Human capital - education, skills, health, and capabilities - is a central driver of demographic change and a key lens for understanding social and economic development, inequality, and resilience. Demographic processes shape human capital accumulation across cohorts and generations, while human capital influences fertility, mortality, migration, and economic outcomes. In the context of climate change, human capital also conditions exposure, adaptive capacity, and long-term vulnerability.
At the same time, human capital trajectories unfold in diverse demographic and institutional settings. Across high-, middle-, and low-income countries, differences in education and health systems, economic structures, gender norms, migration regimes, and exposure to shocks shape human capital formation and its demographic consequences. This conference aims to foster dialogue across disciplines and geographies, encouraging comparative research.
This conference aims to advance theories, data, and multi-dimensional demographic methods for modelling human capital formation and its dynamics over time, and to connect cutting-edge evidence to policy debates globally.
The conference will take place from Tuesday morning until Wednesday evening - immediately following the 50th anniversary celebration of the Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) on 30 November 2026 at the same venue. There are also thematic overlaps between the two events. Conference participants are warmly invited to attend the VID’s 50th anniversary celebration as well.
The conference takes place in the main building of the
Austrian Academy of Sciences
Dr. Ignaz Seipel-Platz 2, 1010 Vienna, Austria
The conference venue is centrally located and close to subway lines U1 („Schwedenplatz“ and „Stephansplatz“), U3 („Stephansplatz“ and „Stubentor“) and U4 („Schwedenplatz" and "Wien Mitte“).
For your individual hotel booking we would like to make you aware of hotels with The Austrian Ecolabel.
Anne Goujon (IIASA, VID/OeAW)
Alexia Fürnkranz-Prskawetz (TU, VID/OeAW)
Marois Guillaume (IIASA)
Shalini Singh (DoD)
Tomáš Sobotka (VID/OeAW)
For any questions regarding the conference, please contact conference.vid(at)oeaw.ac.at
