tag:theconversation.com,2011:/us/topics/intergenerational-17707/articlesIntergenerational – The Conversation2023-11-15T00:31:02Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2172892023-11-15T00:31:02Z2023-11-15T00:31:02ZGenerational tensions flare as Japan faces the economic reality of its ageing baby boomers<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/558994/original/file-20231113-25-ksgka6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In 2024, the youngest of Japan’s baby boomers will turn 75. The boomers are called the “bunched” generation in Japan because they were born in a short spurt in the late 1940s, in the aftermath of the end of the second world war.</p>
<p>The sheer size of this cohort has made it a lightning rod for many of the thorny social and economic debates in Japan today. Japanese boomers are variously criticised for generational wealth disparity, national debt, and even the environmental crisis. </p>
<p>Historically, the boomers’ experience is very much the story of Japan’s postwar success. But were the boomers just lucky free-riders? And how have they shaped contemporary Japan?</p>
<h2>The children of war defeat</h2>
<p>Japan was under US-led occupation and struggling with a tattered economy when the boomers were born. Millions of soldiers and settlers had flooded back from the colonies and battlefields. As the Japanese began to rebuild their nation, they also enthusiastically procreated. From 1947 to 1949, Japan recorded around 2.7 million births annually, with a fertility rate exceeding 4.3. </p>
<p>Never again would Japan witness such stunning fertility. Apart from a short-lived uptick in the 1970s, annual births have been declining precipitously. </p>
<p>In 2020, Japan recorded its lowest number of annual births at 840,835 with a fertility rate of just 1.33. This is not the lowest in Asia, but it is well beneath the replacement rate of 2.1.</p>
<h2>The protest generation</h2>
<p>Japan’s boomers were both the engines and beneficiaries of the country’s economic miracle of the 1950s to 1970s, when GDP growth regularly hit the double digits. </p>
<p>In an age when most youth finished education in their teens, the boomers provided labor for Japan’s heavy, chemical, automotive, and electronics industries. Many migrated to cities like Tokyo, taking up jobs in small factories and retail stores. </p>
<p>The small percentage of boomers lucky enough to enter universities in the 1960s became the flagbearers of youth protest. They rallied against Japan’s subservience to America and its involvement in the Vietnam War. They demanded universities lower fees and give students a greater voice. </p>
<p>Beyond protest, they fashioned new cultures in music and art. Indeed, they were actors in the great theatre that was the “global 1960s”. </p>
<p>As student protest descended into violence in 1970s Japan, public opinion turned against the young boomers. A handful embraced <a href="https://www.npa.go.jp/archive/keibi/syouten/syouten271/english/0301.html">murderous left-wing terrorism</a>, but the majority chose the safety of corporate Japan.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/baby-boomers-be-nice-to-your-grandkids-they-may-save-australia-32629">Baby Boomers, be nice to your grandkids: they may save Australia</a>
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<h2>Boomers fashion Japan’s economic miracle</h2>
<p>In 1975, the youngest of Japan’s boomers were in their mid-20s. Japan was recovering from a massive hike in oil prices in 1973 and would face another petroleum shock in 1979. </p>
<p>It was the hardworking boomers who sustained Japan through these troubled economic times. In an age of rigidly defined gender roles, boomer men became Japan’s corporate and industrial warriors, while boomer women raised children and cared for elderly parents. Accordingly, they orchestrated Japan’s second – and last – postwar baby boom in the 1970s. </p>
<p>When Japan emerged as an economic superpower in the 1980s, it was the boomers who reaped the rewards. Although not all benefitted equally, Japanese baby boomers, now in their 30s, enjoyed relatively secure employment, a thriving economy, and superior standards of living. </p>
<p>At the same time, as the economy surged, the boomers faced financial pressures in housing and education. Some even <a href="https://doi.org/10.1515/cj-2016-0004">worked themselves to death</a> inside Japan’s pressure-cooker corporations. </p>
<p>Nonetheless, things were good for the boomers during Japan’s “bubble” economy of the 1980s. By the end of the decade, the youngest were in their 40s. As mid-career workers, they could both save and spend – something later generations would only dream of. </p>
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<h2>Intergenerational tensions in recessionary Japan</h2>
<p>Just as the boomers were moving into the middle echelons of society, Japan’s economic miracle ended abruptly. What followed from the 1990s onwards has been called Japan’s “lost decades”, an “ice age” of employment, and an era of youth uncertainty and despair. </p>
<p>The boomers, however, survived largely unscathed. Thanks to an employment system that protected senior workers, most (although not all) of the boomers retained their jobs while their children struggled to find even casual work. Many boomers also had savings to fall back on. </p>
<p>But in recessionary Japan, the now-ageing boomers raised thorny issues for the country. As a healthy, long-lived, and very large cohort, their approaching retirement in the 2000s threatened the viability of Japan’s already-strained pension and health schemes. Youth born in a post-bubble Japan are faced with carrying this burden. </p>
<p>Not surprisingly, intergenerational tensions have arisen. For the boomers, it is easy to label youth as lazy and lacking perseverance. For the young, boomers were simply lucky to be born in an era of growth. And, to make matters worse, now the young must support the boomers in retirement. </p>
<h2>Ageing boomers in the oldest society</h2>
<p>Given the electoral clout of the boomers, politicians are treading carefully around solutions involving redistribution from the old to the young. Ultimately, intergenerational blaming is not the solution. </p>
<p>Japan’s baby boomers were born into a nation rising, but they also helped to fashion that success. Youth can draw on the boomers’ journey from the ashes of defeat to stunning affluence. But the boomers must also recognise how their generation has contributed to the demographic and socioeconomic challenges facing Japan today. </p>
<p>As the world’s oldest society continues to age, intergenerational empathy from the boomers is now more important than ever.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/217289/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Simon Avenell does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Japan’s baby boomers rode the wave of the country’s postwar success. Now, as their society ages, they must now face their generational responsibility.Simon Avenell, Professor in Modern Japanese History, Australian National UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2067482023-06-01T20:46:39Z2023-06-01T20:46:39ZIntergenerational Day: How bringing different generations together can support our mental well-being<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529458/original/file-20230531-25420-dofez7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=22%2C128%2C5017%2C3234&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Programs that bring young and old together help foster meaningful relationships across generational divides.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>“You old bag!” </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529480/original/file-20230601-25420-992d5s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A man in wheelchair receives birthday cards from young children." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529480/original/file-20230601-25420-992d5s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529480/original/file-20230601-25420-992d5s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529480/original/file-20230601-25420-992d5s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529480/original/file-20230601-25420-992d5s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529480/original/file-20230601-25420-992d5s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529480/original/file-20230601-25420-992d5s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529480/original/file-20230601-25420-992d5s.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Herb receiving birthday cards from students in the iGen program.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>To many, this phrase might spark confusion or concern. But, for Herb, a long-term care resident of Saskatoon’s <a href="https://www.sherbrookecommunitycentre.ca/">Sherbrooke Community Centre</a>, it is his favourite phrase for teasing friends. </p>
<p>So, when he was gifted a t-shirt with those words on his 69th birthday, you couldn’t have seen a bigger smile on his face, nor heard more laughter from the friends who gave it to him — a class of 11- and 12-year-olds.</p>
<p>Herb’s connection with these young students is sincere and an important one to celebrate. Especially on June 1, which marks <a href="https://nationaltoday.com/intergenerational-day/#:%7E:text=Now%20more%20than%20ever%20we,on%20June%201%20was%20created">Intergenerational Day</a>.</p>
<p>Established in 2010, Intergenerational Day was created to shrink the <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2009/08/12/ii-generations-apart-and-together/">widening gap</a> between the old and young, two generations that people believe differ wildly on a broad range of topics, from core moral values and political views to tastes in music. </p>
<p>Intergenerational Day serves as a reminder of what the old and young can learn from one another, as well as the benefits that come from connecting with others.</p>
<h2>Intergenerational classroom</h2>
<p>For the past three years, we have been researching the benefits of intergenerational connections. We have found that, just like Herb, most people not only feel a great deal of meaning in connecting with someone of a different age than themselves, but that these connections are associated with greater well-being.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/5/4403">In our research</a>, we have focused our attention on a program called <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/community/long-term-care-eden-alternative-saskatoon-1.6692053">iGen</a>: an <a href="https://www.saskatoonpublicschools.ca/program/igen/Pages/default.aspx">intergenerational classroom</a> in Saskatoon housed at the Sherbrooke Community Centre and created in partnership with educator <a href="https://www.spsd.sk.ca/school/collegepark/Announcements/DispForm.aspx?ID=39&ContentTypeId=0x010400A523F8B49A40D74B94D75356FE80B353#/=">Keri Albert</a>.</p>
<p>Each year, 25 Grade 6 students complete the standard curriculum at Sherbrooke while interacting with the long-term care residents called Elders. The term “Elders” is used within the <a href="https://www.sherbrookecommunitycentre.ca/sherbrooke-difference/the-eden-alternative-philosophy/#:%7E:text=The%20Eden%20Alternative%20%C2%AE%20focuses,care%20of%20the%20human%20body.">Eden Alternative Philosophy</a> of long-term care to honour residents and the wisdom of their life experiences.</p>
<p>Every day, students connect with and support the Elders through various activities like reading, painting, playing games or simply chatting. These repeated interactions provide a comfortable opportunity for conversations and true friendships to grow.</p>
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<figcaption><span class="caption">The iGen program brings young students together with older adults living in long-term care to foster intergenerational connections.</span></figcaption>
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<h2>Improving well-being</h2>
<p>In our recently published study, we worked with Albert and Sherbrooke’s Communications leader, Eric Anderson, to survey 24 students in the iGen class of 2020. Students told us about their experiences and rated how it had impacted several aspects of their well-being, such as their energy, self-esteem, optimism and life satisfaction.</p>
<p>What did we find? First, students’ ratings were off the charts: Students said that their conversations, activities and experiences with the Elders were incredibly meaningful and rated their well-being at the top of our scales. In other words, these students were enjoying their experience in iGen and feeling happy about themselves.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529479/original/file-20230601-21632-tjxide.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="A girl and an elderly man in a wheelchair pose for a photo together." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529479/original/file-20230601-21632-tjxide.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/529479/original/file-20230601-21632-tjxide.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529479/original/file-20230601-21632-tjxide.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529479/original/file-20230601-21632-tjxide.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529479/original/file-20230601-21632-tjxide.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529479/original/file-20230601-21632-tjxide.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/529479/original/file-20230601-21632-tjxide.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Frequent intergenerational interactions provide an opportunity for meaningful connections and friendships to grow.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>Second, we found that forming meaningful connections with care home residents in the program was associated with greater happiness. Students who reported having more meaningful intergenerational experiences also reported greater well-being on every single measure included in our surveys, such as greater life satisfaction and self-esteem. </p>
<p>These findings align with <a href="https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0033-2909.117.3.497">hundreds of studies</a> indicating that social relationships are a key source of happiness.</p>
<p>How were students and Elders able to form meaningful relationships? Responses to our survey offer one insight: spending time together. In fact, the more time that students spent with the Elders, the more meaningful they reported their intergenerational experiences to be. This suggests that when generations interact through programs like iGen, they can reap the potential benefits of these relationships.</p>
<p>Building intergenerational connections may be especially timely now given widespread worries of <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/30/opinion/loneliness-epidemic-america.html">loneliness</a> for people of all ages, which may contribute to the young and elderly’s declining mental health. </p>
<p>One-in-five youth in Canada <a href="https://www.unicef.ca/en/blog/mental-health-top-concern-canadas-youth?ea.tracking.id=20DIAQ01OTE&19DIAQ02OTE=&gad=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw4NujBhC5ARIsAF4Iv6epKZpNm_bqWnbwj9VKg7ElWEpj1Tq_-0zBa1OnMUttHPWBi7fqdAkaAkAkEALw_wcB">struggle with mental illness</a>. While in the U.S. the number of youth reporting feelings of <a href="https://www.apa.org/monitor/2023/01/trends-improving-youth-mental-health?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=apa-monitor-trends&utm_content=2023-trends-youth-mental-health">sadness and hopelessness</a> has grown by 40 per cent in the last 10 years. </p>
<p>At the other end of the lifespan, many older adults struggle with their well-being, with roughly seven per cent of the world’s older population <a href="https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-of-older-adults">suffering from depression</a>.</p>
<p>Yet, <a href="https://worldhappiness.report/ed/2023/world-happiness-trust-and-social-connections-in-times-of-crisis/">new data</a> shows that even in 2022, after years of separation due to the pandemic, people reported greater feelings of social connection than loneliness. This is promising, because feeling socially connected is one of the strongest predictors of greater well-being. And it provides us with yet more reasons to create and celebrate social connections across generations.</p>
<p>At a time when the young and old are <a href="https://hbr.org/2018/06/the-u-s-isnt-just-getting-older-its-getting-more-segregated-by-age">growing further apart</a>, we show that programs like iGen may help youth form valuable relationships that can bridge social divides like age and ability, and possibly, leave us all happier for it.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/206748/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>The authors do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Intergenerational Day serves as a reminder of what the old and young can learn from one another, as well as the benefits that come from connecting with others.Jason Proulx, PhD Student, Social Psychology, Simon Fraser UniversityJohn Helliwell, Professor Emeritus, Vancouver School of Economics, University of British ColumbiaLara Aknin, Distinguished Associate Professor of Psychology, Simon Fraser UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2020682023-03-17T15:56:36Z2023-03-17T15:56:36ZDebate: Will France’s pension reform drive a wedge between generations?<p>On Thursday, France’s Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne resorted to invoking <a href="https://www.vie-publique.fr/fiches/19494-le-recours-larticle-493-de-la-constitution">article 49 paragraph 3</a> of the country’s constitution to force through <a href="https://www.liberation.fr/politique/reforme-des-retraites-le-gouvernement-va-recourir-au-493-a-lassemblee-20230316_6TYYXQFAJ5DHTAHDD3MCM2QUKI/">its controversial pension reform</a> without a vote at the National Assembly. The question is now how the movement against the bill will evolve, as strikes and protests continue to add up.</p>
<p>Let’s remember that the main objective of this reform project, to which the <a href="https://www.lejdd.fr/politique/sondage-retraites-seulement-32-des-francais-favorables-la-reforme-133285">French are mostly opposed</a>, is to make <a href="https://www.latribune.fr/economie/france/retraites-la-reforme-pourrait-rapporter-18-milliards-d-euros-d-ici-a-2030-le-gouvernement-fait-l-impasse-sur-les-surcouts-947439.html">nearly 18 billion euros in savings</a>. These savings will be dedicated to balancing the system financially, to financing new welfare, but also to sending a signal to our European partners and to the financial markets at a time when the <a href="https://www.banque-france.fr/intervention/la-soutenabilite-de-la-dette-francaise-entre-hausse-des-taux-et-regles-europeennes">sustainability of French sovereign debt raises concern</a>.</p>
<p>A lot has been written about the bill, from <a href="https://www.latribune.fr/economie/france/reforme-des-retraites-les-reserves-des-economistes-949846.html">its financial value</a>, to its <a href="https://theconversation.com/retraites-pourquoi-de-nombreuses-pensions-resteront-inferieures-a-1-200-euros-malgre-la-reforme-201726">impact on small pensions</a>, <a href="https://theconversation.com/lemploi-des-seniors-une-culture-des-ages-a-faire-evoluer-200958">employment of elders</a> or its capacity to do justice to <a href="https://www.lemonde.fr/les-decodeurs/article/2023/01/25/penibilite-au-travail-ce-que-change-la-reforme-des-retraites_6159224_4355770.html">physically demanding jobs</a>.</p>
<p>It appears to us, however, that few voices have really questioned the legitimacy of the reform bill from the angle of intergenerational justice. This is the light we intend to shed here.</p>
<h2>Demographic problem</h2>
<p>Some might indeed consider that France’s pay-as-you-go pension system has become, in many respects, anachronistic. To ensure that it functions properly and is balanced, the ratio between the number of working people and the number of pensioners must not fall below a certain threshold. If this is the case, tax increases aside, balancing can only be achieved through increased pension contributions, extended work time (which makes it possible both to record additional contributions and to postpone the age at which a pension will be received), or a mix between these different levers.</p>
