About
David has research interests at the interface of demography and social policy, with a particular focus on the voluntary sector and volunteering.
Research
Research groups
Research interests
- Voluntary sector
- Volunteering
Current research
Current research examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the income of charitable organisations - an under researched theme within social policy, which thus far has largely focused on the impact of the pandemic on individuals’ and households’ wellbeing.
Recent research, published in the journal 'Sociology', examines trends over time in the propensity to volunteer as a charitable trustee in England and Wales. The results show sizeable, progressive and extensive declines in trusteeship by birth cohort: compared to the 1945 birth cohort, more recent cohorts through to 1980 show successively lower propensities to volunteer. This is the first study in any country context to document a sizeable cohort decline in volunteering. The results represent empirical evidence in support of sociological theory which argues that the nature of volunteering is changing, with a reduction in a ‘collective’ style of volunteering characterised by long-term, regular and intensive commitment.
Research projects
Active projects
Completed projects
Publications
Teaching
David teaches on the Key Topics in Social Science module, which examines approaches to the quantitative measurement of key concepts including poverty, inequality, educational attainment and achievement, and social mobility.
Biography
David studied geography as an undergraduate (St Catherine’s College, University of Oxford), and Social Statistics (MSc) and Demography (PhD) as a postgraduate (University of Southampton).