold upwards found.