<p>However, the problem of our pay-as-you-go system is first and foremost demographic. Since 2015, the <a href="https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/3303333?sommaire=3353488">French population aged 60 and over exceeds that of under 20 years</a>. This shift even took place in 2014 if we exclude French overseas territories. Like many Western countries, France is ageing.</p>
<p>In this context, it is hardly surprising that the ratio of working people to retirees is collapsing. The latest state report on pension shows that the ratio will <a href="https://www.cor-retraites.fr/sites/default/files/2022-09/RA_COR2022_0.pdf">continue to decline</a> in the coming decades, due to the increase in life expectancy. It will be 1.5 in 2040 and 1.3 in 2070. According to the French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE), it has already fallen from <a href="https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/2415121">2.02 to 1.67 between 2004 and 2020</a>. To give an idea of the scale of the problem, <a href="https://www.senat.fr/rap/l97-73-3/l97-73-33.html">this ratio was 4.69 in 1960</a>!</p>
<p>Of course, this would hardly be a problem were working people to enjoy a significantly higher standard of living on average than their elders. However, research has shown that the <a href="https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/4922950">standard of living of a retired person is on average higher than that of a working person</a>. In part, this is because households house fewer occupants, but also because of higher property ownership and much lower debt levels.</p>
<p>This is a strange set up that France shares with only two other countries in the world: <a href="https://www.leparisien.fr/economie/retraites-les-francais-parmi-les-mieux-lotis-au-sein-de-l-ocde-04-12-2019-8209773.php">Luxembourg and Israel</a>.</p>
<h2>Boomers’ prerogatives</h2>
<p>In our country, the baby-boom generation appears, in many respects, to be at an advantage. Demographics have been favourable to them insofar as they have made less of an effort to contribute at a time when fewer older people were retiring and had a shorter life expectancy.</p>
<p>It is estimated that today’s pensioners receive twice as much as they contributed during their working life. This situation has also allowed <em>boomers</em> – as they are now commonly called – to receive on average an inheritance earlier in their life course, at an age when there is still time to invest, as highlighted by <a href="https://www.cae-eco.fr/staticfiles/pdf/cae-focus077-2021.pdf">the work of Thomas Piketty taken up by the Council for Economic Analysis</a>.</p>
<p>In view of this situation, it seems legitimate to question the social justice, <a href="https://www.lepoint.fr/politique/retraite-emmanuel-macron-defend-une-reforme-juste-et-responsable-19-01-2023-2505461_20.php">claimed by the President of the Republic himself</a>, of reform plans that demand that relatively poorer and more precarious workers finance a pension system that benefits people who are on average better off.</p>
<p>By sparing pensioners, only a few months after having <a href="https://www.leparisien.fr/economie/retraites/la-baisse-de-la-csg-calmera-t-elle-les-retraites-28-12-2018-7977894.php">retroceded on the question of the revaluation of the generalised social contribution (CSG)</a>, the government seems – it is true – to be guided more by the political agenda than by the search for equity. There is no doubt that the <a href="https://www.ouest-france.fr/elections/presidentielle/presidentielle-comment-les-65-ans-et-plus-influent-sur-le-vote-d4b731a0-98ac-11ec-a212-1f68235c1350">preponderant electoral weight of the over-60s</a> may have had some influence on the government’s decisions.</p>
<h2>Neglected youth</h2>
<p>The working people of today and tomorrow seem to be the government’s great blind spots. At a time when our nation must prepare to take up the historic challenges of this century, our leaders should be concerned about the young people who are deserting <a href="https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/2409547">the ballot box</a> and under pressure to adapt to increasingly challenging working conditions.</p>
<p>At a first level, they have had to adapt to globalisation and the <a href="https://www.xerficanal.com/economie/emission/Olivier-Passet-Le-triomphe-de-l-hyper-capitalisme-financier_3749041.html">wild financialisation</a> of the economy that it presupposes. Far from the lights of the “global village”, relocations and new demands for competitiveness and productivity have left many <a href="https://www.lemonde.fr/talents-fr/article/2007/11/12/les-gagnants-et-les-perdants-de-la-mondialisation-par-dominique-redor_977166_3504.html">out in the cold</a>.</p>
<p>They have also had to adapt to the digitalisation of society and production tools, and accept what anthropologist David Graeber has termed <a href="https://theconversation.com/jobs-a-la-con-lennui-le-sens-et-la-grandiloquence-58382">“&bullshit jobs”</a> at the risk of losing all motivation (as revealed by the <a href="https://theconversation.com/quiet-quitting-au-dela-du-buzz-ce-que-revelent-les-demissions-silencieuses-192267">phenomenon of “quiet quitting”</a>). Over the years, work has become increasingly precarious and remote, moving away from deserted city centres. <a href="https://www.capital.fr/votre-carriere/non-les-diplomes-ne-protegent-plus-contre-le-chomage-965291">Education alone</a> no longer guarantees it.</p>
<p>And let us not forget that today’s youth has been saddled with abysmal <a href="https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/6678112">economic</a> and <a href="https://journals.openedition.org/developpementdurable/10208">environmental</a> debts by previous generations. Could there be a link here with young professionals’ failure to find the resources or desire to bear any offspring? <a href="https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/6687000">Our rich country has seen seven consecutive years of declining births</a>: is this not the major signal of a crisis of confidence that is eating away at a nation that, by dint of spending its time looking in the rear-view mirror, is obliterating its future?</p>
<p>Let’s not be mistaken, however. The youth and the working class of this country, who have often let things take place without them out of relative <a href="https://www.francetvinfo.fr/elections/presidentielle/candidats/les-jeunes-se-sentent-de-moins-en-moins-concernes-par-la-politique_4942677.html">disinterest</a>, have their share of responsibility in the current situation. When they do speak out, they also despair of ever really being heard, be it on socio-economic issues or the <a href="https://www.lemonde.fr/climat/article/2019/07/23/a-l-assemblee-la-jeune-ecologiste-suedoise-greta-thunberg-ironise-face-aux-attaques_5492536_1652612.html">environment</a>. And while some people are resigned, others – in France as in the rest of the world – are turning to <a href="https://theconversation.com/vivons-nous-une-ere-de-soulevements-200950">more radical modes of protest</a>.</p>
<p>All in all, the sequence will remain as a new episode in a long series that has ended up giving birth to a reverse solidarity machine. A dysfunctional machine in which today’s and tomorrow’s working people, who are on average poorer and more precarious, are called upon to pay for the economic, social and environmental balance sheet of a now-retired generation.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/202068/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Julien Pillot ne travaille pas, ne conseille pas, ne possède pas de parts, ne reçoit pas de fonds d'une organisation qui pourrait tirer profit de cet article, et n'a déclaré aucune autre affiliation que son organisme de recherche.</span></em></p>The adoption of France’s pension-reform law without a vote of the National Assembly puts greater demands on workers for the benefit of those who have already retired.Julien Pillot, Enseignant-Chercheur en Economie (Inseec) / Pr. associé (U. Paris Saclay) / Chercheur associé (CNRS), INSEEC Grande ÉcoleLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1659892021-09-20T13:58:07Z2021-09-20T13:58:07Z5 ways immigrant parents support children’s home language learning<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420773/original/file-20210913-19-174ee25.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1032%2C17%2C4544%2C2991&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Moments of intimate playing, learning and teaching are among the ways that
immigrant parents extend and expand their home languages with their children.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Rajesh Rajput/Unsplash)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>It is important to preserve and develop a child’s home language for their cultural, linguistic and social development. Research shows that English plays a dominant <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/ycyoungchildren.69.4.86">role in schools and society at large, while children’s diverse home languages are often marginalized.</a> Languages other than English are often not welcomed or encouraged in classrooms.</p>
<p>Marginalizing languages <a href="https://theconversation.com/language-learning-in-canada-needs-to-change-to-reflect-superdiverse-communities-144037">beyond English in school has negative effects on children and classroom cultures</a> by creating environments that suggest the daily language practices of children whose families speak languages other than English aren’t “good enough.” Unsurprisingly, if children feel unwelcome or disrespected in the classroom, this can adversely affect their <a href="https://www.edcan.ca/articles/multilingual-students">learning engagement and academic achievement</a>. </p>
<p>This includes immigrant children — children who were born elsewhere and immigrated with their families, or those who are born in Canada and are being raised by immigrant parents who are establishing new lives in a new country. In families that are seeking to retain a link with their heritage language, the burden of preserving this falls almost exclusively on parents. </p>
<h2>Immigrant parents bring knowledge</h2>
<p>However, schools rarely consider immigrant parents as capable knowledge holders. Immigrant parents <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/canajeducrevucan.35.2.120">and their knowledge are typically seen as having deficits</a>.
As education researcher Yan Guo notes, North American models of parent involvement tend to focus on experiences “relevant to parents of Anglo-Celtic descent than to those from non-English-speaking backgrounds,” as well as assuming “middle-class rather than working-class values and concerns.” </p>
<p>Through <a href="https://doi.org/10.36510/learnland.v14i1.1026">autobiographical narrative inquiry research</a>, I explored the informal teaching and learning practices as an immigrant parent with my children in the home context. </p>
<p>My research highlighted something that other researchers have also documented: <a href="https://doi.org/10.20355/C5QC78">immigrant parents bring a lot of linguistic, cultural and social knowledge</a> to their children’s home language education. Here are some of the ways they pass their knowledge of their home language along.</p>
<p><strong>1. Using home language in daily conversations</strong></p>
<p>Immigrant children’s home literacy-learning environments are characterized by conversations in their home language. Daily oral input is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7687.2012.01168.x">staggeringly important to a child’s language development.</a> When parents engage in daily routines with their children, such as getting dressed, taking baths, eating meals, playing games, taking walks and so on, they elaborate, explain and encourage detailed conversations. </p>
<p>The use of home language becomes especially important after children begin formal schooling and master the English language. Parents who build a home-language-rich environment tend to foster in their children <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1468798406069797">a more positive attitude</a> toward and higher levels of proficiency in that language.</p>
<p><strong>2. Engaging in inter-generational communication</strong></p>
<p>In some Chinese immigrant families, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/01494929.2011.594218">grandparents continue the tradition of providing care to grandchildren.</a> Inter-generational communication plays an important role in the development of immigrant children’s home languages. Everyday communication between generations promote a commitment to speak the child’s heritage language at home.</p>
<p>Children from multilingual homes are often acutely aware, for example, that their grandmother speaks another language, so they pay attention to whom they are talking to, and switch languages in different scenarios.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420782/original/file-20210913-16-lbbaqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420782/original/file-20210913-16-lbbaqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420782/original/file-20210913-16-lbbaqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420782/original/file-20210913-16-lbbaqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=415&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420782/original/file-20210913-16-lbbaqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420782/original/file-20210913-16-lbbaqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420782/original/file-20210913-16-lbbaqy.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=521&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In some immigrant families, grandparents play an important role in passing on language and culture.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Pexels/Alex Green)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>A second way grandparents pass on language and culture is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10823-018-9357-5">by cooking and sharing food with their grandchildren.</a> In such family activities, the two generations converse about making and enjoying authentic cultural cuisines together.</p>
<p><strong>3. Reading picture books in intimate and creative ways</strong></p>
<p>Research has confirmed that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00417">storybook exposure promotes language acquisition</a>.</p>
<p>Many immigrant parents <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09500782.2017.1349137">make picture book reading a part of their language practice</a> because picture books have fascinating topics, short, simple text and visual images that help children communicate ideas.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/global-storybooks-from-arabic-to-zulu-freely-available-digital-tales-in-50-languages-127480">Global Storybooks: From Arabic to Zulu, freely available digital tales in 50+ languages</a>
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<p>Rather than a “learning activity,” shared reading at home is a fun family time during which everyone cuddles close and shares a book with lively pictures and vibrant colours in their home language.</p>
<p>My research demonstrated that children’s initiative, imagination and creativity makes picture book reading a rich experience. When parents and children together creatively respond to stories through creative media or performance, the transformative power of drawing, painting, crafting, music, dance and performance is not only a way to understand the stories more deeply, but also a way to create spaces to travel freely across the interwoven language worlds.</p>
<p>It is common in bilingual and multilingual households for children to <a href="https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1057/9781137385765_5">use two or more languages spontaneously and pragmatically</a>. Such <a href="https://www.multilingual-matters.com/page/detail/Foundations-of-Bilingual-Education-and-Bilingualism/?k=9781788929882">exchange and use of languages is beneficial </a>for both heritage and dominant language development.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A mother reads to two daughters." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420780/original/file-20210913-27-1p0ubxc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420780/original/file-20210913-27-1p0ubxc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420780/original/file-20210913-27-1p0ubxc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420780/original/file-20210913-27-1p0ubxc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420780/original/file-20210913-27-1p0ubxc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420780/original/file-20210913-27-1p0ubxc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420780/original/file-20210913-27-1p0ubxc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=499&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Children’s initiative, imagination and creativity makes picture-book reading a rich experience.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Pexels/Kindel Media)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>4. Developing language skills through real-life stories</strong></p>
<p>Real-life stories are the most beloved type of storytelling, given the very personal and particular nature of the home landscape. Enacting real-life stories, such as about the day they were born, helps children develop advanced use of their home language, and makes them feel closer to their parents. These are the times when immigrant children learn how to listen to, participate in and understand when, where and how to express themselves in their home language. </p>
<p>In addition, the gradual introduction <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/14790718.2018.1447943">of more complex vocabulary and expressions supports the development of home language</a>. Sharing past experiences and telling real-life stories also help develop <a href="https://doi.org/10.1017/S0142716409990191">children’s social capital</a> — children’s sense of belonging to certain social and cultural networks, as well as their access to resources in these groups.</p>
<p>When children engage in real-life storytelling and story-acting, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.05.024">they benefit intellectually, socially, emotionally and linguistically</a>. When children tell and act out true stories, in addition to developing memory and social skills, they <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/10904018.2014.861302">draw on their bodies and manipulate objects</a> in ways that support a foundation for language development.</p>
<p><strong>5. Nurturing passion for early writing</strong></p>
<p>As young as age two, children begin imitating the act of writing by <a href="https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-012-0563-4">making sketches and symbolic marks</a> that reflect their ideas and thoughts. In immigrant families, early writing includes sketches and symbols in English and in their home language. </p>
<figure class="align-left ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420786/original/file-20210913-19-q1qbo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/420786/original/file-20210913-19-q1qbo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420786/original/file-20210913-19-q1qbo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420786/original/file-20210913-19-q1qbo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=509&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420786/original/file-20210913-19-q1qbo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=640&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420786/original/file-20210913-19-q1qbo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=640&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/420786/original/file-20210913-19-q1qbo3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=640&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">When a child writes in their home language it helps them to make relevant cultural and linguistic connections. Here, ‘apple’ is shown in traditional Chinese characters: 蘋果 (píng guǒ).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In many cases, children <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/ca/academic/subjects/education/education-history-theory/language-and-literacy-development-early-childhood?format=PB">learn to read and write through play</a>. Playful introduction to early writing at home helps young children open the door to their home language and the wonder of print. Immigrant parents engage their children in emergent writing at home to <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/90015861">introduce the knowledge of sound/symbol connections, the conventions of print, and accessing and conveying meaning</a> through print in their home language system (which might be very different from the dominant language). </p>
<p>Early writing in their home language also helps children construct meaning by <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Handbook-of-Research-on-Reading-Comprehension/Israel-Afflerbach-Alexander-Allen-Allington/p/book/9781462528882">making relevant cultural and linguistic connections</a> between print in their home language and their own lived experiences.</p>
<p>Many immigrant parents extend and expand their children’s home language practices on a daily basis, through moments of intimate teaching, learning and playing. When schools acknowledge, honour and learn from immigrant parents’ knowledge, they support more opportunities to enhance young children’s linguistic, cultural and social experiences both at school and elsewhere.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165989/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emma Chen does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When schools honour and learn from immigrant parents’ knowledge, they support more opportunities to enhance young children’s linguistic, cultural and social experiences.Emma Chen, Doctoral Student, Curriculum Studies, University of SaskatchewanLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/805682017-07-10T09:43:26Z2017-07-10T09:43:26ZHigher housing taxes could tackle inequality between young and old<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/177099/original/file-20170706-26465-152hbe7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">via shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>House prices are now so high, particularly in the south of England, that <a href="https://www.jrf.org.uk/sites/default/files/jrf/migrated/files/young-people-housing-options-full_0.pdf">fewer than a quarter</a> of young people under 30 are able to buy homes – and most of these need help from their parents. Renting privately, which is often both expensive and insecure, hardly provides an attractive alternative. </p>
<p>Fixing the dysfunctional housing market is key to levelling the growing inter-generational inequality between the young and the old in Britain. I propose that one way to help do this would be to make substantial changes to the way housing is taxed – including the introduction of a capital gains tax on the sale of all homes – rather than just second ones – and reforms to make council tax fairer. </p>
<p>Home ownership among young adults is in <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/home-ownership-young-people-halved-20-years-renting-housing-market-latest-rental-prices-income-a7489881.html">rapid decline</a>. Unless this changes, the millennial generation are likely to be the first generation since the children of the Edwardian era to do worse than their parents across a range of areas in their lives. At the same time, our already flatlining levels of <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/britain-divided-society-social-mobility-commission-alan-milburn-a7811386.html">social mobility</a> will decline.</p>
<h2>Age-related inequality</h2>
<p>In my new book, <a href="http://www.palgrave.com/gb/book/9783319585468#aboutAuthors">The Crisis for Young People</a>, I examined the trends in inter-generational inequality in areas including education, employment and welfare. I found that age-related inequalities are increasing in all areas affecting young people – but that the gaps between millennials and previous generations are starkest in housing. </p>
<p>My analysis of data from <a href="https://www.understandingsociety.ac.uk/">UK Household Longitudinal Study</a> and its predecessor, the <a href="https://www.iser.essex.ac.uk/bhps">British Household Panel Survey</a>, showed that the proportion of 18 to 34-year-olds owning homes has declined from 46% in 1991 to just 25% in 2013, while the proportion living with parents or renting privately has risen sharply. As the graph below shows, the decline in home ownership has affected all occupational groups among young employees.</p>
<p><iframe id="ZCIcB" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/ZCIcB/2/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
<p>The effect of family background on the chances of home ownership has also increased. My research shows that young people from professional families were 1.4 times as likely as those from semi-skilled and unskilled families to own a home in 1991. In 2013 they were 2.4 times as likely to do so. </p>
<p>Home ownership proved to be a major route to social mobility for the many of the baby boomer generation. According to the government’s own <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fixing-our-broken-housing-market">data</a>, average house values in the south-east of England rose £5,000 more than average earnings during 2015, which means that many home owners were making more from their home (on paper at least) than from their job. For the millennials this route has virtually disappeared. </p>
<p>Government efforts to create a boom in private house building will not solve this problem. Britain does not have a deficit of housing. There are <a href="http://www.dannydorling.org/books/allthatissolid/">more rooms per person</a> than ever before and more than a million more homes than households. The problem is that they are often in the wrong place, selling at the wrong prices and being bought by the wrong people – such as by investors and landlords rather than home seekers. </p>
<p>The shortage is in genuinely affordable homes – and this will not be corrected through the building of new homes for private sale since developers have an interest in keeping prices high. The only solution is to provide more social housing and mixed-tenure housing (in which homes are available for rent or purchase), while bringing down the price of privately owned housing through changes in taxation policy.</p>
<h2>Capital gains tax on all house sales</h2>
<p>People’s main homes are currently immune from capital gains tax. But I believe that the most effective way to bring down house prices would be to impose capital gains tax on the profits from the sale of all private homes, just <a href="https://www.gov.uk/capital-gains-tax/what-you-pay-it-on">as it is</a> on the sale of other assets worth more than £6,000. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/177155/original/file-20170706-18727-9tjx8x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/177155/original/file-20170706-18727-9tjx8x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/177155/original/file-20170706-18727-9tjx8x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/177155/original/file-20170706-18727-9tjx8x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/177155/original/file-20170706-18727-9tjx8x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/177155/original/file-20170706-18727-9tjx8x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/177155/original/file-20170706-18727-9tjx8x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Currently, capital gains tax is not imposed on the sale of a person’s main home.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">via shutterstock.com</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>According to Nationwide Building Society <a href="http://www.housepricecrash.co.uk/indices-nationwide-national.php">data</a>, average house prices rose by over £100,000 during the seven years prior to the 2008 crash. I estimate that people who owned homes during this period saw their collective property wealth rise by well over £1 trillion, even after discounting for inflation and home improvement costs. Since the under-35s owned less that 4% of this housing stock, this represented a potential transfer of assets from future (young) home buyers to (older) owners of a sum greater than annual GDP at the time. </p>
<p>Had capital gains tax been imposed at 30% on the profits of sales of all private properties between 2010 and 2015, I calculate that it would have raised about £24 billion per year for the exchequer, close to what England spends on secondary schools. </p>
<h2>Making council tax fairer</h2>
<p>Imposing capital gains tax on all home sales might encourage older people not to sell their homes and so create a dearth of properties for sale. The solution to this is to reform council tax so that people pay more for the privilege of living in expensive houses. Those currently owning homes worth over £7m pay <a href="https://www.jrf.org.uk/sites/default/files/jrf/migrated/files/1577-local-tax-benefits.pdf">only three times</a> what those in houses worth one hundredth of this amount pay. </p>
<p>Properties should be revalued and the council tax bands increased so that the tax is more proportionate to the value of properties. At the same time government should waive stamp duty – the tax currently <a href="https://www.gov.uk/stamp-duty-land-tax/overview">levied</a> on all house sales over £125,000 – for retired people, so that older people are encouraged to downsize to free up more family homes.</p>
<p>The UK’s private rental market, one of the most unregulated in Europe, is not fit for purpose and also needs major reforms. Rents are too high in many cities, quality often poor – and security for tenants almost non-existent. A new Housing Act could re-establish fair rent tribunals in big cities, provide longer notice periods for tenants, and make it mandatory for all landlords to be licensed and for councils to inspect their properties on a regular basis.</p>
<p>Restoring the protections afforded to private tenants in the 1970s, when baby boomers were young, would be a step towards reducing inequality between today’s generations. Re-establishing “fair rents” would be another step, since lower rents would help young people today to save to buy homes, as the majority of their parents’ generation did.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/80568/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andy Green receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council for the Centre for Learning and Life Chances (LLAKES).</span></em></p>The case for introducing capital gains tax on the sale of all homes.Andy Green, Professor of Comparative Social Science Director of ESRC Research Centre on Learning and Life Chances in Knowledge Economies and Societies (LLAKES), UCLLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/772732017-06-15T08:41:44Z2017-06-15T08:41:44ZA year after Jo Cox’s murder, Britain’s need for togetherness is stronger than ever<p>Hundreds of thousands of people will picnic with their neighbours across the UK to mark the first anniversary of MP Jo Cox’s murder. <a href="https://www.greatgettogether.org/">The Great Get Together</a> has sparked renewed interest in togetherness, reinforced by Cox’s <a href="https://www.jocoxfoundation.org/the-issues/">declaration</a> that: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>We have more in common than that which divides us.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The event, on June 17 and 18, is happening at a time when families, communities and the nation have been left deeply divided by the EU referendum, the snap general election and uncertainty over the direction of Brexit negotiations. Today, more than ever, Britain needs to foster a new sense of togetherness. </p>
<p>People getting together with friends and neighbours to enjoy a shared meal or street party is not a new phenomenon. Street parties inspired by the non-profit <a href="https://www.edenprojectcommunities.com/history">Big Lunch</a> enterprise have attracted at least <a href="https://www.lgiu.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/The-Big-Lunch-feeding-community-spirit-web.pdf">600,000 people a year</a> since 2009. In 2012, 8.5m people took part in the Queen’s Big Jubilee Lunch. </p>
<p>Diverse gatherings allow people to share food and traditions with communities from different backgrounds. As the anniversary of Cox’s death falls in the month of Ramadan, many communities plan to hold a Lunar Lunch or Iftar – the shared feast which takes place to break the fast after sunset.</p>
<p>But can annual get-togethers and temporary festivals stimulate enduring shifts towards more <a href="https://ukcohousing.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/cohousing_shared_futures_final-web.pdf">collective and co-operative ways of living</a>?</p>
<h2>Reconnecting people</h2>
<p>Cox was especially driven to highlight the damaging effects of loneliness. Her plans for a cross-party conversation have been posthumously realised through the work of the <a href="https://www.jocoxloneliness.org/">Jo Cox National Commission on Loneliness</a>. </p>
<p>Loneliness is often caused not by a lack of friends or family but by how <a href="http://blog.ted.com/connection-and-community-the-talks-of-session-7-of-ted2017/">disconnected</a> people feel from others around them. Homes in the UK are conventionally designed to emphasise individual private property. This “hyper-individualised” housing makes it difficult for people to get to know their neighbours, at a time when many more people live alone for much of their life, often lonely or isolated. </p>
<p>Street parties and festivals foster a spirit of togetherness, however fleeting, and this matters to community well-being. Shared meals also feature in collective, cooperative living arrangements, such as <a href="https://cohousing.org.uk/">co-housing</a>. This is a way of living which brings individuals and families together in groups to share common aims and activities while also enjoying their own personal space. </p>
<p>Co-housing communities typically have around 20 to 30 households and may be exclusively for older people or for mixed-age residents. Each household has its own self-contained home but shares in the management of the whole site and a shared “common house”. My own <a href="https://ukcohousing.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/cohousing_shared_futures_final-web.pdf">research</a> suggests how co-housing arrangements can offer a pragmatic utopian solution to severed connections between people and the places in which they live and work. There are currently 20 established co-housing projects in the UK, plus another 12 under construction or with land identified. More than 70 nascent groups, of all ages, are currently seeking to develop a variety of schemes. </p>
<figure>
<iframe src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/170652492" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen="" mozallowfullscreen="" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Key Themes from the Collaboraive Housing ESRC Seminar Series.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Deep bonds</h2>
<p>Other ongoing <a href="http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17535069.2015.1011429">research</a> I’m doing is exploring how self-organising groups form and how these communities cultivate deep and enduring relationships.</p>
<p>Jo Cox would have recognised the shared sense of purpose and mutual support among those putting on and attending the Great Get Togethers. She and her family chose to live in a co-housing-inspired cooperative community of residential and recreational historic boats on the Thames, <a href="http://www.hermitagemoorings.com/">Hermitage Community Moorings</a> (HCM). From the outset, the group’s intention was to create a close-knit community. The practical and emotional benefits of this are evident in the many ways that Cox’s grieving family have been supported by HCM over the past year.</p>
<p>In this way, socially connected communities can provide more effective neighbourly support than conventional streets of houses. They offer <a href="https://ukcohousing.files.wordpress.com/2016/06/cohousing_shared_futures_final-web.pdf">social benefits</a> for members and society at large, such as increased well-being, shared know-how, and mutual care.</p>
<p>Sharing and togetherness are popular buzzwords, and care must be taken to weed out superficial cases of <a href="http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-0745662501.html">sharing</a> in “counterfeit communities” – where yearning for connection can be manipulated for commercial gain. This is evident in commercial blocks of student bed-sits where “togetherness” is sold by access to a cinema, gym and high-speed wi-fi – rather than by shared responsibility for supporting each other. </p>
<p>If they are to thrive for the inclusive benefit of all members, self-organising communities need to nurture skills of mutual understanding that are neglected in competitive “do-it-yourself” societies. Yet, in the run-up to a weekend of community events, we are witnessing promising green shoots of “do-it-together” conviviality. </p>
<p>The best way to honour the hopeful ideals that Jo Cox and her family have come to represent must surely be to build a lasting legacy from The Great Get Together of more socially connected communities.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/77273/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Helen Jarvis receives funding from the Economic and Social Research Council. She is affiliated as unpaid non-executive Director with the UK Cohousing Network. </span></em></p>Great Get Togethers are being held to mark the anniversary of the Labour MP’s death.Helen Jarvis, Reader in Social Geography, Newcastle UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/731942017-03-09T19:23:17Z2017-03-09T19:23:17ZYoung workers expect their older colleagues to get out of the way<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/160094/original/image-20170309-24201-v17tg8.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Young people expect that older adults actively make way for younger generations, such as by retiring.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Neil Moralee/Flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/">CC BY-NC-ND</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>There are many names for the narratives pitting the older generation against the younger: Gen-Y versus Baby Boomers, “Generation Me” versus “Generation We,” and unfortunately <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22448913">my research</a> demonstrates that the younger generation do see the older generation as competitors.</p>
<p>My findings show overall that younger people have <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3912745/">certain expectations of older workers and people</a>, characterised by an overall desire for older adults to cede resources, get out of the way and make way for younger generations.</p>
<p>My studies also show that, fair or not, these expectations take three different forms. Young people expect that older adults actively make way for younger generations, such as by retiring. Young people also expect older adults to limit their usage of shared assets, such as health care. Finally, young people expect older adults to avoid engaging in the popular trends and activities that are the territory of the young. </p>
<h2>Why we should care about these expectations</h2>
<p>These intergenerational attitudes matter due to our rapid population ageing, the increased presence of multiple generations and the challenges that these trends present for businesses and for the economy. </p>
<p>Around the globe, the workforce is ageing. By 2055, <a href="http://www.cognology.com.au/what-does-an-ageing-workforce-mean-for-performance-management/?nabe=5163493439569920:0,5274635704991744:0,5293578322706432:2,5300356598988800:1,5718531257925632:1,6495360247922688:0,6750875905425408:0&utm_referrer=https">17.3%</a> of the Australian workforce is estimated to be over 65; in the United States, older segments of the labour force are the <a href="https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2012/01/art3full.pdf">only ones projected to grow substantially</a> in the near future. The same types of trends can be seen in highly industrialised nations around the world, where up to <a href="https://hbr.org/2014/09/managing-people-from-5-generations">five different generations co-exist</a> in the modern workplace.</p>
<p>Complicating matters, the greying workforce has already presented significant challenges. In the US, the number of age discrimination charges has <a href="https://www.eeoc.gov/eeoc/statistics/enforcement/charges.cfm">spiked by 47%</a> since 1999; in Australia, a 2011 report found a <a href="https://www.humanrights.gov.au/news/stories/age-discrimination-complaints-are-increasing">44% increase</a> from the previous year in such complaints. Tellingly, surveys find that organisations are largely <a href="https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/hr-topics/talent-acquisition/pages/hr-aging-workforce.aspx">unprepared</a> to <a href="https://www.towerswatson.com/en/Press/2013/09/Businesses-struggle-to-accommodate-rise-in-older-workers">accommodate the ageing workforce.</a> </p>
<p>In addition, ageism is more socially condoned than other forms of discrimination. It does not have a historic, visible civil rights movement behind it, leading many to accept negative age-based attitudes (or ageing-related jokes, or older worker layoffs) as simply a fact of life.</p>
<h2>Research findings</h2>
<p>My research has sought to capture these phenomena via large-scale surveys and controlled <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23471317">behavioural experiments</a>. In multiple studies, I manipulated the age of a male work partner (older, middle-aged, or younger), and found that older work partners were most resented by younger people for withholding or using up resources.</p>
<p>However, not all hope is lost. That same set of studies found that older male allies were particularly likeable. Older partners who were perceived as helping younger generations were rated more positively than middle-aged or younger partners doing the same thing. (Ongoing work explores whether the same expectations target older women.)</p>
<p>Moreover, a <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/josi.12159/abstract">different set of studies</a> found that portraying an abundance of resources between generations helped reduce these intergenerational tensions. This suggests that de-emphasising broad generational competition impacts their face-to-face interactions. With hope, older generations can been seen positively in the eyes of the young, so long as they come off as not getting in the way, as default perceptions seem to claim.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/160095/original/image-20170309-24198-yuayzb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/160095/original/image-20170309-24198-yuayzb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/160095/original/image-20170309-24198-yuayzb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/160095/original/image-20170309-24198-yuayzb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/160095/original/image-20170309-24198-yuayzb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/160095/original/image-20170309-24198-yuayzb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/160095/original/image-20170309-24198-yuayzb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">There are some things workplaces can do to reduce intergenerational tensions.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Scott Lewis/Flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Recommendations for an ageing workforce</h2>
<p>In order to successfully combat ageism and intergenerational tension, generations need to start seeing one another as assets and allies. </p>
<p>At the broad level, minimising the generational warfare narrative is an important first step. Not only are such accounts nonconstructive for an ageing, intergenerational society, but they also are not necessarily true. </p>
<p>Recent studies conducted in the <a href="http://siepr.stanford.edu/sites/default/files/publications/Do.older_.workers.squeeze.out_.younger.workers_2.pdf">United States</a> and the <a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/2193-9012-3-19">European Union</a> both find that older and younger generations are not in competition with one another for jobs — and that, if anything, the opposite is true. </p>
<p>At the local level, intergenerational partnerships can work only if they are seen as symbiotic. Portraying older generations as allies to the younger generation is one side of the equation. </p>
<p>On the older side, <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/1088868309339317">studies</a> <a href="https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/business-ethics-quarterly/article/div-classtitleleaving-a-legacy-intergenerational-allocations-of-benefits-and-burdensdiv/202D0414536F8A46401A0D7566DFAA3D">show</a> that if older people ponder their enduring legacy, it can make them more sympathetic to reducing the burden on younger generations. </p>
<p>An important first step toward intergenerational productivity in the workplace is putting older employees in the best position to succeed. Surprisingly few organisations have adapted to accommodate older workers, but those that have done so <a href="https://hbr.org/2014/04/four-ways-to-adapt-to-an-aging-workforce">enjoy various bottom-line benefits</a>.</p>
<p>Above all, it benefits everyone to take stock of the issue, as it is not going away anytime soon. Fortunately, Australia has been proactive in taking policy action, evidenced by the <a href="https://www.humanrights.gov.au/all-about-age-discrimination">recent establishment</a> of an Age Discrimination Commission. </p>
<p>Research should help identify best practices, too. My research team at New York University, the <a href="http://ageatnyu.org">AGE (Accommodating Generations in Employment) Initiative</a>, studies how organisations can best exploit the increasingly ageing and intergenerational workforce. </p>
<p>In the same vein, at the University of Melbourne, the <a href="https://www.workplaceleadership.com.au/projects/the-ageing-workforce-initiative/">Centre for Workplace Leadership’s Ageing Workforce Initiative</a>, with support from the <a href="http://research.unimelb.edu.au/hallmark-initiatives/ageing-research-initiative">Hallmark Ageing Research Initiative</a>, is uncovering challenges associated with an ageing Australian workforce. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, considerably little attention exists on how to address these timely problems. This is the direction in which businesses, scholarship, and the public discussion must focus if we expect less intergenerational tension in the future.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/73194/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael North does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Research demonstrates the younger generation do see the older generation as competitors but we can change this adversarial relationship in the workplace.Michael North, Assistant Professor of Management and Organizations, Stern School of Business , New York UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/741072017-03-06T23:34:34Z2017-03-06T23:34:34ZMillennials in the workplace: not as different as you think<p>Comparing generations is a reliable way to provoke an argument. Members of one generation are apt to criticise the failings of others and be blind to their own. As George Orwell wrote: “Each generation imagines itself to be more intelligent than the one that went before it, and wiser than the one that comes after it”. </p>
<p>Mutual recriminations are often keenest in the realm of work. Younger workers mock the technological incompetence of their elders, who criticise the laziness and entitlement of youth. </p>
<p>The embers of generational conflict are fanned by popular writers and consultants who advise on how to manage Gen-Y millennials in the office, as if they were an invasive species.</p>
<p>But just how different are the generations in their approach to work? To date there has been surprisingly little good research on the topic. <a href="http://images.transcontinentalmedia.com/LAF/lacom/millennials_managing.pdf">Many studies</a> have compared workers of different ages at a single point in time, tending to find few if any robust differences in job satisfaction, organisational commitment or turnover intentions. </p>
<p>Unfortunately, findings from these “cross-sectional” studies are ambiguous because they may tell us more about age than generation. Comparing 18-year-old and 48-year-old workers at the present time may lead us to mistake differences in maturity for generational effects. </p>
<p>To clarify inter-generational differences we should compare 18-year-olds now with contemporary 48-year-olds when they were 18. A new study, published in the journal <a href="https://academic.oup.com/workar/article-abstract/3/2/130/2997409?redirectedFrom=fulltext">Work, Aging and Retirement</a>, has done just that.</p>
<h2>Generational differences in work values</h2>
<p>The study was conducted by psychologists <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Stacy_Campbell">Stacy Campbell</a>, <a href="http://www.jeantwenge.com/">Jean Twenge</a> and <a href="http://wkeithcampbell.com/">Keith Campbell</a>. </p>
<p>Twenge in particular has pioneered the study of historical changes in personality, finding a remarkable array of generational shifts. Although some critics have argued such work <a href="http://news.msu.edu/media/documents/2010/03/d86dd7ab-adb0-4887-a043-96b559595fe2.pdf">exaggerates the magnitude</a> of these changes, the trends are real and consequential.</p>
<p>Compared to older cohorts, people born more recently tend to be more assertive, <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/files/attachments/4330/npitimeupdatespps.pdf">more narcissistic</a>, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/247166867_Birth_Cohort_Changes_in_Extraversion_A_Cross-Temporal_Meta-Analysis_1966-1993">more extroverted</a>, more anxious, and higher in <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1207/S15327957PSPR0504_3">self-esteem</a>. They also tend to be less trusting, less empathetic and less confident that important life outcomes are <a href="http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1207/s15327957pspr0803_5?journalCode=psra">under their control</a>.</p>
<p>How might these trends reveal themselves in the workplace? Are people entering the workforce today fragile and entitled, demanding more pay for less effort as well as constant praise and accelerated promotion? Or are they instead more entrepreneurial and socially conscious than their predecessors, shying away from corporate conformity and striving for personal meaning or social contribution?</p>
<p>To answer these questions the researchers of the latest study used a large survey run annually since 1976. Each year the survey asks nationally representative samples of over 100,000 American 18-year-olds the same questions about their work values and preferred workplace settings and characteristics. </p>
<p>The researchers divided the survey into three generational periods: baby-boomers (18-year-olds in 1976 to 1979), Gen-X (1979 to 1999) and millennials (2000 to 2014).</p>
<h2>The findings</h2>
<p>When the researchers compared the three generations on work values, they found that differences are small, subtle and not readily divisible into three periods. For example, millennials valued the extrinsic rewards of work, such as money and status, slightly <em>less</em> than Gen-Xers and only slightly more than boomers. </p>
<p>Similarly, millennials were only marginally less invested in the intrinsic rewards of work, such as its opportunities for skill development and creativity, than earlier generations. They valued work that was directly helpful to others and socially worthwhile to a trivially lesser extent than 18-year-old boomers and Gen-Xers. </p>
<p>Indeed, the magnitude of these differences was consistently tiny. On average, roughly 45% of millennials went against the overall pattern of generational differences.</p>
<p>Some differences were somewhat larger. Millennials valued work less for its opportunities to make friends than previous generations, but in the age of social media, workplaces are arguably less essential sources of social connection than they once were. </p>
<p>Appearing to confirm an unkind stereotype, millennials also valued the leisure rewards of work – vacations, limited hours, an easy pace, and freedom from supervision – more than Gen-Xers and especially boomers. However, these leisure values were endorsed less than all the others and have trended downward for millennials over the past decade.</p>
<p>Differences between generations in work values are plainly much weaker than popular stereotypes would have them. Just as importantly, “generation” seems to be an inadequate conceptual tool for explaining such flimsy differences. </p>
<p>Graphs that plot yearly changes in work values show no elbows around the conventional generational boundaries. We see smooth, gradual changes over long periods of time, not sudden inflexions. In most cases, millennials and their boomer parents differ to a modest degree, and Gen-Xers sit somewhere in between. Generational shifts in work values are glacial, not tectonic.</p>
<h2>Implications</h2>
<p>These findings, based on more than four million completed surveys, give the lie to loudly-voiced concerns that special challenges are posed by millennial workers. Far from being radically different from workers of preceding generations, millenials are very similar in what they want from work. Exaggerating the minor ways in which they diverge obscures their commonalities.</p>
<p>Evidence generational differences in work values are exaggerated or illusory is reminiscent of recent research on <a href="https://theconversation.com/anxious-conservative-or-easygoing-rebel-busting-the-birth-order-myths-49213">birth order and personality</a>. People hold strong intuitions, backed by popular writers, that birth order is highly influential. But large-scale studies repeatedly show its influence is negligible. </p>
<p>Characteristics attributed to first-borns and later-borns largely reflect age stereotypes – the former more mature and conscientious, the latter more impulsive and careless. These differences reflect the fact first-borns are always older than later-borns, but they disappear when first-borns and later-borns are compared at the same age. </p>
<p>The same may be true for generations. Millennials are younger than boomers and Gen-Xers, and workplace stereotypes ascribe to them the failings of youth: unclipped ambition, hedonism, laziness. When we compare them to how we were at the same age, those stereotypes largely dissolve.</p>
<p>This was as true 2500 years ago as it is today. As Socrates said: “The children now love luxury. They have bad manners … and love chatter in place of exercise”.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/74107/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<h4 class="border">Disclosure</h4><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nick Haslam receives funding from the Australian Research Council. </span></em></p>Comparing generations is a reliable way to provoke an argument. Members of one generation are apt to criticise the failings of others and be blind to their own. As George Orwell wrote: “Each generation…Nick Haslam, Professor of Psychology, The University of MelbourneLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/577982016-04-21T05:53:39Z2016-04-21T05:53:39ZClimate justice and its role in the Paris Agreement<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/119598/original/image-20160421-8010-1d0b7bu.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A woman in Burkina Faso collects firewood. Developing nations – and particularly women in these nations – are more vulnerable to climate change, and have less ability to adapt. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/cifor/8621823502/in/photolist-e8T6Km-4edhzm-gsk8Js-f9HqPV-qyKvfj-qsPRWF-6ruaeK-fPxGqz-azidZw-56JUEm-6KG35T-6KG37H-qZ3oGn-e8ST89-j1YajG-2HLEt3-bBCszj-571qJN-6674YT-iZby1G-5mwcC7-oJJd4d-feS7U5-6oRkbN-8vdNkH-j3aT3S-uWruY-jhy7SM-7bAp5c-jzxWJF-qMgb7j-5mrXrM-fUoExs-4DuHgU-qYhQc2-f9HsiX-oExagL-jBmBYy-r5CFnG-56JUsN-5mwgCm-5mwiQw-44izpz-5mrZ88-bBCrvj-hE5oza-jJ3edh-j1PWbR-5msbYz-q2BS8a">CIFOR/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Climate change is one of the principal threats to quality – and equality – of life on our planet. Beyond environmental problems, climate change threatens food security, water availability, health, housing and <a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1865987">self-determination</a>. In essence, it confronts our basic liberties and pursuit of happiness.</p>
<p>But the burden of climate change impacts is not distributed equally. The poor, women, children and <a href="http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1865987">indigenous people</a> face disproportionate risks. For people with no safety net, one drought can mean a tumble into <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1023/A:1005627828199">further hardship</a>. </p>
<p>Those hit hardest by climate change are generally the least responsible for causing it, and have the least capacity to adapt. The idea that vulnerable people, particularly in developed nations, should be fairly considered was enshrined in the <a href="https://unfccc.int/resource/docs/2015/cop21/eng/l09r01.pdf">Paris Agreement</a>, which opens for signing in New York this week. </p>
<p>The preamble notes the importance of “climate justice”. To give effect to this, the agreement emphasises the need to aid developing nations reduce emissions and adapt to climate change. </p>
