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

World population

Wittgenstein Centre Human Capital Data Explorer (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)

handshaking in modern open green work space

Sustainability Performances, Evidence and Scenarios (SPES)

Staff

Mohammad Jalal Abbasi-Shavazi profile picture

Mohammad Jalal Abbasi-Shavazi

Senior Research Scholar (SHAW)

Thomas Arnhold profile picture

Thomas Arnhold

Researcher (SHAW)

Saroja Adhikari profile picture

Saroja Adhikari

Researcher (SHAW)

Dalkhat Ediev profile picture

Dalkhat Ediev

Guest Senior Research Scholar (SHAW)

News

award

20 June 2023

Sergei Scherbov elected as a new member of the Academia Europaea

IIASA Population and Just Societies Program Guest Emeritus Research Scholar Sergei Scherbov has been elected to the Academia Europaea.
Empty Classroom In Elementary School With Whiteboard And Desks

24 November 2022

How COVID-19 school closures will affect inequalities in adult skills

School closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic affected learning to varying degrees in different countries. A new study sheds light on what this learning loss will mean for countries' human capital in the decades to come.

Focus

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

17 June 2021

Getting a fuller picture of COVID-19 infections

Options Summer 2021: Knowing how many people are infected is key to accurately monitor pandemics. IIASA researchers used a novel approach to indirectly estimate the fraction of people ever infected and the fraction of people detected among the infected in the United States.
Diagram of COVID infection rates

24 June 2020

The gender dimension of sustainable development

Options Summer 2020: Our world is in the midst of an economic transformation as labor upheavals and climate change wreak havoc on present sustainability models. Could a focus on women’s empowerment help find a way out?
female head illustration

Publications