Fertility and family planning; Infant and child mortality; Populations of India, Nepal and Japan; Population aging in Japan; Population change and human evolution.
Robert Retherford is Emeritus Senior Fellow of Population and Health Studies at the East-West Center and Affiliate Graduate Faculty in Sociology at the University of Hawaii. He joined the East-West Center in 1970 after receiving his Ph.D. in Sociology at the University of California at Berkeley. His current research focuses on below-replacement fertility, population aging, and a variety of maternal and child health issues in Asia. His current work on below-replacement fertility and population aging focuses on Japan and China. His current work on maternal and child health focuses mainly on India. He has also done previous research on the Philippines, Thailand, Pakistan, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. His work at the University of Hawaii involves teaching graduate courses and supervising students in the University's Population Studies Program.
Professional service: Past President (1991-93), Society for the Study of Social Biology; Vice President (2000-2006) and Secretary (2006-present), Association of National Census and Statistics Directors of America, Asia, and the Pacific (ANCSDAAP).