Fertility and family

Family life is a topic that affects everyone: everyone is born, most of us have children, nearly everyone is in a relationship, and many of us are in multiple relationships across our lives. At CPC, we study factors that influence these decisions. For example, how does education and income impact upon the age at which women have children? Does job loss and economic uncertainty change people's decisions about having kids? How does austerity and government policy about welfare benefits and public housing influence how many children people have? And why do migrants have a different number of children compared to non-migrants?

We also look at how families and relationships in the UK differ from those in other countries. Our research has examined the rise of people living together without being married. We study how women are now becoming the main earner in more and more families across Europe. Our research is important for understanding how families are changing in the UK and around the world.

This research is co-ordinated by Professor Ann Berrington.