Upcoming Events

Date:

8 September 2026 (Tuesday)

Time:

2:30 pm – 4:00 pm

Mode:

In-person

Venue:

UCC 509, T.C. Cheng Building, United College, CUHK

Registration:

Please register via this link.

Abstract:

Across the globe, and particularly in East Asia, family behaviour is evolving in ways that were not foreseen by previous models and cannot be reversed by current policies. The decline in fertility, the postponement or discontinuation of partnership formation, and the underutilisation of family support services are indicative of the challenges faced by individuals and communities. We are currently in a position to provide both a detailed descriptive analysis and reliable measurement of these trends. However, it is striking that our diagnosis has advanced far faster than our ability to effect change. Repeatedly, pronatalist incentives and family policies fail to move behaviour in the intended direction. The majority of family research reaches its limit in this respect, at the point where the problem is well understood but the interventions that are in place are not effective.

In this presentation, I will introduce behavioural demography, an approach I am currently developing that treats family behaviour as a diagnostic entity, with the potential to be redesigned where beneficial. A substantial body of research on fertility and family decisions is based on the theory of planned behaviour, a theoretical framework that provides a robust explanation of intentions. However, this theory falls short in addressing the gap between intention and action, a crucial aspect in understanding behaviour in real-world contexts. Utilising the COM-B model and the Behaviour Change Wheel, the field of behavioural demography addresses the following questions: what are the barriers to a given behaviour, and where do they come from? How do these barriers change over the course of a person's life? Can a targeted intervention change behaviour? It is important to note that the approach under discussion treats intervention as the test of whether an explanation actually holds. This makes the approach empirically falsifiable rather than merely descriptive.

The framework will be illustrated with current work on how young adults initiate and develop close relationships, the behaviour that sits at the earliest stage of family formation, and one that arguably matters most in low-fertility societies. Utilising a structured review of existing evidence mapped onto the framework, I show where the barriers lie, where the evidence is thin, and how an intervention study can be designed and evaluated.

I hope the talk will open a discussion on where this approach connects with the group's own research, and on concrete opportunities for joint projects during and beyond my stay.

About the Speaker:

Professor Jarosław Przeperski, PhD, is a faculty member at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland, and a recognised expert on the behavioural foundations of family and demographic change. His research lies at the intersection of behavioural science, family studies, and public policy. He is a member of the Behavioural Public Policy Association and has held a visiting position at King's College London.

He is developing behavioural demography, a new approach that applies behavioural diagnosis and intervention design to issues such as low fertility, partnership formation, and family support. These are phenomena that demography has long described but struggled to influence. His current work covers why pronatalist policies fail to influence behaviour, how young people develop and maintain close relationships, and how behavioural science can contribute to family demography.

He has published widely in international journals and edited book series with Oxford University Press, Routledge, and Springer. He has also advised public institutions in Poland on family and behavioural policy.