Last week Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak unveiled the government’s new support measures which are designed to help workers who have been affected by the COVID-19 crisis. David Kingman looks at what they could mean for younger workers whose living standards are at risk
Category: Government policy
Could an age-segregated lockdown work?
Statistical modelling shows there is a trade-off between the disadvantages of isolating the older members of society and protecting them as the most vulnerable to COVID-19. Essentially, better outcomes could result by treating the generations differently. It’s a thorny intergenerational issue, as IF Research Intern Ellie Maher explains
Book Review: #futuregen
When Jane Davidson was Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing in Wales from 2007 to 2011 she became a leading architect of the groundbreaking Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act (2015). In her new book, #Futuregen: Lessons from a Small Country, she tells the story and relays her vision. Our reviewer, IF Research Intern Hugo… Read more »
The scandal of state-sponsored age discrimination
The age bands that are applied to the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage are examples of age discrimination, surely? Rosie Neville, second-year Economics and Politics student at the University of Bristol, finds this government-prescribed policy unacceptable – scandalous, even
A Kick in the Teeth
As the government launches its “Kickstart” scheme specifically aimed to help young people at risk of long-term unemployment, IF Research Intern Hugo Till fears that it will lead to them becoming entrapped in the nightmarish web of Universal Credit
The climate emergency has not gone away
There’s a burning need to address the threat of climate change, and the COVID-19 crisis may offer a window of opportunity. IF Research Intern Ellie Maher looks at the Climate and Ecological Emergency (CEE) Bill currently going through parliament and assesses if and how it can make a difference
Ofqual’s Algorithm: The method to madness
You would be hard pressed to find anyone willing to defend Ofqual’s calculated grades a month after they briefly arrested the dreams of many students. And yet the algorithm had its supporters and defenders before Results Day on 13 August. IF Research Intern Anthony J. Piwowarski explores the ways in which a now universally condemned… Read more »
What role does financial regulation play in intergenerational fairness?
The financial industry, and the way in which financial products are regulated, have big impacts on different generations, as David Kingman explains
Can the government’s planning reforms help solve the housing crisis?
David Kingman looks at whether the new set of planning reforms – recently announced by the UK government – are likely to help solve the housing crisis facing young adults
Government Apprenticeships: Groundhog Day
Apprenticeship schemes are regularly wheeled out as the solution to getting young people into work, but they have consistently failed. Will it be any different in the new COVID world? IF supporter Ned Walker sets out the reasons why we might not be overly optimistic
