The research of the PSC is ever-evolving. The scale of research ranges from macro to micro and reaches across many disciplines including economics, demography, and sociology. PSC scientists seek to understand the dynamics of human populations.
Building on PSC’s strengths in demography and the social study of race and ethnicity, plus Penn’s targeted institutional investment, to advance work on a central issue of the 21st Century: the relationship between health and inequality this research theme covers: population composition, migration, race and ethnic identity, and health and inequality.
PSC is anchored by a long, distinguished tradition and topics are a major source of intellectual identification across fields within the PSC, as researchers who are not trained in formal demography, but who are studying fertility, marriage, family etc. are attracted to population research. Research areas include: Fertility, Family planning, and Reproductive Health and Mortality.
Addresses differences in health and social outcomes between and within populations that are functions of individual differences in the characteristics with which individuals are endowed, from genes and their phenotypic expression through family background characteristics.
PSC has a strong scientific and professional presence in international population research and is engageed to address leading challenges at the intersection of global demographic change and global health.
Two research areas connected to existing strengths, with sufficient critical mass (projects and interest) to merit special PSC support are: Population and the Environment & “Big Data” and Population Science.
On Knowledge@Wharton and in a Penn Today article, PSC Associate Mark V. Pauly discusses the future of the Affordable Care Act, which is being reviewed by the courts. “I will be heartsick if it’s declared unconstitutional,” says Pauly. “My view is that you should be required to have health insurance just like you’re required to wear clothes in cold weather.”
New Population Center Working Paper (PSC/PARC): Pandey, Manoj, Vani Kulkarni, and Raghav Gaiha. 2019. "Non-communicable Diseases and Depression: Evidence from South Africa." University of Pennsylvania Population Center Working Paper (PSC/PARC), 2019-25.
PSC Associate Dorothy Roberts was interviewed by NPR about the case of Marshae Jones, who was indicted on manslaughter charges after her fetus was shot by another woman.
Research by PSC researcher, Angela Lee Duckworth, and co-authors was highlighted in Penn Today. In a study of 2,000 high schoolers supported by the Behavior Change for Good Initiative, students who gave motivational advice to younger pupils earned higher grades at the end of the academic quarter.
A few weeks ago Anita Lai and Shannon Crane sat down with Norma Coe. Norma Coe is an Associate Professor of Medical Ethics and Health Policy at the Perelman School of Medicine. She is also a PSC Research Associate and a LDI Senior Fellow.
SHANNON: Thank you so much for coming to meet with us today! Let's begin with what brought you to Penn.
Persistent HIV in central nervous system linked to cognitive impairment
Extinct human species likely breast fed for up to a year after birth
Request for Proposals: 2019-2020 Quartet Pilot Research Project CompetitionProposals are due Friday, March 15, 2019 | 5 pm
The Annual Quartet award competition is jointly sponsored by the PSC, the Population Aging Research Center, Boettner Center for Pension Retirement Research, and LDI Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics. The competition promotes high quality and innovative research in demography, economics, and related social and behavioral sciences. Quartet awards are funded for one year (or less) in duration and are selected through competitive peer review. Click here to read about former and currently funded projects.
