Welcome to Equal-Lives

Equal-Lives is a new research project looking at how inequality impacts the lives of young adults in 5 countries as they had to college or university,  start work, establish partnerships and have children.

The project is one of 13, which form a programme of cross-European research which aims to tackle inequality by:

  • Advancing globally excellent theoretical and methodological research on dynamics of inequality across the life-course
  • Motivating and support excellence and capacity building for research on dynamics of inequality across the life-course on a cross-national basis
  • Developing understanding and promote research-based knowledge and insight into dynamics of inequality across the life-course

As part of that programme, Equal Lives seeks to shed light on how advantage and disadvantage play out as young people move into adulthood and how that impacts on their lives as they head into their thirties and forties.

Launching the project, Principal Investigator, Professor Susan Harkness, from the Institute for Social and Economic Research at the University of Essex, said:

Existing and rising inequalities pose fundamental challenges to European societies and economies. The increasing gap between rich and poor, exacerbated by the recent financial and economic crises, is a major concern. By comparing how that happens in different countries and in different policy contexts, we expect to contribute valuable evidence that will support efforts to tackle poverty and reduce inequality in a way that will help young people thrive as they head into adulthood.