Seminar Outline
UPTAP is an ESRC-funded initiative primarily aimed at targeting early or mid-career researchers wishing to enhance their skills, experience, knowledge and expertise in secondary data analysis and at promoting the use of large scale quantitative and qualitative data sets for research purposes. In concentrating its focus on those demographic trends and socio-economic processes which affect the population, society and the economy, the research undertaken within the UPTAP programme is likely to have considerable significance for policy making. This meeting aims to inform those outside the academic community of the UPTAP initiative and disseminate information about some of the research projects being undertaken.
Programme: AM
10.30
Tea/Coffee
11.00
Welcome, John Stillwell, Coordinator
Understanding the effect of public policy on fertility
Sarah Smith (University of Bristol)
[Project homepage]
Part of this project focuses on the effect of the New Labour reforms, estimated using data from the British Household Panel Survey. More precisely, we will compare changes in fertility before and after the reforms for ‘rich’ and ‘poor’ households. Assuming there is an own-price effect, we would expect to see a bigger fertility response for ‘poor’ families compared to ‘rich’, given the bigger increases in child-related support.
Consequences of timing of motherhood and mothers' employment on child outcomes
Kirstine Hansen (Institute of Education)
[Project Homepage]
This research explores the relationship between the timing of motherhood, the employment and child care decisions of mothers and child outcomes. It uses data from the British cohort studies and compares results with evidence from other countries.
12.00
UPTAP from an ESRC perspective
Ian Diamond (Chief Executive, ESRC)
Policy Relevance of UPTAP
John Pullinger (Chair of UPTAP Steering Group)
12.30
Lunch
Programme: PM
13.30
The micro-geography of UK demographic change 1991-2001 Phase 2: Changing area deprivation
Paul Norman (School of Geography, University of Leeds)
[Project Homepage]
For research and policy applications, during recent decades, academics and local and national government departments have calculated deprivation indexes for small geographical areas; a process that would be enhanced by the inclusion of an income question in the census. This project will calculate ward level deprivation index scores For the UK, using time and space harmonised input variables and compare the scores for 1991 and 2001. Areas experiencing large changes will be investigated to determine, for example, whether improvements are the result of regeneration policy or whether places becoming more deprived have experienced increased unemployment as a result of closure of industry.
Exploring geographies of happiness in Britain and the implications for public policy
Dimitris Ballas (Department of Geography, University of Sheffield)
[Project Homepage]
Work is in progress on building a geographic model capable of providing information on the different degrees of happiness and well-being attained by people in different regions and localities, under alternative scenarios and happiness definitions. This presentation demonstrates how important public policy-relevant questions can be addressed on the basis of analysis of secondary socio-economic data, such as the British Household Panel Survey and the Censuses of population.
Labour market trajectories of minority ethnic groups in Britain: 1972-2005
Yaojun Li (Department of Sociology, Birmingham University) and Anthony Heath (Department of Sociology, Oxford University)
[Project Homepage]
There has been a continuous increase in the proportion of minority ethnic groups in the general population in Britain. Since 1991, a lot of research has also been done on ‘ethnic penalties’ in the labour market. However, most of the research used data at a snapshot, or over highly aggregated ethnic categories, and no research has been able to trace the trajectories of the minority ethnic groups in the last three decades. This research aims to fill in the gap by using all the data in the General Household Survey and the Labour Force Survey in the last 34 years (1972-2005). We compare the labour market positions of each of the main ethnic minority groups with the White British in terms of employment status, occupational attainment and earnings in each of the 34 years.
15.00
Close
Attendance
If you would like to attend, please contact:
Professor John Stillwell,
School of Geography,
University of Leeds,
Leeds,
LS2 9JT
Tel 0113 343 3315;
Email: j.c.h.stillwell@leeds.ac.uk
Directions to LGA
See web site:
http://www.lga.gov.uk/contactInfo.asp
