Abreu, AlexandrePeixoto, João2010-05-042010-05-042008Abreu, Alexandre, João Peixoto. 2008. "Demography, labour force and migration : trends, prospects and policy implications in Portugal". Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestão – SOCIUS Working papers nº 09/2008http://hdl.handle.net/10400.5/1916Across most European societies, demographic ageing began to make itself manifest a few decades ago and is only now beginning to show its true dimension. It is the necessary consequence of two inter-related processes, whose origins can themselves be traced back far into the past. One is unquestionably positive: successive victories in the battle against death that have made it possible to increase average life expectancy ever further. The other is far more controversial, though also a “natural” consequence of socioeconomic development: a sharp, sudden decrease in fertility, or the average number of children that people eventually bear. Together, these two processes shift the age structure of the societies experiencing them and bring about a series of potentially serious social and economic consequences – from potential labour shortages to changes in the structure of demands with which public budgets are faced, to difficulties in ensuring the sustainability of public welfare systems.engDemographyMigrationLabour MarketSocioeconomic DevelopmentPublic Welfare SystemsPortugalworking paper