How would a 4-day week help young people?

A century ago, economists believed that increases in economic productivity would lead to drastically shorter working weeks by the beginning of the 21st century. Although these predictions have not yet materialised, recent years have seen an increased interest in instituting a 4-day work week. Alec Haglund, IF Researcher, discusses how a 4-day week might benefit… Read more »

Never had it so good: the Platinum Jubilee generation

Robert Ashton, IF supporter, writes about how fortunate his Platinum Jubilee generation – born around the time that Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the throne – has been. Having reached 75 I wish somebody would tell me the purpose of old age. Some more worthy than myself will doubtless say that they care for their… Read more »

A year in review for intergenerational fairness

2021, it seems, will end the same way as it started, with COVID-19 putting the nation on hold, but it is the young who have suffered the most as intergenerational unfairness deepens, writes Liz Emerson, IF Co-founder, in this end-of-year review.  COVID-19 From Delta to Omicron, COVID-19 has delivered a rollercoaster of a year as… 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 »

Overqualified and underemployed: a sombre snapshot of the labour market for young people

Graduates are leaving university with scant prospects, feeling let down by policy-makers and waking up to the generational divide. Carlotta Hartmann, IF Intern, investigates the labour market pressures facing young Brits today Graduates feeling let down Young people across OECD countries have been disproportionately affected by the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to… Read more »

Freedom and injustice in the time of coronavirus

Last week, the majority of COVID-19 restrictions in England were removed, marking the biggest return to “normality” that we have seen since the beginning of the pandemic. However, this does not mean the end of restrictions for everybody, as IF Researcher, Lizzie Simpson, discusses how the new settlement affects younger people differently, and how this… Read more »

Intergenerational fairness: an economic approach

Matthew Oulton, Secretary of the UK’s Young Fabians Economy and Finance Network, economics student and young Labour activist from the Wirral, joins IF’s Worldwide Blog Week to discuss, from a left perspective, how to achieve intergenerational fairness post COVID-19 After a year of locking up the young largely to save the old, it’s hard to… Read more »

How inflation could blow up the younger generation

Commodity prices have already gone up sharply around the world and many other prices seem to be headed north. To fight COVID-19 the government has printed huge quantities of new money and many economists are predicting the result will be a sharp rise in inflation. Angus Hanton, IF Co-founder, asks what this would mean for the old and the… Read more »