PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT – OVERALL The UC Berkeley Center on the Economics and Demography of Aging (CEDA) provides an outstanding infrastructure to develop and support research that shapes scholarly understanding of the determinants of population-level older adult health, and informs public policy on aging. CEDA has had NIA center grant support for 25 years. During that time, CEDA has earned an international reputation as one of the leading research centers in the world for the economics and demography of aging, complementing the Department of Demography as a leading research and training program in demography and aging. CEDA's mission is to promote and disseminate path-breaking theoretical, methodological, and empirical research focused on four signature themes: (1) Mortality measurement, (2) Policy and behavioral determinants of adult health, (3) Biodemography of aging, and (4) Macro consequences of global aging. Highly innovative new research will be fostered again in the coming 5-year cycle through four cores: (A) administrative and high performance computing support, (B) pilot projects to develop innovative new research, (C) external networks brought together through targeted workshops and other networking support, and (D) robust resources for dissemination of data and research tools as well as policy translation. The Center is comprised of an interdisciplinary group of 39 affiliates ranging from distinguished senior scholars to a vibrant group of junior faculty, located primarily at UC Berkeley but with strengthening external ties including affiliates at neighboring UC Davis and UC San Francisco. The efforts proposed here will lead to fundamental field-shaping research, innovative external grant applications to NIA and other agencies, valuable publicly available research tools and data sets, and translational research disseminated to inform aging-related policy.

PROJECT NARRATIVE The proposed aging center will study societal changes leading to an aging society – low fertility, longer life expectancy – as well as the effects of behavioral changes (e.g., obesity, smoking) at the level of the individual and society, and consider the adequacy of our decision making capabilities in the face of these challenges. CEDA will provide the infrastructure and support for fostering innovative research, conferences and other collaborations, and dissemination of data for analysis by researchers, policy-makers and others. Ultimately, the focus and structure will advance the development of theories and empirical data to address complex interrelationships underlying healthy aging and therefore lead to policies for improved public health.