Test-tube Babies are Changing our Understanding of Parentage
The growth of assisted reproductive technologies (ART) such as in vitro fertilization (IVF), surrogate motherhood, etc, have changed our very idea of parentage. The concept of a parent as an integral and inseparable whole is now being broken down into a number of different roles – there are ‘genetic’ mothers, ‘birth’ mothers and ‘feeding’ mothers while fathers can be ‘genetic’ or ‘social’. This atomisation of parenthood explains the prevailing ambiguous attitude towards ART as Olga Isupova, Alexei Belianin and Anna Gusareva showed in their presentation at the HSE XV April International Conference ‘Economic and Social Development’, in the ‘Demography and Labour Markets’ Section.
Researching the Past in Order to Foresee the Future
During the conference Low Fertility and Low Mortality: Observable Reality and Visions of the Future, dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the HSE Institute of Demography, leading international researchers not only presented their reports, but also shared their impressions about their collaborations with their Russian colleagues.
‘In the Context of a Strong Demographic Policy’
Dr. Jose Antonio Ortega from the University of Salamanka (Universidad de Salamanca) will be one of the speakers at the XIV HSE April International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development. He gave a special interview to the HSE news service.
‘A Workshop Like This Is Not Only a Show of Results, But Also a Discussion of New Ideas’
In October 2012, the Institute for the Study of Labour (IZA) and the Higher School of Economics held an international workshop ‘Labor Market Adjustment in the Commonwealth of Independent States, Central Asia and China in the Wake of the Great Recession’. Vladimir Gimpelson, Director of the HSE Centre for Labour Market Studies, spoke to us about the event and its results.
Submission deadline: June 29, 2026