Research Pillar on Population and Environment/Climate Change


The research pillar on Population, Environment, and Climate Change (PECC) is dedicated to comprehensively examining the relationship between population dynamics and environment and climate change, with an emphasis on Asia. It explores whether, how, and where the changes in population size, compositions and spatial distribution affect the environment and climate systems on the one hand, and how environmental and climate changes influence the human population, on the other. While the conceptual framework of PECC retains a demographic focus, its research projects, methods, approaches, and model tools reflect the interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary nature of the research topic.

Core members:

Leiwen Jiang (Leader of the research pillar, Professor)

Zening Xu (Associate Professor)



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Research Pillar on Human Capital and Development


The research pillar aims to achieve, through research and modeling, a good understanding of issues related to fertility, mortality, migration, human capital, and development in Asia at a national and sub-national level. For this purpose, the research pillar will develop a harmonized database from census and surveys relevant to demographic and human capital (education and health) characteristics and differential behaviors of the population. The database will be then used to conduct comparative analysis across Asia at national and sub-national levels (in larger countries) to analyze differential progression in various demographic and human capitals related processes. It then aims to develop population and human capital projection models for each country of Asia. The research pillar plans to apply the research findings and the projections by fostering intra- and inter-disciplinary collaboration to future prospects of important population and development related issues (e.g. SDG indicators, aging, labor force, urbanization, food, water, air pollution, energy, environmental impacts, etc.)

Core members:

Samir KC (Leader of the research pillar, Professor)

Guillaume Marois (Associate Professor)

Jinjing Wu (Post-doc, Ph.D)

YingJi Wu (Research Assistant and Ph.D. candidate)


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Research Pillar on International Migration


Research in the International Migration pillar at ADRI is focused in two areas. The first area is based on quantifying migration patterns. Often international migration data is missing or of poor quality. We use statistical methods to estimate migration patterns at the global, Asian and national level by combining a variety of data, ranging from national statistics to new emerging data sources from social media. The second area of research is based on the assessment of past and future migration trends. International migration patterns are becoming an increasingly important social, economic and demographic issue in Asia. We are exploring how these factors have driven past patterns of migration and developing plausible scenarios to study their possible future demographic impacts.

Core members:

Yuanfei Li (Assistant Professor)


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Research Pillar on Internal Migration and Urbanization


The Research Pillar on Internal Migration and Urbanization conducts research under two themes: the mobility transition, which is related to the changing patterns and spatial impacts of population mobility; and the settlement transition, which is related to the changing levels and forms of population concentration in human settlements. Geographically, our research is concentrated in Asia, especially China, and international comparison is one of our main research approaches. The identification of these research themes, areas and approaches is based mainly on two observations. First, massive internal migration and rapid urbanization have been important characteristics of recent socioeconomic development in many Asian countries. Second, the intensity of internal migration and the degree of urbanization are very uneven among these countries. These facts make Asia an ideal setting for the comparative exploration of mobility and settlement transitions in developing countries.

Core members:

Yu Zhu (Professor and Pillar Leader)

Zhen Li (Associate Professor)

Chen Chen (Associate Professor)

Liying Yue (Post-doc research fellow)


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Research Pillar on Aging and Health

The Research Pillar on Aging and Health was newly established in 2022. 


The newly established research pillar on aging and health at the Asian Demographic Research Institute (ADRl) is a response to the globally most rapid aging process in China and many other Asian countries. Ageing is a direct result of improved population health and longevity. Meanwhile, aging is closely associated with many common health conditions. The research pillar is designed to bring together research, training, and teaching to create links between demographic, socioeconomic, epidemiological, environmental, andbiomedical research on aging and health to increase understanding ofbehavioral processes related to health and aging.

Currently, the core members of the pillar conduct analyses and data collectionsin support of three main research themes. First, using improved demographic measures and concepts of population aging to model the socioeconomic consequences of aging and inform social policies and fiscal planning. Second, to study changes in family and household structures and how they affect elderly support. Third, to examine the health consequences of socioeconomic and environmental changes under demographic and epidemiological transitions.

Core members:

Leiwen Jiang (Interim leader of the research pillar, Professor)

Chen Rong (Associate Professor)

Paolo Vicerra (Assistant Professor)

Jiawei Wu (Post-doc research fellow)






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