Integrating macro- and micro-level approaches in the explanation of population change

Demographers study population change across time and place, and traditionally they place a strong emphasis on a long-range view of population change. In this paper, I address two questions about the strategy of studying this phenomenon. First, should the study of population change be anchored solidly at the macro level of populations as located in time and place? Second, should we consider the micro level of individual actions and interaction that bring about demographic change to be outside the core realm of demography? Building on current and past reflections, on methodological arguments, and on actual practice in population studies, I argue for a positive answer to the first question and for a negative answer to the second. More precisely, I propose that the scientific study of human populations and their change comprise two essential and complementary stages: discovery and explanation. Methodologically, and for clarity of exposition, I treat the discovery of demographic facts and their explanation as discrete stages. The two stages, of course, should be seen as interacting iteratively.