Plenary speakers announce their abstracts
In the lead-up to Understanding Society’s Scientific Conference 2015, the plenary speakers have published their abstracts.
This year, two keynote speakers will be presenting.
Exploring Ageing, Exploring Sleep using Understanding Society data
Professor Sara Arber – Tuesday 21st July @ 11.30am
Professor Sara Arber has been Professor of Sociology at the University of Surrey since 1994 and is Co-Director of the Centre for Research on Ageing and Gender. At the conference, she will give a presentation on “Exploring Ageing, Exploring Sleep” using Understanding Society data.
The paper will explore three inter-linked areas of my own research, and in so doing illustrate the richness and potential of ‘Understanding Society’ for answering novel sociological and policy relevant research questions.
Recent UK policy changes are predicated on government assumptions that older men and women will continue to work in their late sixties. Focusing primarily on men and women aged 65-69 (n=3400) in ‘Understanding Society’ (2012-13, wave 4), the paper examines gender differences in participation in paid employment/self-employment, the nature of employment and inequalities in income received. Nearly half of economically active men aged 65-69 are self-employed, as are a third of women.
Being employed/self-employed in the late sixties is associated with health and educational advantages. Levels of income inequality from employment, and especially from self-employment, are very marked. The top 10% of self-employed men earn 10 times more than the lowest 25%, and earn 20 times more than the lowest 25% of self-employed women. Continued economic activity may compound gender and other inequalities in later life. Sleep is increasingly seen as central to health and well-being.
‘Understanding Society’ is used to analyse socio-economic inequalities in sleep quality, and consider to what extent sleep may be a mediator in the link between marital status/marital quality and poor health. Finally, the paper analyses caregiving and sleep, and shows that co-resident care-giving is strongly associated with poor sleep. However, poor health and not being employed are implicated in these relationships among working age carers, but not among older caregivers.
Scotland’s changing fiscal framework through the prism of Understanding Society
Professor David Bell – Thursday 23rd July @ 11.30am
Our second speaker, Professor David Bell has been the Professor of Economics at the University of Stirling since 1990. His main research areas include economics of social care, economics of subjective well-being, the Scottish economy and the economics of education.
Professor Bell’s presentation will use Understanding Society to examine the radical changes in Scotland’s taxation and welfare system that are planned for the near future.
These have been precipitated firstly by the independence referendum and most recently by the election of 56 SNP MPs to the Westminster Parliament. The tax and welfare changes involve Scotland taking control of a large proportion of personal taxation including all of income tax and half of VAT revenues. Scotland will also gain control of a significant share of welfare benefits.
Understanding Society will be used firstly to contrast key characteristics of the Scottish and rest of UK populations. Then the implications of the tax and welfare changes will be explored through the medium of microsimulation, again using Understanding Society. The analysis will show that increased tax powers could result in a better fiscal outcome for Scotland, but that there are risks associated with devolving control over tax and welfare budgets to the Scottish Parliament.
Finally, the presentation will analyse the implications of extending greater control over tax and welfare to other parts of the United Kingdom.
Any questions?
If you have any questions about the conference or registration, please email: events@understandingsociety@ac.uk
Follow conference tweets via @usociety and #usociety15