Professor Ronald D. Lee
CEDA Chair
University of California, Berkeley

E-mail: rlee@demog.berkeley.edu

Mailing Address:
University of California, Berkeley
Department of Demography
2232 Piedmont Ave.
Berkeley, CA 94720-2120

Phone #: (510) 642-4535

Fall Office Hours: Wednesday, 2:30-4, unless otherwise noted

NO OFFICE HOURS September 10, October 1, October 8, October 29 (subject to revision, please recheck this site if planning a special visit to campus)

CV: http://ceda.berkeley.edu/people/rlee/cv.pdf

Website: http://ceda.berkeley.edu/papers/rlee/ (downloadable recent papers)

Research Interests:Professor Ronald Lee holds an M.A. in Demography from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University. He spent a postdoctoral year at the National Institute of Demographic Studies (INED, France). After teaching for eight years at the University of Michigan in the Economics Department and working at the Populations Studies Center, he joined Demography at Berkeley in 1979, with a joint appointment in Economics. He currently holds the Edward G. and Nancy S. Jordan Endowed Chair in Economics. He has taught courses here in economic demography, population theory, population and economic development, demographic forecasting, population aging, indirect estimation, and research design, as well as a number of pro-seminars. Honors include Presidency of the Population Association of America, the Mindel C. Sheps Award for research in Mathematical Demography, the PAA Irene B. Taeuber Award for outstanding contributions in the field of demography. He is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a Corresponding member of the British Academy. He has chaired the population and social science study section for NIH and the National Academy of Sciences Committee on Population, and served on the National Advisory Committee on Aging (NIA Council). Professor Lee is also the Director of the Center on the Economics and Demography of Aging at U.C. Berkeley, funded by the National Institute of Aging. His current research includes including modeling and forecasting demographic time series, the evolutionary theory of life histories, population aging, Social Security, and intergenerational transfers. He enjoys tennis and hiking.

Courses:

• Demography/Economics C175: Introduction to Economic Demography (syllabus from previous year, Spring 2007 )
  This course examines various economic and social causes and consequences of population change. The consequences studied include the economic impact of immigrants on US workers and taxpayers, the growing pension burden as populations age, the effect of population growth on economic growth, and environmental consequences of population growth. The course also examines the economic causes of demographic behavior including fertility, marriage, and labor supply. How have the functions of the family changed during the course of economic development, and how do they continue to change today? Why have divorce and extramarital fertility risen so much, while fertility has fallen way below replacement in many countries, and marriages are postponed to later ages or foregone altogether? How are these profound changes in family life related to the changing economic roles of women, and to economic growth? Finally, the course considers whether there is a gap between individual and societal net benefits to childbearing, which would provide grounds for government intervention to alter birth rates.
  
  • Course: Tues/Thurs 2-3:30, F295 Haas. (Spring 2008)
  • Office Hours: 3:40-5:00 Tuesday, 3:30-4:10 Thursday
  • bSpace Web Portal
  
  
  
• Demography 275/Economics C275A: Economics of Population (syllabus from previous year, Spring 2007)
  Economic Demography teaches economic consequences of demographic change in developed and developing countries, for savings and capital formation,labor markets and intergenerational transfers. It also considers economic influences on family, fertility, migration, health and mortality.
  
  • Course: W 4-6pm, Rm. 100 (seminar room) at 2232 Piedmont Avenue
  • Office Hours: Thursday 3:40-4:10
  • bSpace Web Portal