Vienna Yearbook of Population Research 2004, Vol. 2

The second issue of the Vienna Yearbook of Population Research covers a wide range of topics in demography, offering both theoretical debates and empirical studies. The demographic debates focus on the concept of the second demographic transition, with perspectives from various scholars on its usefulness and limitations as a research framework. The original articles examine fertility trends, including Austria's demographic past and future and innovative approaches to fertility measurement, the role of education in shaping union formation in Central and Eastern Europe and the intergenerational transmission of education in Austria through microsimulations. The issue also highlights environmental and social challenges, such as the interplay between demographic trends, migration and land use patterns, and the dynamics of food security and land degradation in sub-Saharan Africa. The issue closes with a study on Austrian scholar and fiction writer Rudolf Goldscheid, focusing on his concept of the Economy of Human Beings.