David Okunlola

High rates of polygyny do not lock large proportions of men out of the marriage market | PNAS There is a widespread belief, in both the scholarly literature and the popular press, that polygyny prevents large numbers of men from marrying by ...

🚨 The Economist has been telling you for years that polygamy causes civil war by locking men out of marriage. A new article with @rebeccasear.bsky.social and @anthrolog.bsky.social explains that the demography of marriage markets doesn't actually work that way. 🧵

www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/...

When asked if Jesus “will return to Earth someday,” more than half of all U.S. adults (55%), including three-quarters of Christians, say this will happen. Protestants in the evangelical (92%) and historically Black (86%) traditions are more likely than other Christians to say there will eventually be a second coming of Jesus. Roughly four-in-ten Americans either do not believe Jesus will return to Earth (25%) or say they do not believe in Jesus (16%). Respondents who said they believe Jesus will return to Earth were also asked how certain they are that this will happen during their lifetime. One-in-ten Americans say they believe the second coming of Jesus will definitely or probably occur during their lifetime, 27% are not sure if Jesus will return in their lifetime, and 19% say the return of Jesus will definitely or probably not occur during their lifetime. The proportion of Americans who say they believe Jesus will definitely or probably return during their lifetime is higher among Protestants in the historically Black tradition (22%) and evangelical Protestants (21%), and lower among Catholics (7%) and mainline Protestants (6%). And the share of Black (19%) and Hispanic (14%) Americans who believe that the second coming of Jesus will likely occur during their lifetime is greater than the corresponding share of White, non-Hispanic Americans (8%).

When asked if Jesus “will return to Earth someday,” more than half of all U.S. adults (55%), including three-quarters of Christians, said this will happen.
www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...

I am actively searching for a remote internship or graduate fellowship (in 2026) in social, demographic, health, or social policy research. I would appreciate any ideas, suggestions, recommendations, or leads. Thank you!🙏🏾
#internship #social #demography #health #research #fellowship #datascience

Does anyone want to be formal demography reading buddies? I have a bunch of areas I’m trying to read up on and I feel like I’d get it faster if I had someone to explain results to and ask questions of.

New publication - if you're interested in demography and bias, this is for you:

Essential Demographic Methods - Kenneth W. Wachter

Prevalence of young children in polygynous households in sub-Saharan Africa - N-IUSSP Polygynous unions are on the decline in sub-Saharan Africa, although uncertainty surrounding the prevalence and characteristics of children in these households remains. Emily Treleaven and Emma Bancho...

N-IUSSP: Prevalence of young children in polygynous households in sub-Saharan Africa
www.niussp.org/family-and-h...

#demography
#populationstudies

More than 9,000 studies, reports, & book chapters published based on 400+ DHS surveys that were conducted in 91 countries, according to our bibliometric analysis (by @aasli.bsky.social). The termination could set the global research community back for years or even decades.
osf.io/preprints/so...

‼️New Review Article just out! Zack Almquist and colleagues tackle the challenges of measuring📏 and defining homelessness in the US, a key rising 📈 phenomenon that deserves attention from demographers.
🔗 austriaca.at?arp=0x004053...
#demography
@oeaw.bsky.social @demographyvienna.bsky.social

Rubik’s cube survey I am trying to start a business. In the business, I will be teaching others how to solve a rubic’s cube. However, I need some help figuring out everything. Please answer these questions truthfully, fo...

Personal favor request: my son (9yo) wants to start a business teaching people how to solve Rubik's cubes and is doing some market research.

Can you help him by taking his 3-question survey?

docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Global population data is in crisis – here’s why that matters When certain groups of people are systematically undercounted, they become invisible to policymakers.

Global population data is in crisis – here’s why that matters theconversation.com/global-popul...

#demography
#populationstudies

The effect of two billion more people - N-IUSSP Richard Grossman joins the ongoing N-IUSSP debate on the sustainability of current and predicted population growth. He takes up several of the arguments that make David Lam moderately optimistic about...

N-IUSSP: The effect of two billion more people
www.niussp.org/environment-...

#demography
#populationstudies

Demography paper: we explore the link between mental or physical health and fertility desires across the life course. Mental health seems to trigger changes in reproductive goals at young ages (men), physical health becomes more important at older reproductive ages.
@erc.europa.eu
@univie.ac.at

Figure from academic paper showing decrease in employment, working hours, and earnings after menopause, with increases in likelihood of taking social benefits.

Thanks to @gabriconti.bsky.social & colleagues for this excellent paper bringing attention to the economic impacts of menopause.

