The Family Report 2003: Choosing Happiness?
Article
This report examines the relationship between happiness and having children. Over the last 30 years, people in Britain have become more affluent but have not become much happier. Over the same period the birth rate has declined. We know that family has an important part to play in happiness but whether the fact that we are having fewer children is in turn connected to how happy we are in unclear.
To explore this connection we held a series of focus groups and conducted a survey of 1,500 men and women across Britain.
Related items

Taxing choices: Taking the public’s temperature ahead of the budget
The stakes for a government are rarely higher than at a budget. Every chancellor has dealt with this differently. Ken Clarke would draft his budget speech with cigars and whisky, Gordon Brown pored over every word in what officials called…
Great expectations: Rejuvenating the national debate in Scotland
Fresh IPPR Scotland polling shows that politicians must raise their game if next year’s election is a to be serious debate about the challenges facing Scotland and potential solutions.
Unfinished business: Redressing inequality in British policy and Black lives
As conversations about race and equality continue to evolve, Black History Month remains a powerful invitation to pause, reflect, and recommit to progress.