Social_Sciences

Studies in the social sciences at the National Academies inform a broad variety of public policy issues, including topics such as racial and ethnic disparities in health; human dimensions of global change; terrorism prevention, criminal justice and law enforcement, and labor and demographic issues. International work includes studies on globalization as well as on issues such as adolescent reproductive health, aging, forced migration, and the implications of rapid urbanization in the developing world.

The Board on Environmental Change and Society guides research in the United States on the interactions between human activity and global environmental change. It studies human-environment interactions across a number of areas, such as effects of climate variation, management of natural resources, and public participation in environmental decision making.

The Committee on Law and Justice reviews, synthesizes, and proposes research related to crime, law enforcement, and the administration of justice. The Committee studies policy issues related to violence, terrorism, juvenile crime, white-collar crime, law enforcement, prosecution, corrections and sentencing, illegal drugs and the operation of illegal markets, and deterrence.

The Committee on Population studies fertility, health, mortality, and migration, as well as applications to improving public health and welfare programs both in the United States and in developing countries. The Committee also convenes meetings to foster better communication among researchers from different disciplines and countries and policy makers in government and international agencies