LLAKES first international conference
Exploring Inequality and its Consequences: Education, Labour Markets, and Communities
The two-day conference exploring the international trends in inequalities and what 
we know about their social and economic impacts on communities and society as a whole,
was held 5-6 July. Titled Exploring Inequality and its Consequences: Education, Labour Markets, and Communities, the conference focused on the gaps between regions and age
groups and how, if at all, education and training could mitigate these.
Inequalities of income and wealth have been growing in many countries during the last two decades. In the UK household incomes are more unequal now than at any time since 1961,
and social mobility, on some measures, appears to have declined. The economic recession
may have exacerbated these trends, as job loss and wage cuts affect some groups – and some regions – more than others. Unemployment, for instance, has risen fastest amongst young people, the least qualified, and those in low wage occupations. These trends may have detrimental consequences both for the economy and for social cohesion. As much of the research shows, highly unequal societies tend to have higher rates of crime, poorer public
health, and lower levels of social cohesion.
The conference was organised by the ESRC-funded Centre for Learning and Life Chances in Knowledge Economies and Societies (LLAKES). The aim was to bring together leading researchers in the field to share their latest research findings with policy-makers.
It was an invitation only conference which brought together over 70 delegates from the UK and abroad and comprised of extended seminars, with a mixture of plenary and smaller group sessions. The conference took place at Birkbeck College.
Presentations included the latest findings from LLAKES research projects as well as key-note presentations from external speakers including:
- Professor Martin Carnoy, Vida Jacks Professor of Education, Stanford University
- Professor Danny Dorling, Professor of Human Geography, University of Sheffield
- Professor John Hills, Professor of Social Policy, Director of the Centre for Analysis of Social Exclusion (CASE),
London School of Economics and Political Science - Professor Roger Jowell, Researcher Professor, City University
- Professor Sylvia Walby OBE, UNESCO Chair in Gender Research and Professor of Sociology, University of Lancaster
Presentations are now available to download.
Keynotes
Session papers
Fuller, Unwin, Guile and Rizvi