Hopefully the big Oprah menopause TV special last night provides some new RDD opportunities! #econsky #demography #menopause

jenndowd.substack.com/p/hot-and-bo...

Men suffer significantly more loneliness, and almost no one is referring merely to gfs when they talk about it. There are many who do not have friends, aren't close to their family, and don't even make small talk. The demography of this means it's facile to frame it as individual failing.

Comic with Dog sitting at a table drinking coffee in a room saying "This is fine"

1/ If it feels like a tsunami of bad news right now, I’m here to cheer you up with one trend that is moving in a positive direction:

➡️ Age-specific rates of #dementia have decreased substantially since 1984.

#SomeGoodNews

jenndowd.substack.com/p/some-good-...

Trends in dementia prevalence over time in the US.

3/ But within each cohort, the percentage of people getting dementia is getting lower over time, as illustrated in this recent piece in @jama.com:

jamanetwork.com/journals/jam... #demography

Estimation of the global prevalence of dementia in 2019 and forecasted prevalence in 2050: an analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019 Growth in the number of individuals living with dementia underscores the need for public health planning efforts and policy to address the needs of this group. Country-level estimates can be used to i...

2/ It’s true that an aging population will bring higher *numbers* of dementia cases. One study estimated the number of US adults living with dementia will rise from 5 million in 2019 to 10 million in 2050.

www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...

EU set to shrink after 2026 as demographic gaps widen Lithuania and Latvia are on track to lose over 20 times the number of people per 1,000 residents compared to the EU average, according to fresh analysis of Eurostat data by Bruegel.

Lithuania and Latvia are on track to lose over 20 times the number of people per 1,000 residents compared to the EU average, according to fresh analysis of Eurostat data by Bruegel.

Meanwhile, a graduate student has been waiting more than 9 months for a first round review at a major journal.

Because nothing says "we support our junior scholars" more than knee-capping their publication chances in advance of what is shaping up to be one of worst US job markets in recent memory.

About N-IUSSP - N-IUSSP About N-IUSSP N-IUSSP is the news magazine of the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP) that disseminates scientific findings from population research carried out all over...

www.niussp.org/about-n-iussp/

Hello everyone.

I'm thinking about continuing my studies in Demography in graduate school. So I would like to ask for recommendations of researchers, institutes and journals in the area that I could follow, please! 😁

Here are the data: Year r 1980 0.14 1981 0.17 1982 0.15 1983 0.15 1984 0.15 1985 0.15 1986 0.15 1987 0.16 1988 0.19 1989 0.24 1990 0.26 1991 0.27 1992 0.23 1993 0.26 1994 0.27 1995 0.27 1996 0.27 1997 0.32 1998 0.32 1999 0.33 2000 0.35 2001 0.33 2002 0.38 2003 0.39 2004 0.37 2005 0.39 2006 0.39 2007 0.39 2008 0.40 2009 0.40 2010 0.40 2011 0.37 2012 0.41 2013 0.41 2014 0.42 2015 0.40 2016 0.42 2017 0.41 2018 0.42 2019 0.42 2020 0.46 2021 0.58 2022 0.50 2023 0.48

These correlations between state death rates and percent Evangelical show an unsteady increase. It is not due to increase in the Evan population, it is very steady in all the states. I think it is the Evans relying on religion. Note the Evan effect when vaccinations became available.🧪 💡 #sociology

A list of interesting demography papers

Some recent demography-related publications I’ve enjoyed reading

Increasing pressure on US men for income in order to find a spouse In contemporary societies, social status – especially income – is one of the most important determinants of ever marrying among men. Using U.S. census data, we estimated the importance of income fo...

www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Poland's population in 2020 was 38M, the same as in 1990. Below-replacement fertility reduced it by 5.6M over this period, but gains in life expectancy and a young initial age structure offset the decline.
#demography #fertility #Poland #Migration
Source: osf.io/preprints/so...

#democracy #demography #ethics

Are grandparents happier? Family ties and depression in later life - N-IUSSP Are grandchildren beneficial to mental health in old age? Using advanced statistical techniques and data from 160,000 individuals across Europe, Elisa Brini and Francesca Zanasi challenge this common ...

N-IUSSP: Are grandparents happier? Family ties and depression in later life www.niussp.org/family-and-h...

#demography
#populationstudies

5 hot takes on reinventing old age as a concept We have reflected long and hard on many subjects, but no one really paid attention to population aging until about the 1930s.

5 hot takes on reinventing old age as a concept | Fast Company www.fastcompany.com/91264650/5-h...