19th Annual De Jong Lecture in Social Demography

The World’s Population May Peak in Your Lifetime. What Happens Next?

If global average birth rates fall below two, then the consequence would be long-term depopulation. Is this likely? How should the public and policymakers evaluate the prospect of widespread, shared depopulation? How might stabilization, at some population size or another, be better or worse than depopulation? If there should be a response to depopulation from governments, philanthropies, or society, what should it be? This talk brings facts from demography, economics, and other social sciences and invites the audience to join a big conversation about a smaller future.

To be presented by Dr. Dean Spears, Associate Professor of Economics, University of Texas-Austin.

Dr. Spears is a visiting economist at the Economics and Planning Unit of the Indian Statistical Institute in Delhi, is a founding Executive Director of r.i.c.e., and is an affiliate of IZA and of the Climate Futures Initiative at Princeton University. At UT-Austin, he is an affiliate of the Population Research Center, the South Asia Institute, and Innovations for Peace and Development. With Diane Coffey, he is the author of the award-winning book Where India Goes: Abandoned Toilets, Stunted Development, and the Costs of Caste.

Discussants:

Dr. Ashton Verdery, Harry and Elisha Sichi Early Career Professor of Sociology, Demography, and Social Data Analytics at Penn State.

Dr. Megan Sweeney, Professor of Sociology, UCLA

The De Jong Lecture is free and open to everyone. Please register online. Registration is required to receive a link for live-streaming and a link to view the recording.

Agenda for Tuesday, Oct. 15 in 233B HUB

8:30 – coffee

9:00-9:05 Welcome

9:05-9:55 Dr. Dean Spears

9:55-10:00 - 5 minutes for brief questions

10:00-10:15 Break 

10:15-10:37 Discussant: Dr. Megan Sweeney

10:37-11:00 Discussant: Dr. Ashton Verdery

11:00-11:45 Open discussion and questions for all speakers

11:45-12:00 break for speakers

12:00-1:00 Lunch for speakers and graduate students/post-docs in adjoining room - Information and signup will be available in the fall.

Lecture Sponsors

The De Jong Lecture is supported by the Gordon F. and Caroline M. De Jong Lectureship in Social Demography Endowment, administered jointly and supplemented by the Department of Sociology and Criminology and the Population Research Institute at Penn State.

Read about previous De Jong Lectures.

Gordon F. De Jong is Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Sociology and Demography, former Director of the Graduate Program in Demography, and Senior Scientist with the Population Research Institute at Penn State. Caroline M. De Jong, a former middle school teacher, has been involved in numerous community, church, and university-related organizations including the American Association of University Women, Stay-and-Play Nursery School, Presbyterian Women, and the Centre County Board of Elections.