Blogs

PAA Joins Efforts to Save NSF SBE Directorate: You Can Help!

By PAA Web posted 10 days ago
It has been a particularly challenging few months for the National Science Foundation (NSF), between a massive, proposed budget cut in the Administration’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 budget, the President’s dismissal of the entire National Science Board (NSB), and an effort to eliminate the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences Directorate (SBE). The Population Association of America (PAA) is working side-by-side with its colleagues in the scientific research community, urging Congress to defend NSF. Below is an update on the latest actions and how you can help. Saving the SBE Directorate PAA is working with its partners, especially with the Consortium ...

Demographic Analysis with Applications to Aging, Health, and Education

By PAA Web posted 24 days ago
The College of Population Studies, Chulalongkorn University, will organize the training workshop “Demographic Analysis with Applications to Aging, Health, and Education” in Bangkok, Thailand, from 2–25 November 2026 . The workshop provides intensive hands-on training in demographic methods and computer-based analysis, with applications to aging, health, education, population projections, R programming, Excel/VBA, and generative AI for demographic analysis. It is suitable for junior scientists, graduate students, and early- to mid-career professionals working with demographic or statistical data. The application deadline is 22 June 2026 ...

Demography Meets Subscription Funding Goal—Open Access for 2026

By PAA Web posted 05-04-2026
Demography , a Subscribe to Open journal published by Duke University Press, met its subscription funding target by the March 31, 2026, deadline, and so all articles published in the 2026 calendar year will be Open Access in perpetuity. DUP, which relies on institutional subscriptions to support its publishing costs ( summary PDF ), successfully promoted and sold enough subscriptions to flip the journal to OA for the entire year. (When the goal is not met, the year’s content will be available only to subscribing institutions and their affiliated researchers and readers, as well as all PAA members.) You can see the current list of ...

2026 PAA Officers Election Slate of Nominees

By PAA Web posted 05-01-2026
The Nominations Committee is pleased to put forward the following slate for the 2026 PAA Election. The Nominations Committee includes Jennifer Glick, Pennsylvania State University, Alison Gemmill, University of California, Los Angeles, and Kevin Thomas, Rice University. As stated in Article IV of the PAA By-Laws , this slate of nominees is now communicated to the members of the Association. Additional nominations may be made within 60 days of the date of this publication or other notice by petition signed by at least 10 members and submitted to the Secretary-Treasurer . PAA members will receive a ballot in their e-mail inbox this summer. President (2 ...

International Conference on Social Computing (ICSC 2026)

By PAA Web posted 04-30-2026
International Conference on Social Computing (ICSC 2026) September 2-4, Nuffield College, University of Oxford We are delighted to announce the Call for Papers for the International Conference on Social Computing (ICSC 2026) , which welcomes submissions and participation for the in-person conference at Nuffield College, University of Oxford on September 2nd-4th, 2026. Core conference areas include (but are in no way limited to): Digital and Computational Demography Social applications of Large Language Models Large-scale social media analytics and intelligence Digital inclusion in the Global South The ...

Statement on Threats to National Science Foundation SBE Directorate

By PAA Web posted 04-30-2026
The Population Association of America (PAA) and Association of Population Centers (APC) share the scientific research community’s concerns regarding recent actions taken by the Administration threatening the integrity of the National Science Foundation (NSF) overall and the NSF Social, Behavioral, and Economic (SBE) Directorate in particular. PAA and APC are especially alarmed by a proposal in the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget that seeks to eliminate the NSF SBE Directorate. Our organizations’ concerns are heightened by reports that NSF is taking steps to shut down the SBE Directorate this year without consulting Congress or stakeholders regarding ...

Attending PAA 2026? Stop by Booth #402 To Add a Question on a National Survey

By PAA Web posted 04-28-2026
Attending the 2026 PAA Conference? Be sure to visit Verasight at Booth #402, where conference attendees can take advantage of a complimentary opportunity to field one survey question in Verasight’s next nationally representative omnibus survey. Every participating attendee will have their question included in a survey of 1,000 Americans, will receive: Raw survey data Survey weights Codebook Detailed methodology report Dynamic HTML report with toplines and crosstabs Whether you're exploring a new hypothesis, pressure-testing an idea, or looking for fast-turn public opinion insights, this is a rare chance to ...

