Ruttiya Bhula-or is an Associate Professor at the College of Population Studies, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand. She holds a PhD in Frontier Sciences from the University of Tokyo and a master’s degree in Labour Economics and Human Resource Management from Chulalongkorn University.
Her research examines the connections between population ageing, climate change, migration, labour markets and social inequalities, with a particular focus on Thailand and the wider Asia-Pacific region. Drawing on her background in labour economics and population studies, she explores how demographic, economic and environmental changes shape opportunities, security and well-being across the life course.
Her research on migration and labour explores how population mobility and demographic change interact with employment opportunities, working conditions and social protection. Her particular interests include migrants’ labour market inclusion, inequalities affecting informal workers, and the role of skills development in supporting access to decent work. Across these areas, she considers how gender, age and migration status shape economic participation and vulnerability.
Connecting demographic research, social policy and climate vulnerability, she investigates how structural inequalities and environmental risks affect the lives and adaptive capacities of older persons, migrants, informal workers and persons with disabilities. Her work on climate change and migration examines the connections between environmental pressures, population mobility, livelihoods and health, with particular attention to inequalities associated with age, gender and socioeconomic circumstances. It also considers how labour mobility and social protection systems can support livelihood security and adaptation to climate risks.
A related strand of her research focuses on the gender dimensions of care systems and the relationships between employment, caregiving and economic security. This includes work on family caregivers’ employment decisions, the sustainability of community-based long-term care, and access to skills development and decent work.
She leads Chulalongkorn University’s Labour Research and Coordination Research Unit (CU-COLLAR). Bridging academic research and policy development, she has worked with organisations including the International Labour Organization, World Bank, UNFPA and UNESCAP, contributing evidence and policy recommendations on decent work, inclusive ageing, gender equality and social protection. Her approach emphasises co-design and collaboration with communities, practitioners and policymakers to develop responses informed by research and lived experience.
In 2024, she received a research award from the National Research Council of Thailand for research combining employment security, solidarity-based approaches and digital innovation for older informal workers. She co-authored Grey Matters: Innovation for an Aging World (Springer, 2026) and created the Life Course Game, a participatory social innovation that explores inequality and diverse life trajectories.
Alongside her research and policy engagement, she uses participatory learning and visual storytelling to encourage public discussion of ageing and inequality. She co-organised Every Age Matters, a photography exhibition at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (2026), in collaboration with partner organisations, and contributed a selection of her own photographs. The exhibition connected academic research with public engagement and intergenerational dialogue.