Household and labour market change: implications for the growth of inequality in Britain

The paper examines the relationships between population and household change, on the one hand, and labour market/employment change, on the other, and considers how these relationships have contributed to the growth of inequality. The perspective of the paper is sociological, although much of the work done in these areas has been carried out by demographers and economists. Areas where sociological research remains to be done are highlighted. Developments in patterns of fertility and in households are linked to the growth of individualism and to changes in the labour market, and shown to be implicated jointly in the marked growth of inequality in Britain. The paper argues that future research must link households and labour markets, and work towards understanding emerging new relationships between working and private lives, between living arrangements and labour supply, and between individual freedom and social integration.