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The first of the two studies described here helped to persuade the coalition government that sufficient loans and grants needed to be available from autumn 2012 to ensure that higher tuition fees did not deter students from disadvantaged backgrounds from pursuing a university degree. The second study influenced the national debate on widening participation in higher education and encouraged policy-makers to recognise the importance of providing school students with improved information, advice and guidance on how to reach university. It triggered the launch of a successful website that has enabled teenagers to make more informed choices about HE.
The Wellbeing Programme at the LSE's Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) was founded in 2001, based on the belief that subjective wellbeing should be the main criterion for making government policy. The research programme has had a widespread impact on many UK government policies, including policies for measuring national wellbeing; for Improving Access to Psychological Therapies in the NHS; for improving life skills in schools; and for apprenticeships. CEP research has also had significant impact worldwide, including on the OECD's measurement programme, the World Economic Forum, and the United Nations (UN) process towards making happiness one of the `sustainable development goals' after 2015.
The Millennium Cohort Study (MCS) has influenced health policy and practice at local, national and international levels. Breastfeeding research based on MCS data has made a particularly important contribution to health education, and important insights have been provided on immunisation and obesity. The study has also helped to shape policy thinking and public discussion on issues such as social mobility, family poverty and child development. The MCS has not only created an invaluable resource for researchers in the UK and other countries, it has also served as a model for other cohort studies. Leading researchers around the world say it sets the benchmark against which other child cohort studies will be measured.
It is widely agreed that savings for funded pensions are inadequate, while pay-as-you-go schemes are unsustainable. Our research addressed determinants and adequacy of saving, and policies to alleviate the problem. This led to the team investigating the economic and fiscal impacts of extending working lives. Presentations were made at the EC, at Finance Ministries and at public fora. The Daily Telegraph front page (Your Country Needs You to Work Longer) on 5th of May 2009, discussing the work, had an impact. There was a noticeable impact on UK, Italian, and other retirement policies, and is acknowledged to have been an influence on the decision to raise UK retirement ages in 2010.
The work of White has led to a re-appraisal of men's risk of premature death, both in the UK and abroad. His analysis of morbidity and mortality data has helped stimulate a worldwide debate on the health of men and the risks they face with their health. In the UK, analysis of cancer data has led the leading cancer charities to have a rethink on men's risk of cancer. The EC State of Men's Health in Europe report has helped create a new insight into the equality needs of men and stimulated the production of similar reports globally.