The Demography Prize 2019 offers a share of €10,000 for the best essays on the housing crisis, plus the possibility of publication in the Intergenerational Justice Review. Antony Mason gives the details
Since 2011, the Intergenerational Foundation (IF) has been helping the Stuttgart-based Foundation for the Rights of Future Generations (FRFG) to promote two biennial academic prizes: the Intergenerational Justice Prize and the Demography Prize. Both have a total prize pot of €10,000 (yes, ten thousand euros), generously funded by the Stiftung Apfelbaum, and shared among the winners.
The Demography Prize 2019 has just been announced. It is calling for papers of 5,000 to 8,000 words on the following subject:
“Housing Crisis: how can we improve the situation for young people?”
The deadline is 1 December 2019.
Housing crisis
Housing has become a critical issue not just in the UK but in many European countries as well, and beyond. House prices have become unaffordable for young people, and high property values have a knock-on effect on rent levels.
This has all kinds of side effects, on the quality of housing and overcrowding (a key factor in living standards and wellbeing), in constraining younger generations’ ability to spend their money on other things, or to invest in more productive parts of the economy.
This is an intergenerational issue because older generations by and large had easier access to the housing market, have seen exponential rises in property values, and are often now the ones who own the property for rent.
Young people tend to live longer in their parental homes, or in the private rental sector, than previous generations, and are delaying the age of traditional life-stages such as marriage and starting a family.
The competition is open to essays that address all angles of this debate, and proposed solutions: house-building, rent caps, government subsidies, government nudges towards better use of existing housing stock, homelessness among young people…
Why are some countries better than others at providing affordable housing for the next generation? What lessons can be drawn from cross-country comparisons? Could solutions lie in new forms of housing, such as shared housing, multi-generational housing, homeshare (accommodation offered in exchange for help and/or companionship)? What is the acceptable environmental impact of house-building?
Note that entrants can adapt the title of their essay according to their chosen subject, but the paper must in essence reflect the topic.
Also useful to know
You can find full details about the Demography Prize 2019 here. In brief:
Aim of the competition: Through the prize, the FRFG and IF seek to promote discussion about intergenerational justice in society, and, by providing a scholarly basis to the debate, establish new perspectives for decision-makers. The invitation to enter the competition is extended especially to young academics from all disciplines.
Entries can be submitted in either English or German.
Eligibility: Researchers from all fields of social science, especially young researchers (students, graduates, post-docs). There is no age limit. Collaborative submissions are also welcome.
Prizes: The Demography Prize is endowed with €10,000. The prize money will be distributed proportionally among the best submissions, which can be more or less than the top three submissions. Winning submissions will be considered for publication by the editorial team of the Intergenerational Justice Review (IGJR; www.igjr.org) for the summer issue 2020.
Photo by John Cameron on Unsplash: https://unsplash.com/@john_cameron
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