Researchers at IIASA helped conceptualize disaster resilience with a view to embedding disaster risk management in a development perspective. In 2014 new governance structures, including equitable governance of common goods, were assessed; trends in population dynamics and forecasting, and particularly the implications of aging societies and climate change, were studied.
The Energy (ENE) Program made important strides in advancing the state of knowledge on energy poverty, the policy costs of expanding universal access to modern energy worldwide, and the synergies and tradeoffs between achieving universal access and other sustainable development goals. more
Risk, Policy and Vulnerability (RPV) researchers in 2014 investigated the benefits of renewable energy investments, specifically large solar installations in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region. more
Risk, Policy and Vulnerability (RPV) scientists showed how political risks to large-scale solar institutions planned for the Mediterranean and North African region depend on the specifics of the sector, size of project, and type of activity. They also discussed the water shortage challenges facing Iran. more
The Energy (ENE) Program made important strides in advancing the state of knowledge on energy poverty, the policy costs of expanding universal access to modern energy worldwide, and the synergies and tradeoffs between achieving universal access and other sustainable development goals. more
Age and cohort change (ACC) researchers within the World Population Program (POP), continued working, in collaboration with Pew Research Center, on population projections of religious denominations around the world. more
In cooperation with its National Member Organizations of Indonesia, Vietnam, and Malaysia, the Ecosystems Services and Management (ESM) Policy and Science Interface (PSI) research group co-hosted a session on applied systems analysis as part of the ninth ASEAN Science and Technology Week (ASTW) in Bogor, Indonesia. more
In 2014 World Population Program (POP) scientists undertook an extensive analysis of natural disaster data for 167 countries over the past four decades as well as a number of studies carried out in individual countries and regions to test the hypothesis that education is a key factor in reducing disaster fatalities and enhancing adaptive capacity. more
Involving stakeholders is essential for elaborating and legitimizing public policy on disaster risk management during the post-disaster recovery process, as stipulated by the Rio Declaration and the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015. Such processes are at the core of the Risk, Policy and Vulnerability (RPV) Program’s work on disaster risk governance. more
The World Population Program (POP), with three other IIASA programs—Energy (ENE), Mitigation of Air Pollution and Greenhouse Gases (MAG), and Ecosystems Services and Management (ESM), has begun to implement the crosscutting project “Accounting for socioeconomic heterogeneity in IIASA models.” more
In 2014 the Mitigation of Air Pollution and Greenhouse Gases (MAG) Program continued the analyses of the mitigation potentials and co-benefits of specific emission control options. more
An IIASA study for the first time estimates the trade-off between pension age and labor-force participation policies, showing that increasing labor force participation by as little as 1 or 2 percentage points could allow the pension age to be reduced by one year without increasing the burden on the working population. more
The impacts of livestock on endangered species have been understudied, particularly across the livestock-wildlife interface in forested protected areas. A member of the Risk, Policy and Vulnerability (RPV) Program investigated the impact of an emerging livestock sector in China's renowned Wolong Nature Reserve for giant pandas. more
Risk, Policy and Vulnerability (RPV) scientists showed how political risks to large-scale solar institutions planned for the Mediterranean and North African region depend on the specifics of the sector, size of project, and type of activity. They also discussed the water shortage challenges facing Iran. more
Risk, Policy and Vulnerability (RPV) research is critical in terms of overcoming the perception that insurance can contribute to risky behavior and thus disaster risk. It reveals how indexed systems, where payouts are triggered by an event parameter and not by loss claims, not only avoid moral hazard and encourage risk reduction, but can increase the access of the poor to much-needed safety nets. more
The Advanced Systems Analysis (ASA) Program coordinates the IIASA’s Futures Initiative on Eurasian Economic Integration, dealing with the complex issues of economic cooperation between countries of the Eurasian continent. more
The Ecosystems Services and Management (ESM) Policy and Science Interface (PSI) research group organized the formal launch of the cross-sectoral “Tropical Futures Initiative” (TFI) at a workshop with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in Jakarta, Indonesia, in February 2014. more
The Energy (ENE) Program made important strides in advancing the state of knowledge on energy poverty, the policy costs of expanding universal access to modern energy worldwide, and the synergies and tradeoffs between achieving universal access and other sustainable development goals. more
Age and cohort change (ACC) researchers within the World Population Program (POP), continued working, in collaboration with Pew Research Center, on population projections of religious denominations around the world. more
World Population Program (POP) researchers examined data from the Survey of Health, Ageing, and Retirement in Europe, which tested the cognitive functions of more than 31,000 men and women over the age of 50 from 13 European countries. more
In 2014 World Population Program (POP) scientists studied predictors of economic growth in both developed and developing countries and also made an empirical study of the role of the new prospective aging measures as a predictor of income growth in Europe. more
