Overview

Adequate housing is typically seen as a prerequisite for having a child. In the UK, significant house price increases in the 2000s combined with economic recession after the global crisis of 2007/08 have made access to owner-occupied housing more difficult for many adults of childbearing age. This project focuses on understanding housing moves in relation to childbearing in the context of high house prices and economic recession since 2008. Data from the UKHLS will be linked to local house price data to estimate the risk of a(nother) birth for partnered women in different housing markets. In this project we use multilevel event history models to examine whether our findings are sensitive to the spatial scale used to delineate housing markets. The results of this research are of relevance to local authorities and others involved in the planning and development of housing, informing the regional development agenda of the Industrial Strategy.