Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital

Austrian Science Fund

The Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Global Human Capital located in Vienna, Austria aims to be a leader in the demographic analyses of human capital formation and its impact on society, the economy and the environment.

With a focus on global population, and in cooperation with the University of Oxford, one of the Centre's first projects is to produce new science-based population projections for all countries of the world. For the first time, these projections will not only give the age and sex structures of populations but also labor force participation and health status. Such information is necessary for the establishment of priorities for social and economic policies at a national level as well as for global development and environmental policies.

The new Wittgenstein Centre is a collaboration between the Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW), the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), and the new Research Institute on Human Capital and Development, Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU). In addition to existing staff, over a dozen researchers are being recruited from all over the world. Scientific advice and guidance will be ensured by a scientific advisory board under the direction of Sir Partha Dasgupta (Professor of Economics, Cambridge University).

Founding Director of the new Centre is Professor Wolfgang Lutz from IIASA, WU and the VID, who is also the recipient of the ERC Advanced Grant 2008 and Wittgenstein Prize 2010. William Butz, immediate past President of the Population Reference Bureau, Washington, will act as Director of Coordination and Outreach. Jesus Crespo (WU and IIASA) will be Director of Economic Analysis, Sergei Scherbov (ÖAW and IIASA) Director of Demographic Analysis and Alexia Fürnkranz-Prskawetz (TU-Vienna and ÖAW) Director of Research Training.