Household behavior and family economics

Keynote speakers: Professors Richard Blundell, and Barbara Maughan The British birth cohort studies are one of Britain’s greatest national treasures. The findings stemming from them have been both prolific and far reaching. One of these studies, the National Child Development Study (NCDS) will turn 60 years old in March 2018. At the Centre for Longitudinal Studies we are organising a conference to celebrate this anniversary.

The omnipresence of references to family in society suggests a widespread belief that family is generally regarded as beneficial, special and ultimately central to our identity as human beings. Societal pressure to have a family, the specific design and marketing of products and services for families, imperatives for environments to be ‘family-friendly’, and arguments about (re)defining or protecting the family are just some examples of the way the concept of family has acquired ideological, social and political significance that affects the general public.