Understanding Society - October 2013: Generations

Welcome to the latest edition of the Ipsos Social Research Institute’s Understanding Society, which explores the differing attitudes, values and expectations across generations, tracking how they change over time. This brings together some of our research from a year-long programme of work.

We are delighted to have an interview with Minister of State for Universities and Science, Rt Hon David Willetts MP, who wrote one of the most influential books on the interaction between Britain’s generations. The Pinch inspired us to start looking at attitudes and values with a generational frame, so we are enormously grateful for his contribution to this publication.

We are equally thrilled to have in this edition an article from Shiv Malik and Ed Howker, authors of the Jilted Generation, another ground-breaking study of generational differences. Shiv and Ed argue that there is a real need analyse societies through the frame of generations for wider policy and economic implications.

We are also extremely grateful to outgoing Charity Director General of Age UK, Michelle Mitchell, who gives us her perspective on the challenges facing the baby boomers and pre-war generations, as well as her take on the debate around intergenerational fairness.

This generational focus has been a major piece of work for Ipsos, and we have published all our analysis, more than can be included here, on a dedicated website. At the end of this edition are snippets of that work to give a flavour – but do browse our website if you get a chance.

We hope you enjoy the report, and if you would like to discuss any of the issues it raises, then please get in touch.