Untitled Document

Research

Alberto Palloni

Ph.D., University of Washington
Professor, Department of Sociology
palloni@ssc.wisc.edu
http://www.ssc.wisc.edu/soc/faculty/show-person.php?person_id=38

Biodemography of Aging: Social, Economic and Biological Determinants of the Aging Process

My research is concentrated in four different areas: First, I am interested in the formulation of models for the study of determinants of health status and mortality among the elderly. This research has led me in a number of different directions, all involving the application of new statistical techniques to the study of the aging process.

The second project is the assessment of techniques to estimate the contribution of individual (genetic and behavioral) and shared conditions (measured and unmeasured) to morbidity and mortality.

A third line of research is a large scale, long-term project involving data collection on health conditions and demand for health care of the elderly in ten countries in Latin America and The Caribbean (Argentina, Barbados, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Uruguay). In the first stage (to be completed in 2002) of this project we collected information on elderly individuals residing in the capital cities. In a subsequent stage we will follow the survivors and are starting to interview them.

The fourth line of research regards the dynamics of pension and retirement systems in developing countries and their interaction with traditionally based sources of support, such as prolonged participation in the labor force and family support, including coresidence. Currently, my colleagues and I are involved in the formulation of formal representations of pure pension systems, and of those including transitional elements to capture better the reality in countries such as Chile, Argentina (and even the US) where a pay-as-you-go system is being replaced by a fully funded system. In addition, we are studying the relation between pension systems and residential arrangements. In particular we are trying to explain the rapid dissolution of extended living as a mechanism to support the elderly.

Representative Publications
Palloni, A., & McEniry, M. (2007). Aging and health status of elderly in Latin America and the Caribbean: Preliminary findings. Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology, 22(3), 263-285.

Wong, R., Palloni, A., & Soldo, B.J. (2007). Wealth in middle and old age in Mexico: The role of international migration. International Migration Review, 41(1), 127-151.

Palloni, A. (2006). Reproducing inequalities: Luck, wallets, and the enduring effects of childhood health. Demography, 43(4), 587-615.

Palloni, A., & Milesi, C. (2006). Economic achievement, inequalities and health disparities: The intervening role of early health status. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 24(1), 21-40.

Palloni, A., McEniry, M., Davila, A.L., & Garcia Gurucharri, A. (2005). The influence of early conditions on health status among elderly Puerto Ricans. Social Biology, 52(3-4), 132-163.

Fussell, E., & Palloni, A. (2004). Persistent marriage regimes in changing times. Journal of Marriage and Family, 66(5), 1201-1213.

Palloni, A., & Arias, E. (2004). Paradox lost: Explaining the Hispanic adult mortality advantage. Demography, 41(3), 385-415.

Palloni, A. (2003). Mathusian checks: An investigation into sufficiency conditions, long-term dynamics and implications for inverse projections. In E. Barbi, E. Sonnino, & R. Bertino (Eds.), Advances in inverse and backward projection methods. Rome: University of Rome.

Palloni, A. (2003). Diffusion and fertility changes. In P. Demeny & G. McNicoll (Eds.), Encyclopedia on population. McMillan Press.

Palloni, A., & De Vos, S. (2003). Elderly's residential arrangements: A comparative analysis. Report prepared for the Population Division, United Nations.

Palloni, A. (2002). Living arrangements of older persons. Population Bulletin of the United Nations Special Issue, 42/43, 54-110.

Palloni, A., Pinto-Aguirre, G., & Pelaez, M. (2002). Demographic and health conditions of ageing in Latin America and the Caribbean. International Journal of Epidemiology, 31, 762-771.

Palloni, A. (2002). Teaching the profession of demography: Models and methods. Genus.

Palloni, A., Massey, D.S., Ceballos, M., Espinosa, K., & Spittel, M. (2001). Social capital and international migration: A test using information on family networks. American Journal of Sociology, 106(5), 1262-1298.

Palloni, A. (2001). Diffusion in sociological analysis: How useful is it for the study of fertility and mortality? In J. Casterline & B. Cohen (Eds.), Social processes underlying fertility changes in developing countries. National Research Council Press.

Palloni, A. (2001). Mortality and AIDS. In N.J Smelser & P.B. Baltes (Eds.), International encyclopedia of the social and behavioral sciences.

Palloni, A. & Morenoff, J. (2001). Interpreting the paradoxical in the Hispanic Paradox: Demographic and epidemiological approaches. In M. Weinstein, A. Hermalin, & M. Stoto (Eds), Population health and aging. New York Academy of Sciences.

Palloni, A., Pelaez, M., & De Vos, S. (2000). Aging in Latin America (Working Series Paper, No. 99-2). Madison: University of Wisconsin, Center for Demography and Ecology.

Palloni, A. (2000). Increment-decrement life tables. In S.H. Preston, P. Heuveline, & M. Guillot (Eds.), Elements of demography. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

Palloni, A., & Arias, E. (1998). Prevalence and patterns of female-headed households in Latin America: 1970-1990. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 30(2), 257-279.

Palloni, A., & Hagan, J. (1998). Sociological criminology and the mythology of Hispanic immigration and crime. Social Problems, 46(4), 617-32.

Palloni, A., Pelaez, M., & De Vos, S. (1998). Aging in Latin America. The Pan American Health Organization Bulletin (Special Issue).

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