__NOTOC__ Dowell Myers is a professor of urban planning and demography in the School of Policy, Planning, and Development, at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

(USC). He directs the school's Population Dynamics Research Group, whose recent projects have been funded by the

National Institute of Health The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in 1887 and is part of the United States Department of Health and Human Servic ...

, the Haynes Foundation, Fannie Mae Foundation, and the

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

. He leads the ongoing California Demographic Futures research project at USC. Recent applications have focused on the upward mobility of immigrants to the US and

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

, trajectories into homeownership in the United States, changing transportation behavior, education and labor force trends, and projections for the future of the California population. In 2000 he was a member of the Census Advisory Committee of Professional Associations (Population Association of America) for the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

and is the author of ''Analysis with Local Census Data: Portraits of Change'' (Academic Press, 1992). In March 2007, the

Russell Sage Foundation The Russell Sage Foundation is an American non-profit organisation established by Margaret Olivia Slocum Sage, Margaret Olivia Sage in 1907 for “the improvement of social and living conditions in the United States.” It was named after her re ...

published his newest book, ''Immigrants and Boomers: Forging a New Social Contract for the Future of America''. In that book Myers calls for a new

social contract In moral and political philosophy, the social contract is an idea, theory, or model that usually, although not always, concerns the legitimacy of the authority of the state over the individual. Conceptualized in the Age of Enlightenment, it ...

between the older and younger generations, based on their mutual interests and the moral responsibility of each generation to provide for children and the elderly. ''Immigrants and Boomers'' attempts to create a new framework for understanding the demographic challenges facing America and forging a national consensus to address them. Many Americans regard the massive influx of

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

over the past 30 years with great anxiety, fearing new burdens and unwanted changes to the nation's ethnic, social, and economic identity. Virtually unnoticed in the contentious national debate over immigration is the even more significant demographic change about to occur as the first wave of the

Baby Boom A baby boom is a period marked by a significant increase of births. This demography, demographic phenomenon is usually an ascribed characteristic within the population of a specific nationality, nation or culture. Baby booms are caused by various ...

generation retires, slowly draining the workforce and straining the federal budget to the breaking point. Myers in this book argues that each of these two powerful demographic shifts may hold the keys to resolving the problems presented by the other. In fall 2006, Dowell Myers was recipient of the Haynes Award for Research Impact that was issued on the occasion of the Haynes Foundation's 80th anniversary. Myers graduated from

Phillips Exeter Academy Phillips Exeter Academy (often called Exeter or PEA) is an Independent school, independent, co-educational, college-preparatory school in Exeter, New Hampshire. Established in 1781, it is America's sixth-oldest boarding school and educates an es ...

in 1968. His undergraduate degree in

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

was followed by a Master of Planning degree from the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. His Ph.D. is in

urban planning Urban planning (also called city planning in some contexts) is the process of developing and designing land use and the built environment, including air, water, and the infrastructure passing into and out of urban areas, such as transportatio ...

from

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of modern technology and sc ...

and he also studied

demography Demography () is the statistical study of human populations: their size, composition (e.g., ethnic group, age), and how they change through the interplay of fertility (births), mortality (deaths), and migration. Demographic analysis examine ...

and

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

. Dowell Myers has recently testified before the House Committee on the Judiciary about the reform of U.S. immigration policy.Written testimony of Dowell Meyers to the House Committee on the Judiciary
/ref>

Published works

*''Immigrants and Boomers: Forging a New Social Contract for the Future of America,'' New York: Russell Sage Foundation. February 2007. *''Analysis with Local Census Data: Portraits of Change,'' New York: Academic Press, 1992; 15 chapters and 3 appendices. *(editor), ''Housing Demography: Linking Demographic Structure and Housing Markets,'' Madison, WI: University of Wisconsin Press, 1990.

References

External links

Dowell Myers's
at the University of Southern California]
The School of Policy, Planning, and Development at the University of Southern California

Population Dynamics Research Group of the School of Policy, Planning, and Development at the University of Southern California

* ;Reviews and news media coverage
Miriam Jordan, “Boomers’ Good Life Tied to Better Life for Immigrants,” Wall Street Journal, May 7, 2007

Jeffrey Rabin, A Q&A column with Dowell Myers, Los Angeles Times, February 27, 2007

D’Vera Cohn, “The Divergent Paths of Baby Boomers and Immigrants,” Population Reference Bureau, March 2007

{{DEFAULTSORT:Myers, Dowell Year of birth missing (living people) Living people University of Southern California faculty Columbia College (New York) alumni Harvard University alumni MIT School of Architecture and Planning alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni