Canadian People Patterns

Elaine Porter is an associate professor of Sociology and Anthropology,
Laurentian University.

Demographic economic studies demonstrate that population dynamic can
explain many of the socioeconomic risks and opportunities each
generation faces. Following the ideas of Richard A. Esterlin, Sauvé
provides data on the current social and economic situation dominated by
the aging baby-boom generation, and examines population projections up
to the year 2036. To bring these ideas to a general audience, Sauvé
presents descriptive data on changes in fertility levels, educational
attainment, marriage and divorce rates, gender differences in
labor-force participation, and various economic differences between
household types—all without a theoretical overview of the linkages
between high- and low-fertility cohorts and their relative economic
situation.

His book is divided into 57 “people patterns” of two pages each,
with such eye-catching titles as “Consumer Prices and Couch
Potatoes.” Within each of these vignettes, one or two tables or graphs
stand opposite a page of data description containing a small subsection
titled “And so what. . . .” Sauvé’s contribution lies in the 107
tables and charts he has assembled, which describe demographic and
economic changes, not in his “so what” sections, filled with
exhortations and homilies to business and government.

Having worked as a consultant and forecaster for government, business,
and industry, Sauvé thinks this book paints a “picture of reality.”
Actually, it is laden with economic individualism and a liberal view of
the state. While this book does take stock of some of the controversial
issues facing an aging population, it touches upon them only obliquely.

Together with his eclectic observations, his tables and charts amount
to a kind of photo album with banal captions. There are no citations to
other authors’ works. Even his objective to stimulate discussion is in
jeopardy, since his commentary does not provide a clear articulation of
the issues; rather, it reads more like Ann Landers’s advice to those
aspiring to middle-class consumerist bliss.