Prof Hill Kulu
Director of Research
Professor of Human Geography and Demography
Biography
I was trained in economic geography and demography and received a PhD from the University of Helsinki (Finland) in 1997. Since then I have occupied the following positions: from 1997 to 2002, I was Researcher/Senior Researcher at the University of Tartu (Estonia); I spent a year as Post-doctoral Fellow at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (US) in 1999; from 2003 to 2007, I worked as Research Scientist at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (Rostock, Germany); I was Leader of the Research Team on Interdependencies in the Life Course (2005-2007) and Deputy Head of the Laboratory of Contemporary European Fertility and Family Dynamics (2007). From 2008 to 2016, I was employed by the University of Liverpool, first as Senior Lecturer/Reader and then as Professor of Demography and Quantitative Geography. Since 2017, I am Professor of Human Geography and Demography at the University of St Andrews.
I am Honorary President of the European Association for Population Studies, a Co-Director of the ESRC Centre for Population Change & Connecting Generations and a Co-Editor of Population Studies. From 2018 to 2024, I was a member of the Expert Advisory Group on Population and Migration at the Scottish Government and advised the Scottish Government on the effect of Brexit on Scotland’s economy and population. Last but not least, I enjoy teaching population and methods courses to geography students at the University of St Andrews and supervising an international team of research fellows and PhD students.
PhD supervision
- Adarsh -
- Sanny Boy Afable
- Adam Anthony
- Jiseon Baek
- Md. Anwer Hossain
- Shuqi Lyu
- Parth Pandya
- Aijie Zhang
Selected publications
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Open access
Are ageing parents and adult children living farther apart? Decomposing trends in intergenerational distance and co-residence in Finland (2003-2017)
Afable, S. D., Evans, M., Korhonen, K., Vierboom, Y., Martikainen, P., Myrskyla, M. & Kulu, H., 12 May 2025, Rostock: Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, 68 p. (MPIDR working paper; no. 2025-011).Research output: Working paper
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Open access
Disease accumulation across birth cohorts in South Korea
Lam, A., Keenan, K., Myrskylä, M. & Kulu, H., Nov 2025, In: The Journals of Gerontology: Series B. 80, 11, p. 1-11 11 p., gbaf136.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Fertility differences across immigrant generations in the United Kingdom
Baek, J., Kulu, H., Christison, S. & Fiori, F., 30 May 2025, In: Demographic Research. 52, p. 1051-1096 46 p., 33.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Health decline and residential transitions among older adults in Europe
Afable, S. D., Vierboom, Y., Evans, M., Mikolai, J., Kulu, H. & Myrskylä, M., 1 Oct 2025, In: Population, Space and Place. 31, 7, 13 p., e70116.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Heterogeneity or disadvantage? Partnership, childbearing, and employment trajectories of the descendants of immigrants in the United Kingdom
Mikolai, J. & Kulu, H., 1 Dec 2025, In: Advances in Life Course Research. 66, 12 p., 100703.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Long-term fertility trends by birth order in Britain: comparison between England & Wales and Scotland
Kulu, H., Kuang, B., Christison, S. & Berrington, A., 12 Jun 2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Population Studies. Latest Articles, 23 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Origin, generation, and destination country context: employment changes and childbearing among female immigrants and their descendants in the UK, France, and Germany
Mikolai, J., Kulu, H., Delaporte, I. & Liu, C., 1 Dec 2025, In: European Journal of Population. 41, 1, 54 p., 26.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Residential relocations and housing changes among immigrants and their descendants: an analysis of longitudinal register data from France
Harrison, J., Delaporte, I., Pailhé, A. & Kulu, H., 1 Jan 2026, In: Population, Space and Place. 32, 1, 15 p., e70163.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Spatial fertility variation in China: the role of population composition, context and spillover
Hu, K., Kulu, H. & Mikolai, J., 1 Nov 2025, In: Population, Space and Place. 31, 8, 18 p., e70124.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Open access
Spatial variation in fertility change at the county level in China
Hu, K., Kulu, H. & Mikolai, J., 1 Dec 2025, (E-pub ahead of print) In: Asian Population Studies. Latest Articles, 17 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review