We study the impact on children’s bodyweight of switching from means-tested to universal provision of nutritious free school meals in England. We exploit the roll-out of universal provision across Local Authorities to estimate effects at different ages and durations of exposure, based on nurse-collected, population-wide health data for state school children. Exposure to universal […]
Family and school based inputs determine children’s cognitive achievement. We study the interaction between family and school inputs by identifying the causal impact of information about school quality on parental time investment into children. Our study context is England, where credible information on school quality is provided by a nationwide school inspection regime. Schools […]
Mental ill health has a devastating impact on people’s lives. This report seeks to calculate the costs of mental ill health on individuals, society and the economy. This analysis finds that the total cost of mental ill health in England in 2022 was £300 billion. The cost is comprised of three major elements: 1. […]
[…] to enhanced trust between employers and staff. At the same time, this mode of working blurred boundaries between work and home life, which was reported to negatively impact mental wellbeing. Going forward, interviewees note that some form of face-to-face interaction will likely be important to sustain organisational culture, induct new staff, maintain formal and […]
[…] had rolled out their own Universal Free School Meal (UFSM) schemes between 2010 and 2014 for children up to age 11. In this report we evaluate the impact of these local authority UFSM schemes on: 1) Take-up of school meals; 2) Children’s diet-related health, as measured by obesity prevalence and body mass index (BMI) […]
[…] fertility rates and population aging are established trends in high-income countries. In the United Kingdom (UK), the fertility rate remains below the replacement level. Low fertility rates impact economies, for instance, through social security systems. The increase in unemployment during recessions decreases the opportunity costs of having a child. At the same time, it […]
Assessing the impact of caregiving for older parents on caregivers’ health is increasingly important in the context of population changes and curtailment of state provided services. This has been extensively studied but results are inconsistent, possibly reflecting a lack of attention to health-related selection into the caregiver role. We use data from a nationally […]
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) commissioned Ipsos MORI to complete this study into the feasibility of evaluating the impact of government investment into multi-sport and tennis grassroots facilities across the UK. The research and recommendations were supported by close consultation with programme partners across the UK. The report will serve as […]