Peter Francis McDonald (born 1946) is an Australian
demographer and Emeritus Professor of Demography in the
Crawford School of Public Policy of the
Australian National University
The Australian National University (ANU) is a public university, public research university and member of the Group of Eight (Australian universities), Group of Eight, located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton, A ...
. He is known for his research on
fertility transition and
migration
Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration
* Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another
** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...
. He has researched extensively in
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...
.
Career
McDonald has had a significant impact on demographic teaching, research and policy formulation. In 2013, then-Prime Minister of Australia,
Malcolm Turnbull
Malcolm Bligh Turnbull (born 24 October 1954) is an Australian former politician and businessman who served as the 29th prime minister of Australia from 2015 to 2018. He held office as Liberal Party of Australia, leader of the Liberal Party an ...
, described McDonald as "arguably the world’s leading demographer".
In 2016, McDonald was appointed Professor of Demography and head of the Demography Unit within the Centre for Health Policy at the
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...
.
He was President of the
International Union for the Scientific Study of Population (IUSSP) from 2010 to 2013.
Awards and honours
McDonald was elected a Fellow of the
Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia
The Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia (ASSA) is an independent, non-governmental organisation devoted to the advancement of knowledge and research in the social sciences. It has its origins in the Social Science Research Council of Aus ...
in 1998.
Together with
Mohammad Jalal Abbasi-Shavazi and
Meimanat Hosseini-Chavoshi, McDonald won
Iran's Book of the Year Award in 2010 for the book ''
The Fertility Transition in Iran: Revolution and Reproduction''.
In 2015, McDonald was awarded the
Irene B. Taeuber Award by the
Population Association of America. He received the
IUSSP Laureate Award in 2022.
McDonald was appointed a
Member of the Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...
in the
2008 Queen's Birthday Honours. He was promoted to an
Officer of the Order of Australia
The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...
in the
2024 Australia Day Honours for "distinguished service to demographic research, to policy development, and to professional associations".
Selected bibliography
Fertility
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Population dynamics
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Family demography
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Peter
Australian demographers
Fellows of the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia
Officers of the Order of Australia
Academic staff of the Australian National University
Academic staff of the University of Melbourne
Australian National University alumni
1946 births
Date of birth missing (living people)
Place of birth missing (living people)
Living people