BHPs

BHPS stands for the British Household Panel Survey. It was a longitudinal panel study of private households in Great Britain designed to track social and economic change over time. Launched in the early 1990s, the survey followed individuals and households across multiple waves, collecting repeated observations on the same respondents to enable analysis of trajectories and transitions.

The BHPS collected a wide range of information, including demographic characteristics, employment and earnings, income and Poverty, housing, health, education, family structure, and attitudes. Interviews were conducted with household members and the design included mechanisms to retain respondents over time while adjusting for household changes. The resulting data support analyses of life-course trajectories, poverty dynamics, and social mobility.

Funding and governance came from the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and other partners. The study was administered by the Institute for Social and Economic Research (ISER) at the University of Essex, with data archived and made available to researchers through the UK Data Service. The BHPS data have been widely used in academic research and policy analysis to understand long-run social and economic processes in Britain.

In 2009, the BHPS was integrated into Understanding Society: the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS), expanding the scope and ongoing data collection while preserving the BHPS core to maintain continuity over time. Today, the BHPS remains a foundational source for longitudinal analysis in the UK, informing studies on income dynamics, health trajectories, family dynamics, and social inequality.