We in the Population Program of IIASA are frequently asked what systems analysis signifies in relation to demography. How does a systems approach differ from specialized analysis in the field of population? This working paper attempts to answer that question. It says, in brief, that systems analysis brings in a wider range of variables, tries to find mechanisms by which population influences the economy, the polity, the environment, and how these in turn influence population. It seeks to reveal those negative feedback mechanisms by which stability is maintained, and positive feedbacks that build up uncontrolled consequences.
Different writers have necessarily different ways of representing systems analysis. The examples that follow, provided by myself and my colleagues, will show something of the range of legitimate interpretations
