Today is six years since the EU referendum. In this blog, IF’s Digital Campaigns Officer, Liam Hill, considers the impact of the EU referendum on the UK’s economic and political landscape, and what effects the referendum and Brexit have had on intergenerational fairness. The events and the process Brexit has always been better seen as… Read more »
Category: Economics
Packhorse Generation: how the cost of living crisis disproportionately impacts the young
On 7 June IF is hosting a webinar (sign-up here) on the cost-of-living crisis facing young people. In this article, John Hobby, IF researcher, explains the economic backdrop to the mounting financial pressures facing younger generations. Consumer price inflation hit 9% in April, a four decade high that will squeeze the spending power of the… Read more »
Earth Day 2022: time for urgency
It is Earth Day this week. The theme for the 52nd anniversary of the annual event supporting the global environmental movement is “Invest in Our Planet”. Alec Haglund, IF researcher, writes about the need for urgent action to tackle the climate crisis, which is the most pressing intergenerational justice issue facing younger and future generations.… Read more »
Spring Statement: compounding the cost of living crisis for young people
On March 23, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, delivered his Spring Statement to Parliament, announcing a number of measures intended to alleviate the cost of living crisis. However, IF Co-Founder, Angus Hanton, argues that this package, combined with the government’s longstanding economic and fiscal policies, will do very little to solve the cost of… Read more »
Anti-democratic clauses in trade deals are barriers to intergenerational environmental justice
Part of the concept of intergenerational justice is that young people must be able to have a say in policy-making. Democratic systems must allow for their citizens to exert agency over economic and political processes in the first place, otherwise there would be no vehicle for translating the will of (young) people into action and… Read more »
The social care cap and the intergenerational contract
On 7 September 2021, the government announced reforms to the social care system in order to provide more support to people with fewer financial resources. A recent announcement on 17 November 2021 casts doubt on whether these reforms will be worth the costs borne by younger generations. John Hobby, IF researcher, investigates whether this is… Read more »
COP26: Degrowth as a solution to the climate crisis
John Hobby, IF Researcher, looks at why GDP is an imperfect measure of human wellbeing and how changing how we think about growth could help us improve global living standards while reducing environmental degradation. Green Growth has become the established theoretical and policy response to tackling climate change and ecological breakdown, with talk of a… Read more »
COP26: progress on forest protection for future generations
Intergenerational Foundation Co-Founder, Angus Hanton, assesses the agreement between national leaders concerning forest protection and recovery at COP26 on Tuesday last week. Will their agreement be enough to protect “the lungs of the Earth”? What more can and should be done to protect forests and rainforests for the sake of young people and future generations?… Read more »
Rise in National Living Wage not enough to help younger people
The government announced a rise in the National Living Wage this week, presenting it as a win for lower-paid working people. Lizzie Simpson, IF Researcher, discusses the details of this rise in the context of inflation and rising costs of living, and questions the merit of the UK’s age-based minimum wage system. Changes to the… Read more »
High rents leave families with unaffordable housing costs
A new report from Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) finds that one million families are paying rents that they cannot afford. Liz Emerson, IF Co-founder, takes a look at the research. 1 million families paying rent they cannot afford According to the JRF research, one million households are paying rents they cannot afford. These are private… Read more »