You are invited to submit an abstract for presentation at the 2026 Workshop on Determinants of Adult Mortality, Morbidity, and Healthy Aging in LMICs, jointly sponsored by CEDA and USC|UCLA Center for Biodemography and Population Health. The workshop will be held virtually on March 6, 2026. A one page abstract should be submitted by December 1, 2025 to biodem@usc.edu. Please find further information on the workshop in the attached call.
This week’s Brownbag Seminar is Wednesday, October 8th, 12pm, with Jennifer Beam Dowd, Professor of Demography and Population Health at the University of Oxford and Deputy Director of the Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science. Dr. Dowd’s talk is entitled, “Temporary Shock or Lasting Scar? Life Expectancy Deficits Since COVID.“ The event will take place in Room 310 in the Social Sciences Building and will also be available via zoom. See the full event details here. Our YouTube channel is here. Visit our Brownbag event page for both past and upcoming talks here.
New Report: Pathways to Reduce Child Poverty. The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021 temporarily expanded the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), two of the nation’s most important federal tax benefits for low-income families. Examining the effects of these expansions on child poverty is critical, as poverty has lasting consequences for children’s health, education, and long-term opportunities. A new report from the National Academies’ Board on Children, Youth, and Families, in partnership with the Committee on National Statistics, provides an in-depth, evidence-based assessment of these 2021 policy changes. Using data analysis, expert review, and listening sessions with parents and stakeholders, the committee found that the fully refundable CTC and monthly advance payments in 2021 were central to reducing child poverty, cutting rates nearly in half. Together, the 2021 CTC and EITC lifted more than 2 million children above the poverty line, with outcomes differing across family types, racial and ethnic groups, and immigrant households. The report also underscores the importance of continued research on participation gaps, employment impacts, and interactions with other pandemic-era supports to guide future efforts to reduce child poverty. Read the report.
Featured affiliate research of the week: An environmental justice analysis of air pollution emissions in the United States from 1970 to 2010. 2024. Yanelli Nunez, Jaime Benavides, Jenni A. Shearston, Elena M. Krieger, Misbath Daouda, Lucas R. F. Henneman, Erin E. McDuffie, Jeff Goldsmith, Joan A. Casey & Marianthi-Anna Kioumourtzoglou. Nature Communications 15, 268.
See further announcements and opportunities below.
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EVENTS
October 6 | 2-3:30pm | UC Berkeley Sociology Colloquium | Tina Law, Assistant Professor of Sociology, UC Davis. “Public Deliberation and Governance of AI in the U.S.” 402 Social Sciences Building. Zoom option.
October 7 | 12:30-2pm | UC Berkeley Health Policy Colloquium Series | with Patralekha Ukil, Assistant Professor San Jose State University. “Economic Shocks and Infant Health: The Intergenerational Effects of Import Competition in the U.S.” 2121 Berkeley Way West, Room 1104. Event details are here.
October 8 | 12-1:05pm | UC Berkeley Demography Seminar Series | Jennifer Beam Dowd, Professor of Demography and Population Health at the University of Oxford and Deputy Director of the Leverhulme Centre for Demographic Science. Dr. Dowd’s talk is, “Temporary Shock or Lasting Scar? Life Expectancy Deficits Since COVID.” The event will take place in Room 310 in the Social Sciences Building and will also be available via zoom.
Meeting ID: 985 2901 0198 Password: DEMOG_BB
See the full event details here.
October 7, 8, 2025. 4:10pm
Charles M. and Martha Hitchcock Lectures with Katelyn Jetelina, Epidemiologist and Scientific Communicator. “Bringing Public Health to Light: Reimagining Impact Through Visibility, Voice, and New Pathways.” Register
Lecture I: How to Make the Invisible Visible
October 7, 2025 at 4:10 P.M.
Chevron Auditorium, International House 2299 Piedmont Avenue, Berkeley, CA
Lecture II: Fireside Chat: The Squiggly Line Career
October 8, 2025 at 4:10 P.M.
Chevron Auditorium, International House 2299 Piedmont Avenue, Berkeley, CA
FUNDING
Social Sciences Research Council: Economic Research Rescue Fund (Rolling)
Funds are limited; grantseekers should apply as soon as possible. The National Science Foundation (NSF) is dramatically reducing its vital support for scientific research. Principal Investigators who were conducting or facilitating economic research under a grant terminated by NSF can now apply for rescue funds to mitigate disruptions of work that promises to provide significant societal benefits. Award amount: $25K to $250K, with most awards under $50K. Learn more.
CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholars Program – Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. The CIFAR Global Scholars Program offers early-career researchers the opportunity to develop and lead high-risk, high-reward interdisciplinary research, expand their professional networks and receive focused leadership training in their pivotal first years as independent investigators. These experiences accelerate the rise of research leaders who are positioned to drive new discoveries and open new fields of inquiry. Award amount: $72,000. Deadline: November 5, 2025. Read the RFA.
