About one third of mothers will separate from a partner or begin living with a new partner while raising children. How do these partnership separations and unions relate to changes in mothers' work behaviour? Are partnership changes more critical for the work choices of some types of mothers than other types? Do the dynamic relationships help explain why lone mothers are less likely to be in formal employment than mothers with partners?

A new report, "Partnership Transitions and Mothers' Employment" written by IFS researcher Gillian Paull, explores the relationships between partnership transitions and changes in mothers' employment participation and work characteristics.

Key questions considered include:

• Are partnership separations and unions associated with unusually high rates of work exit or entry for mothers? What is the ordering or any association - do partnership transitions precede or follow work changes?

• How much is lone mothers' lower work participation related to separation from a partner?

• Are there adjustments in the hours of work, the hourly wage and other work characteristics for mothers who remain in work through a partnership separation or union?

• Do some types of mothers find partnership transitions more disruptive to their work behaviour than other types?

• Given the substantial innovations in policies affecting parents' work choices since 1997, have these relationships changed since the early 1990s?

• Do fathers and childless adults experience similar changes in work behaviour during partnership transitions?

The study uses two data sources: the first thirteen waves from the British Household Panel Survey (BHPS), covering years 1991 to 2003, and waves three to seven of the Families and Children Study (FACS) covering the years 2001 to 2005.

Registration with coffee will take place from 10am to 10.30am and the publication launch will take place from 10.30am to 11.30am. Summaries of the report will be available to delegates.