Dr. James Raymo

Biography

Jim Raymo is a Professor of Sociology and the Henry Wendt III Professor of East Asian Studies at Princeton University. His research as a social demographer focuses on understanding the causes and potential consequences of demographic changes associated with population aging in Japan. His published research includes analyses of marriage timing, divorce, recession-related fertility, women's health, single mothers' well-being, living alone, family change, social inequality, employment, and health in older ages, as well as regional differences in these areas. Currently, he is engaged in projects that utilize newly available survey data to examine the socioeconomic and familial correlates of children’s academic performance, personal relationships, and emotional health. He is also involved in collaborative projects addressing similar questions in China and Korea. One of his notable projects examines the social, cultural, economic, and policy factors underlying the striking demographic similarities between countries in East Asia and Southern Europe, with particular focus on the roles of gender inequality, family ties, and the growing unpredictability of the life course. Raymo is chairing a scientific panel on a subject sponsored by the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population, and he is working with colleagues in Japan to document the well-being of single mothers and their children to understand the intergenerational co-residency and intrafamilial exchanges that may support or offset disadvantages faced by unmarried mothers. His research has been published in leading U.S. journals such as the American Sociological Review, American Journal of Sociology, Demography, Journal of Gerontology: Social Sciences, and Journal of Marriage and Family, as well as in Japanese journals. Raymo serves on the board of directors of the Population Association of America and is an associate editor for the Journals of Gerontology: Social Sciences and Demography.

Research Interests