David Lam

Affiliated Programs:

Research Network on AIDS and Older Persons in Africa and Asia (MiCDA)

Michigan Center on the Demography of Aging (NIA)

Cape Area Panel Study (NICHD)

Funded Research:

Fertility Timing and Women's Economic Outcomes in South Africa (Hewlett)

Short course in analysis of census and survey data in Ghana (Freedman)

Fertility, Intergenerational Transfers, and Economic Development in South Africa (Hewlett)

Research Training in Population Health in China and South Africa (Fogarty)

Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley

Dr. Lam specializes in the application of microeconomic theory to demographic behavior and the interaction of population dynamics and economic variables. Current research projects concern fertility and female labor supply in Brazil, the economics of marriage markets, the effects of age structure on wage profiles, the effects of demographic change on the distribution of income, and the determinants of seasonality in fertility.

Recent Publications

Journal Articles

Meier, A., R. McCaa, and David Lam. 2011. "Creating statistically literate global citizens: The use of IPUMS-International integrated census microdata in teaching." Statistical Journal of the IAOS: Journal of the International Association for Official Statistics, 27(3): 145-156. Abstract.

Lam, David. 2011. "How the World Survived the Population Bomb: Lessons From 50 Years of Extraordinary Demographic History." Demography , 48(4): 1231-1262. DOI. Abstract.

Lam, David, Cally Ardington, and Murray Leibbrandt. 2011. "Schooling as a lottery: Racial differences in school advancement in urban South Africa." Journal of Development Economics, 95(2): 121-136. PMCID: PMC3076682. DOI. Abstract.

Williams, Nathalie, John E. Knodel, and David Lam. 2010. "HIV/AIDS and Older Persons: Shifting the Focus From the Infected to the Affected." Research on Aging, 32(1): 3-18. DOI.

Ardington, Cally, Anne Case, Mahnaz Islam, David Lam, Murray Leibbrandt, Alicia Menendez, and Analia Olgiati . 2010. "The Impact of AIDS on Intergenerational Support in South Africa: Evidence From the Cape Area Panel Study." Research on Aging, 32(1): 97-121. PMCID: PMC2794137. DOI. Abstract.

Marteleto, Leticia, David Lam, and Vimal Ranchhod. 2008. "Sexual Behavior, Pregnancy, and Schooling Among Young People in Urban South Africa." Studies in Family Planning, 39(4): 351-368. PMCID: PMC2792879. DOI. Abstract. Public Access.

Dinkelman, Taryn, David Lam, and Murray Leibbrandt. 2008. "Linking Poverty and Income Shocks to Risky Sexual Behavior: Evidence from a Panel Study of Young Adults in Cape Town." South African Journal of Economics, 76(S1): 53-74. PMCID: PMC2546606. DOI. Abstract.

Lam, David, and Leticia Marteleto. 2008. "Stages of the Demographic Transition from a Child's Perspective: Family Size, Cohort Size, and Children's Resources." Population and Development Review, 34(2): 225-252. PMCID: PMC2546613. DOI. Abstract.

Levison, Deborah, Jasper Hoek, David Lam, and Suzanne Duryea. 2007. "Intermittent child employment and its implications for estimates of child labour." International Labour Review, 146(3-4): 217-251. PMCID: PMC2546602. DOI. Abstract.

Dinkelman, Taryn, David Lam, and Murray Leibbrandt. 2007. "Household and community income, economic shocks and risky sexual behavior of young adults: Evidence from the Cape Area Panel Study 2002 and 2005." AIDS, 21 Suppl 7: 49-56. PMCID: PMC2538362. DOI. Abstract.

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