Involving stakeholders is essential for elaborating and legitimizing public policy on disaster risk management during the post-disaster recovery process, as stipulated by the Rio Declaration and the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015. Such processes are at the core of the Risk, Policy and Vulnerability (RPV) Program’s work on disaster risk governance. more
In 2014 the Mitigation of Air Pollution and Greenhouse Gases (MAG) Program continued the analyses of the mitigation potentials and co-benefits of specific emission control options. more
An IIASA study for the first time estimates the trade-off between pension age and labor-force participation policies, showing that increasing labor force participation by as little as 1 or 2 percentage points could allow the pension age to be reduced by one year without increasing the burden on the working population. more
World Population Program (POP) scientists contributed to a growing body of research on defining new measures of aging based on human characteristics and demonstrated how such a test could be used as a measure for aging to compare different population groups. more
Collaborative high-level research by Risk, Policy and Vulnerability (RPV) found that losses from extreme floods in Europe could more than double by 2050, mainly due to climate change and socioeconomic development. The research allowed the first comprehensive assessment of continental flood risk and a comparison of the different adaptation options available to Europe. more
Risk, Policy and Vulnerability (RPV) research is critical in terms of overcoming the perception that insurance can contribute to risky behavior and thus disaster risk. It reveals how indexed systems, where payouts are triggered by an event parameter and not by loss claims, not only avoid moral hazard and encourage risk reduction, but can increase the access of the poor to much-needed safety nets. more
The Advanced Systems Analysis (ASA) Program coordinates the IIASA’s Futures Initiative on Eurasian Economic Integration, dealing with the complex issues of economic cooperation between countries of the Eurasian continent. more
Risk, Policy and Vulnerability (RPV) researchers contributed to the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. AR5 emphasizes risk management as a fundamental policy response for climate change adaptation. more
To operationalize the concept of social and ecological resilience, the Risk, Policy and Vulnerability (RPV) Program and partners in the Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance are developing a comprehensive conceptual model for operationalizing disaster resilience thinking, which is being rolled out in several countries globally. more
Advanced Systems Analysis (ASA) Program researchers apply contemporary approaches to analyze newly available data sets and find new insights and stylized facts. more
A new interdisciplinary cross-cutting project aims to narrow the gap between case studies and mathematical models by focusing on formal and informal institutions for overcoming the tragedy of the commons, using experimental games and agent-based models as stepping stones. more
The financial crisis led to heated debate on how and how much to regulate the financial sector. The Risk, Policy and Vulnerability (RPV) Program in collaboration with executives from Willis Re carried out extensive interviews with insurance and bank executives, from which four different “risk cultures” were identified. more
The Risk, Policy and Vulnerability (RPV) Program pioneered numerous studies on the fiscal resilience of national governments to extreme event losses, a concept that has become increasingly topical as climate negotiators deliberate on a global fund to support adaptation. more
Through case studies, Advanced Systems Analysis (ASA) Program researchers model interconnected food, water, and energy systems at the local and global levels with the aim of suggesting robust management strategies with respect to uncertainties and risks. more
In 2014 World Population Program (POP) scientists undertook an extensive analysis of natural disaster data for 167 countries over the past four decades as well as a number of studies carried out in individual countries and regions to test the hypothesis that education is a key factor in reducing disaster fatalities and enhancing adaptive capacity. more
Involving stakeholders is essential for elaborating and legitimizing public policy on disaster risk management during the post-disaster recovery process, as stipulated by the Rio Declaration and the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015. Such processes are at the core of the Risk, Policy and Vulnerability (RPV) Program’s work on disaster risk governance. more
The World Population Program (POP), with three other IIASA programs—Energy (ENE), Mitigation of Air Pollution and Greenhouse Gases (MAG), and Ecosystems Services and Management (ESM), has begun to implement the crosscutting project “Accounting for socioeconomic heterogeneity in IIASA models.” more
The Energy (ENE) Program contributed to a cross-cutting collaborative research project by developing projections of future national income distributions. more
In 2014 the Mitigation of Air Pollution and Greenhouse Gases (MAG) Program continued the analyses of the mitigation potentials and co-benefits of specific emission control options. more
The Risk, Policy and Vulnerability (RPV) Program contributed to resolving the debate on formulating and shaping the Loss and Damage Mechanism, agreed at the Warsaw Climate Change Conference in 2013. more
Advanced Systems Analysis (ASA) Program researchers develop dynamic network models of ecological, economic, and social systems. There is a particular focus on the issue of financial systemic risk and cascading failures in the inter-bank lending network. more
A new book, World Population and Human Capital in the 21st Century, presented the results of the latest population projections from the World Population Program (POP) and the Wittgenstein Centre for Demography and Human Capital. more
World Population Program (POP) scientists contributed to a growing body of research on defining new measures of aging based on human characteristics and demonstrated how such a test could be used as a measure for aging to compare different population groups. more
