RESOURCES: Review - Counting the costs of becoming an adult

This short book, another from the excellent Economic and Social Research Council studies of youth and social change, explores the key financial issues facing young people and their parents. It documents flows of financial resources between parents and young people, considers how this may influence education and labour market choices and addresses emergent policy concerns. These include the financial burdens that may threaten political aspirations to widen participation in higher education, and the impact of new responsibilities on family relationships.

Overall sources of income for young people are diverse: earnings, grants, benefits and so on. Their status varies and their expenditure needs can be very different. What becomes clear from this book is the extent to which a sense of independence and choice for young people can only be secure if parents are willing, when it is necessary, to fill the breach.