Giacomo, Nicolò, Agostino and Francesca celebrating their PhD defense!

🎓🎩 Congratulations to Nicolò, Francesca, Giacomo, and Agostino on earning their PhDs!

It was a wonderful day filled with inspiring talks on fertility, migration, mortality, and health — everything that demography is about.

We are truly proud of your paths, well done to all four of you! 🌟📊

“Deaths of Despair” refers to deaths related to alcohol use, drug abuse, and suicide. 🔎
Unlike in the United States, where they are a major public health issue, in Italy their impact is declining 📉 and mainly driven by alcohol, with no common dynamic.
So, are “Deaths of Despair” really one thing? 🤔

The decline of ‘Deaths of Despair’ in Italy: unveiling this phenomenon in a new context - Population Health Metrics Background The term “Deaths of Despair” (DoD) refers to mortality due to alcohol consumption, drug use, and suicides. While extensively studied in the United States, where these deaths have markedly i...

The last chapter of my PhD thesis is out, just a few days before my defense 🎓

Read the new paper in Population Health Metrics with Andrea Nigri, Sergi Trias-Llimós (@sergitl.bsky.social), and Elisabetta Barbi on Deaths of Despair in Italy:

📄 link.springer.com/article/10.1...

In this paper, we propose a Bayesian Age–Period–Cohort framework based on the skew-normal distribution to study and forecast the male–female mortality gap in youth and early adulthood.

Read it in the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A:
academic.oup.com/jrsssa/artic...

An Age–Period–Cohort model for the gender gap in youth and early adult mortality Abstract. In this article, we introduce a novel framework in mortality risk study, operating on the statistical approach of the Age–Period–Cohort (APC) fra

This paper originated from my EDSD thesis and evolved through many iterations.
Now it is published, Andrea Nigri and I are proud of this work. It is part of my PhD thesis, to be defended very soon.

📄 An Age–Period–Cohort model for the gender gap in youth and early adult mortality: shorturl.at/1WQqs

Formal Childcare Use and Mothers’ Fertility Intentions and Behaviours: Evidence in Italy by Migration Background - European Journal of Population Numerous studies have explored the influences of family policies, such as formal childcare use, and migration on fertility, with mixed findings. However, limited research has examined how formal child...

Our article (with @mussino.bsky.social @etrappolini.bsky.social @alderotti.bsky.social & Cristina Giudici) is out in Eur J Popul 🎉

We explore how unmet childcare needs shape mothers’ fertility intentions and behaviours in Italy, across native and migrant backgrounds.

📖 doi.org/10.1007/s106...

Age-Period Modeling of Mortality Gaps: The Cases of Cancer and Circulatory Diseases - Giacomo Lanfiuti Baldi, Andrea Nigri, Han Lin Shang, 2025 Understanding and modeling mortality patterns, especially differences in mortality rates between populations, is vital for demographic analysis and public healt...

New publication!
We introduce a Skellam-based age-period model to capture and forecast mortality gaps between populations — an alternative to modeling rates separately.

Tested on causes of deaths, but extensible beyond.

Check it out 👉 doi.org/10.1177/0282...

Very very proud to share the first paper by my brilliant PhD mate! 🎊🎉 @agostino.bsky.social

Opening new PhD positions in Statistical Sciences! The PhD programme includes a specific curriculum for Demography.
3-years programme starting next fall.

Deadline for applications: June 19th 2025 🚨
For more infos, get in touch and visit the website:

A nice group of young Sapienza demographers are in Washington for PAA2025! Here is a calendar with all the sessions where you can visit us:

I don't know if this is a coincidence, but if not, it is somewhat comforting to know that I am not the only researcher using ChatGPT in this way

Some time ago, I asked ChatGPT for a title for my paper. It suggested a title containing 'Unveiling'—a word I didn’t know but liked. Title found! A few weeks later, I came across another paper with 'Unveiling' in the title. A doubt crossed my mind… I checked and found this:

Congrats!!!

Eleonora Miaci, at the end of her doctoral dissertation, with her trusted colleagues.

🎉 We are thrilled, proud, and delighted to announce that @eleonoramiaci.bsky.social has successfully completed her journey to become an Excellent Doctor! 🌟
After years of hard work, laughter, and dedication, this milestone is a well-deserved achievement.
Congratulations, Eleonora! 🥳👏