Sarah Harper CBE

Clore Professor of Gerontology  

Affiliation: The Oxford Institute of Population Ageing
Expert in: Gender and sexuality in migration; Health and migration
Geographic focus: Africa, Europe, Vietnam, Myanmar

Sarah has a background in anthropology and population studies and her early research focused on migration and the social implications of demographic change. Her current research on demographic change addresses two broad questions: the impact of falling fertility and increasing life expectancy, and the interaction of population change with the environment.

In terms of fertility and mortality change, recent research has focused on women's education and empowerment in sub-Saharan Africa and the impact of this on desired family size, and on older women's health in Africa and in Europe.

Sarah's  work on population and environment has recently addressed population change in Vietnam and Myanmar and the impact of this on agricultural production, population growth and food security, and the connection between environmental awareness and fertility.