Stuart Basten

Personal Info

My work straddles the three core research fields of the Department – namely population research, social policy and evidence-based social intervention.

Empirical research interest

My primary research interest lies in the future of global fertility patterns and the uncertainty surrounding population projections. My work has a strong regional focus on Eastern Asia in general, and Taiwan, Hong Kong SAR and the People's Republic of China in particular.

My socio-demographic work seeks to explore the reasons for low fertility in this important region of the world and identify possible future trajectories. Using these different trajectories, I examine possible consequences regarding ageing, economic sustainability and the future of social welfare.

However, rather than simply 'calculating rates', my research explicitly feeds into a policy framework. I work closely with academics, policymakers and other stakeholders across East Asia to explore the role which the state and the private sector can play in directly affecting fertility and, crucually, in the context that surrounds the conditions of low fertility. I am especially interested in the role of gender equity and shifting attitudes towards the role of women in the domestic sphere.

Finally, I am developing some work surrounding interventions in East Asia, especially concerning the implementation of policies which foster a 'family friendly' environment such an in-house corporate childcare and breastfeeding/baby changing facilities.

Theoretical work

My theoretical work concerns the general question of 'Why do people have children in  the 21st century?' I have sought to approach this question in a truly interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary sense and have written on the contribution of research from both the natural and social sciences to our understanding of contemporary fertility. This can be seen in my working papers which range from media studies to anthropology, neuroscience to sociology.

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