Two new papers have recently been published by members of the ANU School of Demography. The first, Variable-r in sex ratios: Formulas in honor of Jim Vaupel authored by Professor Vladimir Canudas-Romo and Wen Su from SoD with collaborator Dr Mike Hollingshaus, studies time changes from the perspective of the variable-r method to estimate the contributions of past fertility, mortality, and net-migration on sex ratios. Thirteen countries with long historical demographic series are used to illustrate the time trends in sex ratios.

The second paper Disability and morbidity among US birth cohorts, 1998–2018: A multidimensional test of dynamic equilibrium theory has been authored by Tianyu Shen and Professor Colin Payne. This study tests dynamic equilibrium theory empirically. Their findings reveal that cohort morbid life expectancy has increased, however, cohort disability-free life expectancy and disabled life expectancy remain stable over cohorts. These patterns align closely with the dynamic equilibrium theory. Considering the large increase in time spent with chronic morbidities, their findings suggest that healthy longevity is increasingly contingent on chronic disease management.

Read more below:

Canudas-Romo, V., Su, W., Hollingshaus, M. (2023). Variable-r in sex ratios: Formulas in honor of Jim Vaupel. Demographic Research 49 (26):693-722. https://www.demographic-research.org/articles/volume/49/26

Shen, T., & Payne, C. F. (2023). Disability and morbidity among US birth cohorts, 1998–2018: A multidimensional test of dynamic equilibrium theory. SSM - Population Health, 24, 101528. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmph.2023.101528