The Family, Fertility, and Human Development Initiative addresses global fertility decline through a multidisciplinary lens. While this phenomenon receives widespread attention, current analyses often remain confined within individual fields. The initiative features speaker series, workshops, and conferences in Chicago and Budapest, bringing together economists, sociologists, and demographers. Family, Fertility and Human Development is a joint initiative between CEHD and the Family, Household and Economy Research Center (FAMECON) at the Corvinus Institute for Advanced Studies (CIAS) at Corvinus University in Budapest. Our workshops convene leading scholars to analyze fertility decline’s causes and consequences, examining variations across socioeconomic status, religion, and culture. We investigate the sources of marriage and cohabitation patterns, including reduced marriage rates, marital decision paradigms, and delay due to educational, career, and social choices. Key lifecycle determinants under study include educational attainment and sorting, opportunity costs of childrearing, macroeconomic factors, and tax policies. Given the limitations of traditional economic models, we document their predictive accuracy while exploring how changing gender roles and lifestyle preferences influence family choices. We consider the role of traditional values, future orientation, altruism, and religion. This evolving initiative welcomes diverse analytical perspectives. Rather than seeking forced consensus, we aim to catalog different viewpoints and create an analytical synthesis based on rigorous data analysis.
The Center for the Economics of Human Development is looking for a Predoctoral Fellow to work on the CEHD’s Origins of Persistence of Inequality in Denmark project, which is spearheaded by Dr. James Heckman and Dr. Rasmus Landersø (ROCKWOOL Foundation). The Predoctoral Fellow will work closely with Dr. Sadegh Eshaghnia, a CEHD Senior Research Associate. This project investigates the causes and nature of inequality and its persistence across generations. We utilize a rich array of longitudinal data drawn from secure administrative sources in Denmark and the United States to analyze intergenerational inequality across a wide number of dimensions and to understand the mechanisms behind how parents’ resources and investments in their children, along with social influence, serve to create opportunities. The Predoctoral Fellow’s work on this project will enable CEHD to drive forward research that sheds light on how inequality in adult outcomes arises and how government policies can best serve to mitigate inequality. The overarching goal of this work is to examine the origins of human differences and the effectiveness of alternative intervention strategies to foster human skills and capacities and remediate intergenerational transmission of disadvantages. The position requires demonstrated expertise in econometric models of human development, policy formation, and applied microeconomics. Responsibilities range across the research cycle and will include cleaning and analyzing large datasets, designing survey questionnaires, proposing grants for new projects, writing reports or papers, and presenting research. CEHD researchers are uniquely empowered to make vital contributions to the Center’s work through collaboration and the potential […]
Andre Alexander Research Operations Coordinator t-9aalex@uchicago.edu Andre is a Research Operations Coordinator for the Center for the Economics of Human Development (CEHD). He joined CEHD in January 2024. Andre works on the Creciendo Juntos project, a home visiting program designed to aid new and growing families in the Chicago area. Andre comes to us from the United States Air Force, and takes part in the Department of Defense’s Skillbridge program. While at the center, Andre aims to learn about the inner workings of grant writing and the impacts of economics on various communities. He aims to utilize the knowledge gained at CEHD, along with his military experience, in a future career in veteran’s healthcare. After his time at CEHD, Andre plans to pursue his Doctorate in Occupational Therapy at Midwestern University.
Individual sessions take place in CEHD 180 (click here for directions). These interdisciplinary workshops are open to the campus research community. Please check this page for any updates and upcoming sessions.