Fertility and housing in Britain

Hill Kulu, University of Liverpool

This study examines the relationships between childbearing decisions and housing transitions. We will use data from the British Household Panel Study and will apply event history analysis. We will first investigate the effect of children on housing changes and childbearing patterns by housing type. We will model childbearing and housing transitions jointly to control for unobserved characteristics of individuals, which may simultaneously influence their fertility behaviour and housing choices. We will then investigate the relationships between housing and fertility across residential contexts (London versus other areas) to determine whether and how the socioeconomic context moderates the relationships between the two domains of couples’ life course.