Daniela Weber
Senior Research Scholar
Health, Ageing and Health Systems Research Group
Population and Just Societies Program
Biography
Daniela Weber is a senior research scholar in the Health, Ageing and Health Systems (H2A) Research Group of the IIASA Population and Just Societies Program and an assistant professor of health economics at the Vienna University of Economics and Business. Her research examines healthy ageing from a life-course and interdisciplinary perspective, integrating health economics, demography, and social statistics.Her work revolves around cognitive and physical functioning, as well as mental health, in ageing populations, with a particular focus on gender, education, and socioeconomic inequalities across countries. A central theme of her research is the role of living conditions, education, and labor market participation in shaping health trajectories at older ages, including gender differences in cognition, the health consequences of changes in social and economic roles (e.g., retirement), and inequalities in long-term care use. Her work informs policy debates related to the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly those on health, gender equality, and sustainable ageing societies, and spans both European and global contexts, including low- and middle-income countries. Her research draws on comparative and longitudinal population data to generate policy-relevant insights into inequalities in ageing across countries and life-course contexts.
Weber holds degrees in Technical Mathematics from TU Wien and in Statistics from the University of Vienna, and earned her PhD from the Vienna University of Economics and Business with a dissertation titled, An International Perspective on Aging and Cognitive Decline.
Last update: 08 JAN 2026
Publications
Loichinger, E., Goujon, A. , & Weber, D. (2016). Demographic Profile of the Arab Region: Realizing the Demographic Dividend. E/ESCWA/SDD/2016/Technical Paper 3. Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), Beirut, Lebanon
Weber, D. (2016). Differences in physical aging measured by walking speed: evidence from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. BMC Geriatrics 16 (1) 1-9. 10.1186/s12877-016-0201-x.
Weber, D. , Skirbekk, V., Freund, I., & Herlitz, A. (2015). The changing face of cognitive gender differences in Europe. IIASA Research Report (Reprint). IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria: RP-15-001. Reprinted from Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 111(32):11673-11678 (2015)
Weber, D. (2015). Differences in physical aging measured by walking speed. IIASA Interim Report. IIASA, Laxenburg, Austria: IR-15-010
Weber, D. , Skirbekk, V., Freund, I., & Herlitz, A. (2014). The changing face of cognitive gender differences in Europe. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 111 (32) 11673-11678. 10.1073/pnas.1319538111.