Analysis and action on living standards
Intergenerational fairness has risen up the agenda in recent years. From job and housing insecurity experienced by young people, to a social care system not fit to support older generations, Britain faces living standards challenges that affect different generations in different ways.
Responding effectively to these challenges means understanding what’s driving them, and how they can be addressed. The Intergenerational Centre has been set up as a home for this analysis and policy thinking, looking at living standards through a generational lens.
When place and demography collide
Demographic divergence matters for local government, for local economies, and for our politics. This report describes differences in ageing in different regions across the UK, and examines the implications for our politics and policy.
The role of a state safety net in supporting young people develop and transition to an independent, healthy future
This report reviews the state-provided financial safety net available to young adults, and how it has changed over time. It finds that young people have always relied more on benefits than working-age adults. But this gap has narrowed over recent
Intergenerational Centre
Our Intergenerational audit for the UK takes stock of generational living standards differences in Britain according to the latest data. It does this by considering living standards within four domains: jobs, skills and pay; housing costs and security; taxes, benefits
I have been exploring the issue of equity between generations for over a decade now, from writing The Pinch to Chairing the Resolution Foundation’s recent Intergenerational Commission.
This work has left me even more convinced that equity between generations is one of the biggest issues facing 21st century Britain.
The Intergenerational Centre will be at the heart of solving the many challenges that this issue throws up – from exploring the income and wealth gaps across generations, to rebuilding the social contract between generations that has been allowed to fray in recent decades.
— Lord David Willetts
How have pay, home ownership, consumption and wealth diverged for different age groups? How do cohorts’ living standards today measure up against those of their predecessors at the same age? How do these patterns differ across regions, and across the sexes? This interactive data dashboard, which sits alongside our Intergenerational audit for the UK, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, allows you to explore the answers to these questions and more.
This spotlight article looks at the 2019 general election from a generational perspective. Age has become increasingly important for party choice over recent decades, with the Brexit vote turbo-charging these differences. At the same time, Britain’s demographic divergence means that...
This briefing note explores why, despite record-high employment, the proportion of working-age adults who have never had a paid job has increased, pointing to a reduction in ‘earning while learning’ as a key driver.
Britain is getting older. Life expectancy is rising and, with Britain’s large post-war baby boomer generation now moving into retirement, a growing proportion of our population are pensioners. But not all parts of Britain are ageing at the same pace,...
The Resolution Foundation will host an expert panel to discuss the changes a longer life will bring to our families. The panel – including Baroness Camilla Cavendish, journalist and author of Extra Time – will be chaired by Lord David...
In 2010 David Willetts published The Pinch, the first book to warn that younger generations in Britain were losing out to the baby boomers. Ten years on, Lord Willetts has revised and updated The Pinch, drawing on new evidence from...
This article summarises a speech by Professor David Runciman at a recent Intergenerational Centre event exploring what the concept of generational fairness means for our politics, economics and society. You can watch the full event on our event page. This...
Class used to predict how people would vote in Britain and elsewhere — in 1974 if you were a member of the working class you were three times more likely to vote Labour than Conservative. Now the distribution of votes...
When economists and policy makers talk about living standards they think in terms of real (equivalised) household disposable incomes (before or after housing costs). This is a good approach to take, but it’s not how most people think. A more...
Explore our database of academic, think-tank and policy research to find out more about how living standards differ across and within generations, both in the UK and elsewhere.
Explore our library of videos that summarise the key messages from our research, and catch up on our past generational living standards-themed events.
Event invitations Top of the Charts weekend-reading email