Advanced Systems Analysis (ASA) Program researchers are developing agent-based modeling frameworks that simulate economic agents (individuals, firms, banks, and so on) and their interactions under different regulations and input scenarios. more
The Energy (ENE) Program made important strides in advancing the state of knowledge on energy poverty, the policy costs of expanding universal access to modern energy worldwide, and the synergies and tradeoffs between achieving universal access and other sustainable development goals. more
Risk, Policy and Vulnerability (RPV) research is critical in terms of overcoming the perception that insurance can contribute to risky behavior and thus disaster risk. It reveals how indexed systems, where payouts are triggered by an event parameter and not by loss claims, not only avoid moral hazard and encourage risk reduction, but can increase the access of the poor to much-needed safety nets. more
The Energy (ENE) Program made important strides in advancing the state of knowledge on energy poverty, the policy costs of expanding universal access to modern energy worldwide, and the synergies and tradeoffs between achieving universal access and other sustainable development goals. more
The Ecosystems Services and Management (ESM) Policy and Science Interface (PSI) research group organized the formal launch of the cross-sectoral “Tropical Futures Initiative” (TFI) at a workshop with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding in Jakarta, Indonesia, in February 2014. more
Emmanuel Mavhura of the Department of Geography, Bindura University of Science Education, Bindura, Zimbabwe, looked at shrinking rural livelihoods in Muzarabani, Zimbabwe, and found low human wellbeing and low community resilience to flooding. more
Haochen Wang of the Institute of Population Research, Peking University, China, projected how human capital will change in Beijing to 2050 from the education and health perspectives in different policy scenarios. more
Kun Ma of the School of Nature Conservation, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing, China, used the EPIC model to estimate soil organic carbon stocks in the Roige wetland in western China. more
Abhishek Kumar of the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), Mumbai, India, researched intergenerational transmission of fertility preferences in a case study in rural Bihar. more
Wei Liu is working with the Risk, Policy and Vulnerability Program on human-environment relationships. He is studying the specific case of the Wolong Nature Reserve in Sichuan Province, China, where in May 2008 the local community’s economic, energy, and land use/cover transitions were devastated by a megadisaster, the 7.9 Mw Wenchuan earthquake, which caused massive damage and mortalities. more
Niharika Tripathi of the International Institute for Population Sciences, Mumbai, India, examined the association between preferred life expectancy (PLE)—how long people want to live—and selected related socioeconomic characteristics in the low resource setting of rural India. more
Gerald Meke of Chancellor College, Malawi, researched the effects on livelihoods of the introduction of co-management to conserve forest resources in the Zomba-Malosa Forest Reserve in Malawi. more
Farid Karimi of the Environmental Research Group (EPRG), University of Helsinki, Finland, scrutinized the implementation of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology from the perspective of socio-cultural structures. more
Thanicha Ruangmas of the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA, investigates if emission reduction in Europe is due to adoption of pollution abatement technology or to a relocation of production to other regions. more
William Lamb of the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research, University of Manchester, UK, sought to elaborate on the actual energy utilization and emissions necessary to achieve high development outcomes. more
Adriana Reyes of the Pennsylvania State University, USA, used a harmonized global database of international migration flows to investigate the determinants of migration with a special focus on the relationship of fertility in sending and receiving countries. more
Stephen Eromobor of Central University of Technology, Free State, looked at how universities can become forces of good within a city by reengineering their infrastructure to become green buildings. more
Blessing Silaigwana of the University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, conducted a systematic review of randomized control trials to evaluate the efficacy of anthelmintic plants in treating soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) in humans. more
Sergey Orlov of Lomonosov Moscow State University, Russian Federation, looked at the question of social status seeking versus fertility in humans. more
Zepeng Sun of the Institute for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Dynamics, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands, assessed how populations in seasonal environments would need to adjust their life histories in order to cope with changing seasonal patterns in their environments. more
Oreane Edelenbosch of the PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, analyzed how behavior of different consumer types, reflected in their vehicle choices, impacts adoption of advanced climate-friendly technologies. more
Henrik Sjödin is working within the Evolution and Ecology Program studying the emergence of group structures resulting from migration behaviors in large communities and their resulting effects on cooperation. more
Lukas Figge of the Maastricht University, International Centre for Integrated Assessment and Sustainable Development, Netherlands, researched how culture and behavior (social values and norms) can be included in a quantitative climate change model. more
Sherly da Costa, of Friedrich-Schiller-University, Germany, analyzed the community perception of flood risk and key sources of community resilience to flooding in East Nusa Tenggara Province, Indonesia. more
