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June 25, 2025 | News | SPOTLIGHT

Should you Claim Your Pension Early or Wait?

iStockphoto.com / skynesher

In the US, retiring later increases the monthly pension amount. Researchers have investigated whether this is optimal, given the uncertainties surrounding life expectancy. The results show that delaying retirement poses a particular financial risk to men and low-income groups, and that different decisions are necessary depending on individual circumstances and uncertainty. more

June 20, 2025 | News | Recommended Reading

How can we Link NBA Basketball, Physics, and Demography?

iStockphoto.com / StartStock

Can we predict Steph Curry’s next move on the court?
Last year, Boris Barron started at MPIDR as a research scientist in the Migration and Mobility Department. He is a physicist and specializes in modeling complex systems. While at Cornell University, he and his colleagues developed a methodology to analyze detailed positional information of basketball players in NBA games. Their approach adapted a physics-based approach, Density Functional Fluctuation Theory (DFFT), to provide a general framework to infer subtle aspects of the game. more

June 11, 2025 | Press Release

Couples with Opposing Political Views Face Higher Risk of Separation

iStockphoto.com / skynesher

A recent study by researchers at the University of Padua and the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) has revealed that political differences between partners can significantly increase the risk of separation. Using long-term data from UK couples, the researchers found that those with different party preferences were substantially more likely to separate than those with the same political beliefs. The risk is particularly high when there are differences of opinion on Brexit. more

June 04, 2025 | News | Research Visit

Population and Social Data Science Summer Incubator Program 2025

MPIDR/Schulz

The Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) is organizing the Population and Social Data Science Summer Incubator Program, a three-month research visit (from June 2 – August 22, 2025) for a diverse group of PhD students. more

June 02, 2025 | News

Rethink Fertility and Gender Inequality in a Changing World

MPIDR/Schulz

Recap of the “Gender Inequalities, Fertility, and the Future of Family Demography: Intersectionality in an Era of Family Complexity” conference in Rostock: In March 2025, researchers from six continents gathered at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) for the conference in Rostock. The scholars came together to debate and advance the understanding of fertility, gender inequality, social stratification, and the growing complexity of family life. more

May 28, 2025 | News | Conference

MPIDR@PopDays2025 in Cagliari, Italy

iStockphoto.com / SeanPavonePhoto

The MPIDR will be participating in PopDays 2025 in Cagliari, Italy. From 4 to 6 June 2025, our scientists will be presenting their research there. more

May 26, 2025 | News | Recommended Reading

Estimating Kinship Size of Older Adults in Europe With Models and Surveys

iStockphoto.com / skynesher

In a paper recently published in Demography, Diego Alburez-Gutierrez of the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research and his colleagues compared survey data and kinship models in order to estimate the kin networks of older adults. They found that the two methods produced remarkably similar results, providing a solid foundation for continued work in kinship demography. more

May 22, 2025 | News | LinkedIn Data Analyzed

Are There Differences Between Men and Women When Moving for a Job?

istockphoto.com/Imagesines

A team at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) examined professional migration of men and women in 48 countries using data from LinkedIn’s Advertising and Recruiter platform. The team found that, although men aspire to migrate more often than women, globally, as many women as men migrate for a job. more

May 14, 2025 | Press Release

Where the Brightest Minds in Science Moved

istockphoto.com/Ziga Plahutar

A team of researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) expanded the regional data included in the Scholarly Migration Database to examine how scientists move internationally across countries and internally within countries. The team found large disparities in the appeal of various countries and regions to scientists. When a region within a country is a popular destination for scientists, they come from both within the country and from abroad. Less attractive destinations see more complex patterns. more

May 12, 2025 | News | Recommended Reading

Birth Seasonality: Eastern Germany Realigns With the West After Reunification

istockphoto.com / phaustov

There are times of the year when more children are born than usual. In his latest publication, Risto Conte Keivabu, a researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR), examines how the seasonal distribution of births in East and West Germany has changed between 1946 and 2017, and whether German reunification was associated with a change in the seasonality of births. more

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Science Communication Editor

Christine Ruhland

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+49 381 2081-157

Science Communication Editor

Silke Schulz

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The Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) in Rostock is one of the leading demographic research centers in the world. It's part of the Max Planck Society, the internationally renowned German research society.