The SHAW Group’s research activities directly and comprehensively addresses the measurement of human wellbeing in its multiple dimensions with a special focus on health as a key component and social cohesion as a key determinant of wellbeing.

SHAW employs various demographic methods, statistical techniques, and empirical concepts to comprehensively assess different dimensions of good health and wellbeing, while also considering equity in the distribution of wellbeing over time and over the life course for different populations around the world. In doing so, the group aims to develop alternative indicators of wellbeing to effectively measure development progress. The aim is for such indicators of wellbeing to be applied as long-term sustainability criteria that can help to pinpoint vulnerable subgroups of populations for policy priorities. Due to the group’s strong focus on sustainable human wellbeing, particular attention is paid to the feedback of emerging situations such as pandemics, economic crises, and extreme weather events that can pose risks to human health and wellbeing.

Models, tools, datasets

aging

The World Aging Data Explorer (WADE)

Population of the world

Wittgenstein Centre Human Capital Data & Graphic Explorer Version 3.0 (WCDE)

Projects

Senior couple with nordic walking poles hiking in snow-covered winter nature.

The Demography of Sustainable Human Wellbeing (EmpoweredLifeYears)

grandparents using tablet

Cognitive health in aging society – The role of context for cognitive functioning and related policy implications in Europe (CHIAS)

Staff

Placeholder, because no staff image is available

Valeria Bordone

Guest Research Scholar (SHAW)

Mohammad Jalal Abbasi-Shavazi profile picture

Mohammad Jalal Abbasi-Shavazi

Guest Research Scholar (SHAW)

Landis MacKellar profile picture

Landis MacKellar

Guest Emeritus Research Scholar (SHAW)

Daniela Weber profile picture

Daniela Weber

Senior Research Scholar (SHAW)

News

Health Day

03 April 2025

Celebrating Research on Health at IIASA; World Health Day 2025

Researchers at IIASA are studying the direct and indirect effects of climate change on health, shedding light on healthy aging drivers and metrics and analyzing interconnections between the components of multi-dimensional national well-being.
Aging Explorer

27 March 2025

A pioneering tool for global aging analysis

The World Aging Data Explorer (WADE) is a state-of-the-art platform that revolutionizes our understanding of global aging trends. WADE provides easy access to the innovative dynamic metrics of aging developed at IIASA. These metrics take the changing characteristics of people into account, thereby providing policymakers, researchers, and educators with a view of aging appropriate for our changing demographic environment.
WS

12 March 2025

Training Workshop on Demographic Analysis with Applications to Aging and Health

IIASA’s Population and Just Societies Program, in collaboration with the College of Population Studies at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand, is pleased to announce its upcoming annual intensive training course titled "Demographic Analysis with Applications to Aging and Health."

Events

Focus

08 November 2023

Explaining the impacts of climate change on migration

Options Magazine, Winter 2023: There has been much debate around the impact of climate change on migration. The international discourses around this topic, however, have often been more politically charged and less backed by science.
Options

07 September 2022

The migration maze

To navigate the intricate intersection of climate change, migration, and urbanization, we need a holistic approach.
Family stranded on island during flooding in the delta Bangladesh due to climate change