Qualifications
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PhD, University of Bristol
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BA (Hons) in Philosophy, Politics and Economics, University of Oxford
Biography
Stephen started at the University of Birmingham in 2007, having previously been deputy director of the Personal Finance Research Centre in Bristol. He has previously worked in a number of universities and several 'think tanks' in London.
Teaching
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Social Research Methods II at MA level
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Poverty and Social Security, at third year undergraduate level
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Social Issues and Social Policy, first year undergraduates
Postgraduate supervision
Stephen supervises doctoral researchers in the areas of social inequality and public policy. Current students are researching:
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Cross-class families
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Commissioning of children's services
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Older workers in Taiwan
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Rural youth
He is also keen to supervise in the areas of:
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Attitudes to welfare
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Disability
Research
Stephen's main interests are in poverty, wealth and inequality and in the application of quantitative methods to large-scale datasets. Recent projects have included research on child support, measuring deprivation and the use of administrative to augment survey data.
Other activities
Board member of Social Policy and Administration, and the Journal of Poverty and Social Justice.
Publications
Rowlingson, K and McKay, S (2012) Wealth and the Wealthy, Bristol: The Policy Press
McKay, S and Rowlingson, K (2011), 'The religion of inequality' in Holmwood, J (editor), Manifesto for the public university, London: Bloomsbury Academic
McKay, S (2011) Review of the child material deprivation items in the Family Resources Survey - Research Report. Department for Work and Pensions.
McKay, S (2011) Understanding financial capability in Canada: Analysis of the CFCS. Research paper prepared for the Task Force on Financial Literacy.
McKay, S (2011) Response 1: Scientific Method in Social Policy Research is Not a Lost Cause. Journal of Social Policy 40, 1, 21-29.
McKay, S (2010) Using the new Family Resources Survey question block to measure material deprivation among pensioners - working paper. Department for Work and Pensions.
McKay, S and Rhodes, D (2010) Secondary analysis of low-income working households in the private rented sector. Part A: Analysis of the General Household Survey and the Family Resources Survey and Part B: Analysis of the English House Condition Survey - working paper. Department for Work and Pensions.
McKay, S and Cheung, Sin Yi (2010) Training and progression in the labour market - research report. Department for Work and Pensions.
McKay, S (2010) The effects of twins and multiple births on families and their living standards. Tamba.
McKay, S (2010) Where do we stand on inequality? Journal of Poverty and Social Justice Vol. 18, no. 1
McKay, S, Glasby, J, Ham, C, and Littlechild, R (2010), The case for social care reform - the wider economic and social benefits - final report (pdf; opens in new window)
McKay, S (2010) 'Never too old? Attitudes towards longer working lives', pp 159-192 (Chapter 8) in Park, A, Curtice, J, Thomson, K, Phillips, M, Clery, E and Butt, S (eds) British Social Attitudes: The 26th Report. London: Sage Publications.