Toxic Time Capsule: Why nuclear energy is an intergenerational issue

This paper argues that cancelling Hinkley Point C, dubbed “the most expensive building on Earth”, could save Britain at least £30-£40 billion. Written by Andrew Simms, for IF, the paper compares the cost of nuclear to the likely costs of alternative energy supplies from onshore wind and solar, and questions whether current policy-makers have the… Read more »

The IF European Intergenerational Fairness Index 2016

IF is grateful to the Open Society Initiative for Europe for their invaluable financial support, which funded the production of an interactive online tool that visualises the findings from this project. Try playing around with the data yourself! Has Europe let down its young? That is the question the Intergenerational Foundation (IF) strives to answer with the… Read more »

Unlocking England’s Hidden Homes

  England’s housing crisis is receiving an increasing amount of attention from campaigners, the media and policy-makers, yet the obvious solution to addressing it – building more housing – still faces a range of seemingly intractable barriers. It seems clear that if the government is serious about reaching its target of building 1 million new… Read more »

The Rising Tide of Gerontocracy

This paper is the sequel to one of IF’s previous research projects The rise of gerontocracy? Addressing the intergenerational democratic deficit, which was published in April 2012. Dr Craig Berry of the Sheffield Political Economy Research Institute has updated his analysis of voting habits among different age groups to show that the ageing of Britain’s… Read more »

Intergenerational Fairness Index 2015

This annual report reveals a 10% deterioration in the prospects of younger generations relative to older generations between 2010 and 2015 with a one point decline year on year between 2014 and 2015. The spike in the Index during the last government is attributed mostly to rising levels of government debt, the cost of the… Read more »

What are we leaving to our children?

  We all know today’s young people face an uncertain future, with high housing costs, youth unemployment and government spending cuts weighing heavily on them. This paper goes beyond these short-term problems to look at the big question which is looming on the horizon: what will be the legacy of the current older generation to… Read more »

Youth and the General Election 2015: Time to stop the slide

With the 2015 general election looming in just under two months, it seems extremely timely to examine how the fortunes of young people have shifted over the past two electoral cycles. IF has taken ten of the indicators from the now well-established Intergenerational Fairness Index to see how they have changed during the period from… Read more »

Politicians Beware: Younger Voters May Bite Back in 2015 Election

  Young people are, it seems, being increasingly ignored by the major political parties because of a perception that they don’t turn out to vote, a trend which perpetuates further disengagement between young people and politics. Too many young people are used to thinking that they have no reason to vote because they don’t have… Read more »

Empty Bedrooms Undermine New Building

The growing trend towards under-occupation is exacerbating Britain’s housing crisis, according to new research from the Intergenerational Foundation. Building on previous studies from IF which have examined the issue of under-occupation, this report uses census data to show that nearly 1 million extra households were classed as under-occupying between 2001 and 2011 in England. In… Read more »