Health Equity Scholars for Action: Call for Proposals. The goal of HES4A is to support the career development and academic progress of faculty conducting health equity research. Grants will be awarded to address the challenges that historically marginalized faculty typically experience and help them overcome obstacles to earning tenure. HES4A projects focus on transformative, action-oriented evidence addressing structural barriers and are aligned with RWJF’s mission to achieve equity. The program welcomes applications that apply an intersectional approach, with the aim of improving social, political, and economic conditions that support health and health equity. Deadline: November 6, 2025. Apply here.
CONFERENCES, SEMINARS, WEBINARS
Social, Behavioral, & Economic COVID Coordinating Center. Join SBE CCC for a webinar, free and open to the public. October 23, 2025, 3 – 4 pm EST. On Zoom (no registration required)
Title: Improved Mass Imputation in Probability Samples via Adjustment of Imputation Models Based on Non-Probability Samples for Selection Bias
Description: Methods for integrating probability and non-probability samples have grown in popularity in recent years, in part because it may be infeasible to measure a variable of scientific interest in a large probability sample, but feasible to do so in a non-probability sample. One such method is mass imputation, where a variable that is not measured in the probability sample is fully imputed in that sample using a model fitted to the non-probability sample. A fundamental assumption of this method is that the imputation model fitted to the non-probability sample is transportable to the probability sample, meaning that the same regression function for the variable of interest holds for both samples. If the selection mechanism for the non-probability sample is non-ignorable, given the variable of interest, then there may be significant bias in the imputation model coefficients, resulting in poor imputations and subsequent bias in the mass imputation estimator. This paper leverages recent work on novel measures of selection bias for regression coefficients to propose an adjustment of the imputation model coefficients for selection bias prior to imputation. Via two simulation studies and a case study, we demonstrate the ability of this method to improve estimates produced using mass imputation procedures.
Center on Aging, Climate, and Health (CACHE) events:
- Using Health & Retirement Study for Aging, Climate, and Health Research | October 25, 2025 | Panel discussion. 9:15-10:30am MST/11:15-12:30pm EST. Registration available here.
- Environmental data for use with the Health & Retirement Study | October 25, 2025 | Panel discussion. 10:45-12:15pm MST/12:45-2:15pm EST. Registration available here.
Wittgenstein Centre Conference 2025. Demographic Perspectives on Migration in the 21st Century. Join this hybrid, international conference, November 19–21, 2025.
Engage with colleagues from around the globe on demographic research into migration, mobility, and climate change. The WIC2025 conference will also include a pre-conference workshop as well as a round table discussion. Registration deadline: October 31. See details.
Berlin Demography Days 2025: Demography and Democracy. October 27, 28, 2025. The electoral successes of anti-democratic movements cannot be explained solely by the demographic or socio-economic characteristics of individual groups. More decisive are local perceptions of problems and narratives of loss in the context of demographic change. These manifest in a perceived political overload, blame and the supposed failure of ‘established’ politics. Together with experts from academia, political foundations, and governments, we analyse these demographic trends and discuss practical solutions at the regional and local level. Register.
Evening event:
Monday, October 27, 2025, 18:00-21:00 (CET) in person or online (Zoom)
WissenschaftsForum Berlin, Markgrafenstr. 37, 10117 Berlin
International day:
Tuesday, October 28, 2025, 13:15-17:00 (CET) online (Zoom)
(Simultaneous translation German-English will be provided throughout the event.)
NIA Dementia Care Pre-Summit Listening Session | October 29, 2025 | 2pm ET | Virtual
- Learn more about the 2026 Dementia Care and Caregiving Research Summit here.
- Register for the Pre-Summit Listening Session here.
Call for Papers: 37th REVES (International Network on Health Expectancy) Conference. The Call for Papers for the 37th REVES annual conference is now open. The conference will be held March 11–13, 2026 in Tokyo, Japan. Submissions on the following conference themes are welcome:
- Cross-country comparisons of health expectancy
- Mortality and morbidity
- Social inequalities in health and mortality
- Population aging
- Longevity and centenarians
Submit your work. Deadline for submission: November 30, 2025.
DATA UPDATES
IPUMS INTERNATIONAL. IPUMS International has added 21 new harmonized variables. The new variables cover household amenities (e.g., private or shared toilet, availability of a stove), characteristics of the statistical operation and sample design reported in the sample descriptions documentation, and work — including a new occupation variable following ISCO-2008.
IPUMS CPS. IPUMS CPS has released the 2025 Annual Social and Economic Supplement (ASEC) data. This release also includes new variables on 5-year migration status, and variables added to the ASEC in 2025 on telework and child care.
IPUMS GLOBAL HEALTH. IPUMS PMA has released new household and female data for six countries: Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Niger, and Nigeria. You can find these data in the Person – Family Planning unit of analysis in the online data dissemination system. All but Ethiopia surveys are data from Phase 4 of longitudinal panel data, and can be accessed as “Longitudinal – Wide” files.