Laboratory

Population Dynamics and Sustainable Well-Being

At a Glance Projects Publications Team

Research Area

Population and Environments

The relationship between populations and environments is increasingly understood as dynamic, reciprocal, and central to the pursuit of sustainable well-being. This research area conceptualizes both natural and digital environments as integral components of demographic processes. In doing so, it highlights how well-being is shaped through continuous interactions between population dynamics, environmental change, and technological transformations.

Natural environments remain a fundamental dimension of this relationship. A growing body of research shows that climate change and environmental exposures influence demographic outcomes. For example, we find that exposure to extreme heat substantially increases mortality risks, while also affecting fertility. In utero exposure to heat and wildfire-related pollution can negatively affect neonatal health. At the same time, the effects of environmental stressors are not uniform, but can be moderated by underlying demographic and socioeconomic characteristics. Population age structure, baseline health conditions, socioeconomic circumstances, and the prevalence of chronic diseases shape how climate-related risks translate into mortality and morbidity. Our findings in this research area underscore that environmental change is not only a long-term concern, but is also an immediate and uneven determinant of health, reproduction, and inequality.

Population dynamics also actively shape environmental outcomes. Our research on energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions shows how demographic factors such as age, income, and household composition drive consumption patterns and carbon footprints. Recent work introducing life course approaches to research on emissions shows that older cohorts would contribute the highest lifetime emissions under moderate emission scenarios, while younger cohorts may bear greater responsibility under high emission scenarios. Such findings highlight the intergenerational dimensions of environmental sustainability.

A signature aspect of this research area lies in expanding the concept of “environment” to include digital contexts. Digital technologies have transformed how individuals access information, form relationships, and respond to risks, thereby influencing demographic behaviors in ways that extend across the life course. Beyond shaping everyday interactions, digital environments affect key demographic processes such as partnership formation, fertility decision-making, migration, and health behaviors. For instance, online platforms can facilitate partner searches across geographic boundaries, potentially altering patterns of union formation and assortative mating. Access to digital information can influence reproductive choices by lowering the costs of acquiring knowledge about contraception, fertility timing, and health services. Similarly, digital connectivity can reduce uncertainty and the costs associated with migration.

Our studies of social media and online platforms reveal significant demographic differences in levels of digital engagement, including persistent gender gaps in access to and use of digital technologies, as well as differences by age, education, and region. These disparities matter because unequal access to digital resources can translate into unequal access to opportunities, information, and social capital, thereby reinforcing broader patterns of inequality. Taken together, our findings show that the digital environment not only directly shapes demographic outcomes, but also mediates how individuals perceive and respond to social conditions, making it an essential component of contemporary population research.

A distinguishing ambition of this research area is the goal of developing new frameworks that integrate feedback from climate change and technological transformations into population projections. This would offer more realistic accounts of how environmental change and processes of digitalization may shape future demographic trends. Expanding this work to underrepresented regions will also be essential for addressing global inequalities in exposure and resilience.

Projects of this Research Area