The Spatial Reproductive Value: Theory and Applications

Willekens, F. (1977). The Spatial Reproductive Value: Theory and Applications. IIASA Research Memorandum. IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria: RM-77-009

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Abstract

What is important for population growth is not the number of people, but the biological potential. This observation led Fisher in 1929 to the development of the concept of reproductive value as part of a theory of natural selection. Recently, mathematical demographers have explored this concept and shown how it provides solutions to problems of population dynamics that are governed by fertility and mortality. This paper reformulates the theory of reproductive value, and generalizes it to multiregional population systems, the dynamics of which are determined by fertility, mortality, and migration. Births are considered as investments in lives or individuals by the society. The growth of the population depends on the number of investments (births), and on when and where they take place. A number of applications of the spatial reproductive value concept are indicated. The computations of the stable birth trajectory and population growth path are discussed in detail. Numerical illustrations are used throughout the paper.

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