Call for Abstracts for International Conference on Aging in the Americas

By PAA Web posted 04-20-2026
The 2026 International Conference on Aging in the Americas (ICAA) will be held September 23–25, 2026, in Chicago, Illinois . The conference theme is Aging and Health in the Americas. Abstract submissions are invited from emerging and early-career scholars in the social sciences with a focus on Latino Health and Aging. Abstracts are due May 31, 2026. All emerging scholars will also have the opportunity to participate in a mentored publication program. Please circulate this opportunity within your networks and to any eligible scholars who may be interested. Please send questions to: a.reyes@cornell.edu . Submit here: https://forms.gle/oLd2RovyFZkts42G6 ...

Collection of Papers Reporting SCORE Outcomes

By PAA Web posted 04-14-2026
The Systematizing Confidence in Open Research and Evidence (SCORE) program was a large-scale, multi-method initiative funded by DARPA that involved 865 researchers to assess the credibility of findings in the social and behavioral sciences. By sampling 3,900 papers published between 2009 and 2018, the project evaluated research across three distinct dimensions: reproducibility (same data/analysis), robustness (same data/different analysis), and replicability (new data/same analysis). The results, published three papers in Nature and six preprints, revealed that while human experts are reasonably accurate at forecasting replication success, only about half ...

White House Releases Initial Details of Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Proposal

By PAA Web posted 04-13-2026
On April 3, the White House released the initial details of its Fiscal Year 2027 budget proposal . The document represents the President’s spending and policy priorities and serves as a starting position for the Administration’s negotiations with Congress. Congress never accepts the President’s budget in its entirety. Instead, Congress uses the proposal to inform its deliberations as it drafts the 12 appropriations bills that fund all federal agencies. The budget is released in several parts, including tables and narratives, or congressional justifications (CJs), which provide additional details about the Administration’s request. As of the second week of ...

50 Meetings in One Impactful Day!

By PAA Web posted 03-17-2026
PAA Members Storm Capitol Hill—50 Meetings in One Impactful Day! On March 11, 2026, a small, dedicated delegation of the Population Association of America (PAA) from 10 states descended on Capitol Hill, meeting with members of Congress and congressional staff in 50 offices! The 2026 PAA Capitol Hill Day was an opportunity for PAA officers and other invited participants to meet with key members of Congress and congressional staff to inform them about federally funded population research activities and advances and discuss how federal scientific and statistical agencies directly and indirectly support the population sciences. Participants thanked ...

Current and Emerging Rural Health Issues in the Southeast United States

By PAA Web posted 03-10-2026
Dr. Andy Sharma is pleased to announce the publication of their new book examining population health across the Southeastern United States. More than a decade ago, they co-authored a book that explored the structure of the U.S. healthcare system and highlighted the need to strengthen population-level health strategies. This latest book builds on those earlier themes, offering an expanded exploration of the challenges shaping population health today. For institutions that subscribe to SpringerLink, the book is available to access at no cost. Current and Emerging Rural Health Issues in the Southeast United States | Springer Nature Link #announcements ...

Atlas Global Academic Conference 2026

By PAA Web posted 03-10-2026
The Atlas Global Academic Conference 2026 will take place in Cape Town, South Africa (7–8 September 2026) under the theme: “From Ideas to Impact: Translating Knowledge into Inclusive Growth.” The conference focuses on translating research into practical development transformation, particularly around emerging development frontiers in Africa. Key thematic streams include: AgriTech and digital agriculture Rural industrialisation and smart communities Climate-resilient food systems Development economics and inclusive growth Public policy and governance Africa’s rural economies represent one of the next major frontiers ...

