Demographic Change in Southeast Asia: Recent Histories and Future Directions Edited by Lindy Williams and Michael Philip (review)

Demographic Change in Southeast Asia is a comprehensive attempt to describe the development of the region in terms of its demographic composition, structure and prospects. This task was accomplished by bringing together the work of experts not only in the field of demography and population studies, but also in history, social policy and environmental sciences. The multidisciplinary approach proves to be relevant in the context of Southeast Asia’s diverse historical and sociocultural characteristics, a reality not lost on the editors themselves. As an approach to the region, the volume’s focus on population issues hinges on the argument that the role of population processes in economic development and globalization has not been given due importance in the literature and policy discourses. Lindy Williams and Michael Philip argue that appreciation and understanding of population-related issues, as discussed in the volume, “are critical to the future social and economic well-being of people within the region” (p. 1).

Demographic Change is made up of seven chapters, along with introductory and concluding chapters from the editors. As with most edited volumes, the chapters vary in style, depth and quality. However, efforts were made to ensure that, although each chapter is internally coherent, one can still situate it in relation to the volume’s larger aim of providing a holistic overview of demographic growth and development in the region. This is evident in the choice of topics and the way in which the chapters are organized in the volume.

Charles Hirschman’s and Sabrina Bonaparte’s chapter on the historical pattern of population growth and distribution is a good starting point. In particular, it helps that the discussion not only dwells on the changes in the region’s population sizes, distribution and structure, but that it links these changes with social, economic and political conditions and transformations. This approach puts into context trends in fertility, mortality and population growth in the past and future population projections for each country in the region. A more detailed look at fertility trends, marriage, aging, migration and health as well as population and environment follows this historical overview.

In Chapter Two, Terence Hull gives special attention to levels and patterns of fertility. Following the analytical framework of fertility change originally proposed by Kingsley Davis and Judith Blake, Hull explains that the pattern of fertility change in the region results from changes in behaviour related to timing and conduct of sexual intercourse, use of contraception and abortion. His substantial discussion of how these determinants of fertility change evolved through time provides a useful framing of fertility patterns, both in historical terms and in relation to prospects for the future. In another contribution, Gavin Jones and Bina Gubhaju explore the trends in marriage by looking at age at marriage and how it varies according to residence, education, gender and birth cohort in selected countries in the region. The chapter highlights the emerging patterns of marriage postponement and dissolution and explores the factors that explain these trends.

Chapter Four treats aging, although a significant part of the chapter deals with changing trends in fertility and mortality — topics already covered in the preceding chapters. Nonetheless, despite the overlaps, Ghazy Mujahid is able to demonstrate the relevance of his attention to those trends in setting the context for his discussion of aging and the concomitant challenges that it brings. These challenges relate in particular to health care service, long-term care service, living arrangements and income security in old-age. The chapter also gives considerable focus to country-specific policy responses to problems related to aging.

Migration is the central theme of Chapters Five and Six. In Chapter Five, Graeme Hugo presents a thorough study of population mobility in Southeast Asia. This chapter is by far the longest in the book, and understandably so. Unlike fertility and mortality, migration as a demographic process is likely...