According to the research, mothers who give birth to their first child in their thirties tend to have characteristics which help make their children perform better when measured on these outcomes at age five.

Dr Alice Goisis, a researcher at LSE, said: “First time mothers in their thirties are, for example, likely to be more educated, have higher incomes, are more likely to be in stable relationships, have healthier lifestyles, seek prenatal care earlier and have planned their pregnancies. These are the factors that are possibly helping their children to perform better, rather than there being an inherent advantage to a woman delaying the birth of a first child until her thirties.”
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In the first study of its kind, researchers Dr Tanya O’Garra (Grantham Research Institute) and Professor Susana Mourato (Department of Geography and Environment) asked more than 1000 adults how much they would be willing to contribute personally to a variety of projects designed to help developing countries adapt to climate change.

The results have been published online in the Journal of Environmental Economics and Policy.

Respondents were prepared to pay about £27 more income tax each year to support adaptation efforts in developing countries, the authors found. That’s equivalent to what most people spend on postage stamps each year in the UK. It is also less than one third of the amount needed per capita, according to World Bank estimates.
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Sharp decline in people moving home, says new study
The rate at which people move home in England and Wales has declined dramatically over the last 30 years, according to new research published by LSE.

The study, the first of its kind, challenges the prevailing notion of an ever more mobile society in an age of globalisation.

Using the Office for National Statistics Longitudinal Study of linked census records, it examines the evidence provided by its 10-year migration indicator, with particular attention to the first and last decades available, 1971-1981 and 2001-2011. This shows that there has been a marked reduction, 17.7 per cent, in the level of shorter-distance (less than 10km) moving for almost all types of people. The propensity of people to make longer-distance address changes has declined much less, though the 2.6 per cent fall between the 1970s and the 2000s may be an underestimate owing to the inclusion of moves to and from university in the latest decade.
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The economics of floods
The misery that floods are inflicting on residents of northern England and Scotland is part of a major global problem. Over the past 30 years, floods worldwide killed more than 500,000 people and displaced over 650 million people.

In a new study published by the Centre for Economic Performance (CEP), based at LSE, Dr Guy Michaels and colleagues examine why so many people are hit by floods year after year. In particular, the research examines whether urban populations respond to large floods by moving to safer areas.
>>More

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Top tips

Timeframe for writing a research grant proposal
The longer you have to prepare your proposal the greater your chances of submitting a winning application. Early consultation with the Research Development team within the Research Division and your head of department is essential. 

The Research Development team require a minimum of 2 weeks to review your proposal prior to the submission date. This amount of time should be allocated in addition to the time allocated to writing your proposal.

Suggested timeframe for preparing a proposal:

	Timeframe
Large grants/fellowships/networks e.g. ESRC, European Commission	3 - 6 months
Small grants e.g. Nuffield, British Academy	1 - 3 months
Research Division to review your proposal	Minimum 2 weeks before deadline

Contact the Research Development team for help at any stage of writing your proposal. 

To develop your grant writing skills, come along to the Research Division training workshop "Fundamentals of Grant Writing", 09:30-16:00, Friday 5 February 2016. Previous workshops have been fully booked so early booking is advised.
>>Book your place 

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60 second interview


With Michael Oliver
Michael Oliver is a grant applications manager in the Research Division. In December 2015, Mike's contribution to the LSE was recognised at the inaugural LSE Values in Practice Awards, where he was awarded The Director's Award.

Nominated for the ‘key role he played in launching so many of our individual and collective achievements’, the nominator also reflected that ‘many of us would have missed out on great opportunities in the absence of Mike’s kindness and eagle-eyed attention to detail, his very in-depth understanding of how LSE works, his encyclopaedic knowledge of the particularities of sponsors and how best to attract their attention…LSE would not be the world-class research institution that it is without the hidden work he has done to support generations of researchers.’

Well done Mike, we are very proud of you!   

Congratulations on receiving The Director’s Award as part of the Values in Practice Awards for LSE professional services staff. How does it feel to be recognised in this way?
I thought I would be a bit cynical about this but I am actually very honoured to receive this award and it means a lot to me. I have thoroughly enjoyed my 29 years (to date) at LSE. 
 
You joined the LSE in 1986 as a first appointee to the newly created Research Office. Do you remember what your first day was like?
I joined when the Research Office was first established. Someone who worked in LSE Finance Division was promoted and became the first head of the newly created Research Office (which at the time was part of Finance Division). I was the first external appointee. The Research Office had just one office, the head sat at one end of a long desk and I sat at the other end, with a phone in the middle. My first day was just before Christmas of that year and I spent it familiarising myself with a folder of print outs (no computers at that time) showing expenditure against the then small number of research grants held by the School. I seem to recall covering the phone for the head who was, as this was Christmas, in The George IV pub with his mates.    
  
Over the years, what has been your highlight/most extraordinary experience working at the LSE?
It's difficult to pick one experience, but I would say being asked (due to shortage of staff) to go to India as part of a team representing LSE on a travelling country wide educational trade fair, attended by all major UK universities “selling their brand" to potential Indian students. Up to that point my LSE experience had been limited to academic research activity so it was great to learn more about the other side of the LSE. As LSE has historic links with India we were well looked after by Indian alumni and given access to some fabulous places. Another highlight over the years has been assisting colleagues in applying for and obtaining funding for 5 major research centres at the School.  
 
You’ve had vast experience in dealing with grant proposals and submitting applications. What advice do you have for those thinking of applying for funding?
Basically what the team always advises. Give yourself plenty of time to prepare the application and contact us early enough to give us time to be able to provide the best support service we can. Read carefully the guidelines and try and get a feel for what, from the sponsor’s perspective, will strengthen (or weaken) the application, and what the sponsor’s priorities are. For junior colleagues, ask more senior colleagues/peers to read and comment on your proposal.   
 
If you could change anything at the LSE what would it be?
The LSE research culture has generally emphasised the single independent scholar applying for funding, who has largely been left to get on with it. Now that funding is more difficult to obtain and the competition more intense, I would like to see the School adopt a more proactive managerial role in quality control and demand management. Many departments are moving that way but there still doesn’t seem to me to be a central coherent strategy. 
 
We have heard through the grapevine that you have been stopped by students mistaking you for the LSE’s Director, Craig Calhoun. Can you confirm these rumours?
I can. When Craig first joined I was mistaken by a student in The George IV pub for him. The student congratulated me on becoming Director and advised she was also starting her studentship at LSE. I had to explain to her, much to her embarrassment and to the amusement of the bar staff and other customers, her mistake. Others also commented on the similarity although clearly they hadn’t met Craig personally.     
 
If you could do it all again, what alternative career would you choose?
I really can’t think of another career, apart from being a professional footballer or actor, that I would have enjoyed as much as this. My best educational qualifications were in law, and I like working in areas dominated by the Inns of Court, so I suppose that training as a lawyer would have been an alternative.