APPAM 48th Annual Fall Research Conference

By PAA Web posted 03-04-2026
Fifty States, Fifty Systems: State Policy Variations and Impacts November 5 - 7 | Marriott Copley Place | Boston, MA The US federalist system of government assigns substantial authority to states to create and implement policies. At this time, as the federal government's role is shrinking, the role of state policy is even more important. Ideally, states make laws based on the unique needs and conditions of their state; however, throughout history and continuing today, state policies vary considerably in their reach and generosity, and not always in ways consistent with the economic, environmental, or social needs of states, but rather in the ideology ...

Wittgenstein Centre Conference 2026 Call for Submissions

By PAA Web posted 03-03-2026
The call for submissions for the Wittgenstein Centre Conference 2026 (WIC2026) “Demography and Human Capital” is now open! This conference aims to advance theories, data, and multi-dimensional demographic methods for modelling human capital formation and its dynamics over time, and to connect cutting-edge evidence to policy debates globally. Human capital - education, skills, health, and capabilities - is a central driver of demographic change and a key lens for understanding social and economic development, inequality, and resilience. Contributions invited from all disciplinary background and methodological traditions. Key information: ...

Fiscal Year 2026 Appropriations Bills Enacted, Drastic Funding Cuts Averted!

By PAA Web posted 02-24-2026
The saga of the drawn-out Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 appropriations process finally ended on February 3, 2026, almost five months after the fiscal year began, when the president signed into law the last funding measure. That bill, H.R. 7148 , included the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education bill, which funds, among other things, the National Institutes of Health, National Center for Health Statistics, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and National Center for Education Statistics—federal agencies that directly and indirectly support the population sciences. A few weeks earlier, Congress had passed and sent to the President, H.R. 6938 , a bill providing funding ...

Call for Papers: BSPS Annual Conference 2026

By PAA Web posted 02-18-2026
BSPS Annual Conference 2026 8-10 September University of Kent, Canterbury CALL FOR PAPERS: DEADLINE FRIDAY 17 APRIL 2026 (5pm UK time) SUBMIT HERE You are invited to submit proposals for presentations and posters for the British Society for Population Studies’ 53rd Conference, to take place at the University of Kent, Canterbury. Along with the many and varied sessions in the call, plenaries will come from Madeleine Sumption and Stuart McDonald, with Madeleine speaking on How much should immigration policymakers care about demography? and Stuart on Forecasting and communicating mortality trends in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic . A further ...

Rutgers Launches Master of Public Health in Sexual and Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice

By PAA Web posted 02-17-2026
In response to mounting public health consequences of reproductive policy rollbacks, the Rutgers School of Public Health has launched a 100% online Master of Public Health (MPH) degree in Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights and Justice . Designed for working professionals and students seeking flexibility, the degree is offered in a mixed format that includes both synchronous courses, held at scheduled times via Zoom, and asynchronous courses that allow students to engage with lectures, assignments, and course materials on their own schedule. Offering the degree fully online reflects a commitment to access, connecting students across geographic and political ...

Summer Institute on Longitudinal Data Analysis

By PAA Web posted 02-10-2026
The Methodology Center at Purdue is now accepting applications for our Summer Institute on Longitudinal Data Analysis. The Summer Institute will be held July 12–17, 2026, at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. This intensive week-long program offers in-depth training on publicly available longitudinal data sources and advanced longitudinal data analysis techniques. Applicants should have a strong background in quantitative methods but a need for additional training in longitudinal data analysis. We welcome applications from graduate students, post-docs, faculty, industry researchers, nonprofit and public sector workers, and more. Scholarships are available ...

Call for Applications: Berkeley Workshop in Formal Demography

By PAA Web posted 02-10-2026
Applications are now open for our 12th Annual Berkeley Workshop on Formal Demography , taking place on June 1-5, 2026. This year's special emphasis topic will be on the demography of population decline and aging, including formal demographic models for studying the impact of changes in fertility and the timing of population peaks. It will also include a session on the application of LLMs in demographic research in general and formal demography in particular. Travel and accommodations will be provided for accepted applicants. This workshop is made possible with funding from the NICHD (R25HD083136). Target population: The workshops are aimed both at ...