This event is in person only. It is open to all but please register your attendance in advance at eventbrite.

About the event

The University of Bristol School for Policy Studies and ESRC Centre for Micro-Social Research (MiSoc) are delighted to welcome Professor Dan Meyer from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Professor Meyer is a world leading expert on single parent’s economic wellbeing. His research on child support policy and welfare reform has had a global impact, including playing a role in shaping child support policy in the United Kingdom.

In his talk, Professor Meyer will give an overview of what we know about child support policy around the world, describing key policy features and discussing the limited literature estimating their effects. His talk will draw on his recently published studies in the Journal of International and Comparative Social Policy and the Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science. 

We are also delighted to welcome Professor Emma Hitchings from the University of Bristol’s School of Law who will present new empirical evidence for the UK on couples’ financial and property arrangements after divorce in England and Wales.  

Taking a broader perspective, Professor Susan Harkness, from the School of Policy Studies, will present findings from her recent research showing how the economic disadvantage associated with single parenthood varies across the income distribution in 12 rich nations and at the role played by policy.

Our final session will provide a forum to discuss evidence-based policy solutions for improving the economic well-being of separated and single parent families with Dr Jon Symonds, a Senior Lecturer in Social Work, and Professor Liz Washbrook from the School of Education contributing insights from their research.

Speakers

Professor Dan Meyer, School of Social Work University of Wisconsin-Madison

Professor Susan Harkness, School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol

Professor Emma Hitchings, School of Law, University of Bristol

Dr Jon Symonds, School for Policy Studies, University of Bristol

Professor Liz Washbrook, School of Education, University of Bristol

 

Seminar Programme

2.00 - 2.05 pm  Welcome and introductions

2.05 - 3.00 pm  “Child maintenance policy around the world: similar challenges, different approaches.” Professor Dan Meyer 

3.00 – 3.15 pm  Coffee

3.15 - 3.45 pm  “Fair Shares: Financial and Property Arrangements after Divorce,” Professor Emma Hitchings

3.45 – 4.15 pm  “Single Mothers’ Income in 12 Rich Nations: Differences in Disadvantage across the Distribution,” Professor Susan Harkness

4.15 – 5.00 pm   Roundtable with Dan Meyer, Emma Hitching, Susan Harkness, Jon Symonds and Liz Washbrook

5.00 pm             Drinks reception

 

About the speakers

Daniel Meyer is an Emeritus Professor of Social Work and a faculty affiliate of the Institute for Research on Poverty at the University of Wisconsin - Madison.  His research centers on the economic well-being of single-parent families.  Most of his work examines child support policy and welfare reform, employing data derived from his various Wisconsin-based projects.  With Professor Maria Cancian, he has led teams of researchers that have evaluated experimental innovative child support policies across the US. One of these evaluations provided evidence for the advantages of allowing all child support paid by noncustodial parents (usually fathers) to go to the family. The evaluation was used as important evidence to change the child support regime in the United Kingdom.

Emma Hitchings is Professor of Family Law at the University of Bristol Law School. Her main research and teaching interests lie in the field of family law and family justice, in particular financial remedies on divorce. For 10 years, Emma was the academic member on the Family Law Committee of the Law Society and she was a member of the Law Commission’s Advisory Board for marital property agreements. Currently, she is the joint editor of the Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law. Emma is currently leading the ‘Fair Shares on Divorce’ research project funded by the Nuffield Foundation. The aim of the project to provide the first detailed, representative picture of the use of different kinds of financial arrangements reached by divorcing couples in England and Wales, including information both on couples who do and do not make use of the legal system.

Jon Symonds is a Senior Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Bristol. His research interests include parenting, family support and social work practice. He recently led the ‘Separated Families’ research project funded by the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory which explored the experiences of separation and support of family members when parents separate.

Susan Harkness is Professor of Social Policy at the School for Policy Studies at the University of Bristol. Her research examines how income inequality and poverty is shaped by gender and family structure. Her research focuses on less advantaged groups, including part-time and low-paid workers, and single-mother families.

Liz Washbrook is Professor of Quantitative Social Science at the School of Education, University of Bristol. Her research draws on the statistical analysis of large and complex datasets to explore a variety of topics relating to family decision-making and trajectories of children’s educational and socio-emotional development over the life course. A recent strand of work focuses on cross-national comparisons of socioeconomic inequalities in child development.