Welcome to the PSC!

The Population Studies Center (PSC) of the University of Pennsylvania (Penn) has fostered research and training in population since its founding in 1962, with support from the NICHD P30 program 1978-2003 and the R24 program since 2003. The PSC is ... read more

Themes

Research Themes

The research of the PSC is the research of its Research Associates and is ever evolving.  The scale ranges from macro economics and macro demography to human genetics, but the various axes...
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Social Bases of Health Differentials

This is research devoted to understanding the physical and psychological health of individuals, but differs from clinical research and medical practice in focusing on population health. The PSC...
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Human Resources and Endowments

Many differences in health and social outcomes between and within populations are functions of individual differences in the characteristics with which individuals are endowed, from genes and their...
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Demography

The PSC is anchored by a long, distinguished tradition (J Durand, D Thomas, R Easterlin, E van de Walle, Furstenberg, Preston, J Menken, D Massey, P Morgan, H-P Kohler) in demography. This has...
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Innovation in Methods

All PSC program scientists are well versed in some methodology or another. In highlighting those who have been especially innovative, we are identifying groups that we maintain for the PSC to...
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International Population Research

International population research has a strong ameliorative component, e.g., improving the health and life chances in the world’s population through investments in nutrition and schooling, and in the...
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Policy Evaluation

Many scientific papers end with a discussion of “policy implications,” a harmless conceit that masks the complicated path from science to health, social, or economic policy. Scientists and academics...
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