<p>As an agricultural scientist working in developing countries – and a farmer myself – my work has explored climate justice in terms of the rural poor, a section of our global community hampered by mounting ecological calamity and limited ability to adapt. </p>
<p>Rural climate justice has four key elements. </p>
<h2>Human rights</h2>
<p>The distinctive characteristics of rural areas make them <a href="https://ipcc-wg2.gov/AR5/images/uploads/WGIIAR5-Chap9_FINAL.pdf">uniquely vulnerable to climate change impacts</a>. </p>
<p>Rural areas in developing countries are characterised by a high dependence on agricultural and natural resources; burdened by poverty, isolation and marginality; neglected by policymakers; and ultimately have lower indicators of <a href="http://ar5-syr.ipcc.ch/resources/htmlpdf/WGIIAR5-Chap9_FINAL/">human development</a>. </p>
<p>Climate change worsens existing deficiencies, exacerbates inequalities and creates new vulnerabilities. Weather impacts – from subtle shifts and trends to extreme events – increasingly threaten and erode basic needs, capabilities and rights of the rural poor. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/">Universal Declaration of Human Rights</a> states that basic rights and fundamental freedoms are to be enjoyed by all people, no matter who they are or where they live. It recognises that everyone is entitled to the inherent dignity delivered by the foundations of freedom, justice and peace in the world.</p>
<h2>Gender equality</h2>
<p>Men and women are affected differently by climate change due to different social and cultural roles. In many rural communities, <a href="https://www.icrw.org/files/publications/A-Significant-Shift-Women-Food%20Security-and-Agriculture-in-a-Global-Marketplace.pdf">women form the majority of self-employed, small-scale farmers</a>. </p>
<p>Given existing <a href="http://www.un.org/womenwatch/feature/ruralwomen/facts-figures.html">gender inequalities and development gaps</a>, climate change ultimately places a greater burden on women. Climate change also increases vulnerability through <a href="http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/7/2/025601/pdf">emigration of men, increasing the workload on women</a>; <a href="ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/010/i0170e/i0170e00.pdf">cropping and livestock changes that affect gender division of labour</a>; <a href="http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar5/wg2/WGIIAR5-PartA_FINAL.pdf">greater difficulty in accessing water and fuel resources</a>; and <a href="http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/assessment-report/ar5/wg2/WGIIAR5-PartA_FINAL.pdf">conflict over natural resources</a>.</p>
<h2>Intergenerational equity</h2>
<p>The actions – and inactions – of the present population can jeopardise the rights and well-being of generations yet to come. By delaying climate change action, we risk passing on an irreparably diminished legacy. </p>
<p>The destruction of the environment is a fundamental breach of the <a href="http://www.uow.edu.au/%7Esharonb/STS300/equity/meaning/integen.html">principle of intergenerational equity</a>, as it will cause significant flow-on effects to present and future communities. </p>
<h2>Cultural integrity</h2>
<p>Climate change causes social degradation via community instability and dislocation, which <a href="http://blog.conservancy.bc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/INTO-THE-VICTORIA-DECLARATION.pdf">ultimately undermines cultures</a>. Migration challenges the identity, sovereignty and heritage of people leaving their homelands, as well as the integrity and continuity of their traditional ways of life. </p>
<p>These dispersed and disassociated peoples can cause cascading effects and <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11069-009-9419-7">social disturbances</a> to the communities they leave behind and the communities they enter. Migration is an extreme form of adaptation. </p>
<p>Although separating climate migrants from those moving for other reasons is near-impossible, as climate impacts aggravate existing problems for the rural poor, <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11069-009-9419-7">greater migration</a> from these areas is inevitable.</p>
<h2>Eliminating poverty while fixing climate change</h2>
<p>To deliver climate justice, climate policies need to encompass human rights, gender equality, intergenerational equity and cultural integrity. These policies include mitigation strategies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and adaptation strategies to help cope with unavoidable consequences. </p>
<p>Development is not possible without energy, and sustainable development is not possible without access to clean, affordable and renewable energy. This is an <a href="http://2014.newclimateeconomy.report/energy/">opportunity for developing countries</a> to avoid the dependence on fossil fuels seen in today’s developed world.</p>
<p>As climate change and a burgeoning global population increase pressure upon planetary boundaries, agricultural scientists are seeking ways to better manage natural resources and help farmers adapt to current and future climate. </p>
<p>Work with the rural poor that promotes social progress and better standards of life can ultimately provide flexibility and a buffer to adversities, and enable farmers to make well-informed decisions.</p>
<p>For communities most at risk, climate change is disrupting lives, work, food security and the places they call home. Only with the appropriate strategies and commitment to climate justice will the future for all people be brighter.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/57798/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anika Molesworth does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Climate justice is becoming an increasingly important part of climate action.Anika Molesworth, PhD Candidate, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/562912016-03-23T03:08:28Z2016-03-23T03:08:28ZYoung people’s economic disadvantage is unlucky – not unjust<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/115761/original/image-20160321-30929-13dv520.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">It's unfortunate that demographic shifts mean that young Australians will have to support a large number of older Australians. But it is not an injustice.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Australia’s wealth is increasing but young Australians are not reaping the benefits. Older Australians are becoming richer while those in younger generations are going backward in real terms. </p>
<p>According to a <a href="http://grattan.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/820-wealth-of-generations3.pdf">2014 report by the Grattan Institute</a>, households of those aged 65 to 74 are A$200,000 wealthier than households of that age were eight years ago. Those aged 25-34 are less-well-off than people of that age eight years ago. </p>
<p>The downward trend in the wealth of generations is repeated in many other countries, according to <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/mar/07/revealed-30-year-economic-betrayal-dragging-down-generation-y-income">a recent Guardian report</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>It is likely to be the first time in industrialised history, save for periods of war or natural disaster, that the incomes of young adults have fallen so far when compared with the rest of society. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>This is not the way things are supposed to go. We expect each generation to be better off than their elders and we assume this will automatically happen if our economy grows. The failure of these expectations puts in doubt the long-term future of the Australian economy. It also raises a moral question: is our society being unjust to younger generations? </p>
<p>Some philosophers are more demanding than others about what intergenerational justice requires. But most agree on a bottom line: a society ought to provide younger generations with well-functioning social services and institutions along with sufficient resources for a good life. It should not treat some generations more favourably than others without good reason. </p>
<p>Satisfying these basic requirements of intergenerational justice does not require that generations be equally well-off. It does not require a society to ensure that younger people are able to buy homes or provide a private education for their children. It is not unjust if some goods that older generations enjoyed are out of their reach. </p>
<p>It is not the fault of older generations that they enjoyed a debt-free education, stable employment and lower house prices. </p>
<p>But younger generations will not live good lives if their jobs and living conditions are insecure, and if they cannot provide a good education for their children. If young and future Australians have to give up the dream of home ownership, then tenancy must be more secure. If they cannot afford to send their children to private schools, then state schools must be better funded.</p>
<p>If future jobs are going to be insecure then perhaps governments should consider providing everyone with a <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/jun/19/australia-minimum-wage">guaranteed minimum income</a>. </p>
<p>Basic requirements of justice do not mean that generations should have equal capacity for gaining wealth, but younger generations do have reason to complain of injustice if their government favours those members of older generations who are already wealthy. </p>
<p>Some policies of Australian governments arguably have this effect. Tax breaks for those able to contribute large sums to their superannuation fund and for those who are wealthy enough to invest in property <a href="http://www.news.com.au/finance/money/tax/is-it-time-for-the-older-generation-to-pay/news-story/c994c0e9e8c2a3f198f6bc26d84b1c69">are examples</a>.</p>
<p>However, it is not unfair that the Australian government pays more to the elderly for pensions and health care than it pays for services to younger generations. Older people have needs that a society must meet and each generation has a responsibility to support its elders. </p>
<p>It is unfortunate for young Australians that an ageing population will give them so many elderly to support. But it is not an injustice. It is not the fault of baby boomers that they are so numerous. They cannot be blamed for living longer and wanting good medical services. </p>
<p>But the burden on young people is unjust when healthy and wealthy members of older generations fail to shoulder <a href="http://www.actuaries.digital/2015/08/06/why-future-generations-depend-on-us-rethinking-the-old-age-pension/">more of the costs</a>, especially if this results in a lack of adequate resources and social services for younger generations. </p>
<p>One of the themes of <a href="http://www.treasury.gov.au/%7E/media/Treasury/Publications%20and%20Media/Publications/2015/2015%20Intergenerational%20Report/Downloads/PDF/02_Exec_summary.ashx">Australia’s intergenerational reports</a>, especially under Liberal governments, is that governments should not incur a debt that younger generations will have to pay. A national debt is not always an injustice to younger generations. Going into debt to defend the country, protect the environment and build infrastructure can be justified if they ensure the well-being of all generations. </p>
<p>But a government acts unjustly if it protects the wealth of older generations by transferring a disproportionate share of the costs of its policies onto younger generations. </p>
<p>One of the most serious injustices committed by the old against the young is to leave them with the problem of dealing with climate change. The consequences could undermine the ability of the young and future generations to <a href="http://rooseveltinstitute.org/climate-change-negotiations-exclude-most-impacted-young-and-poor/">live good lives</a>. </p>
<p>According to basic standards of intergenerational justice, Australian governments are being unfair to younger generations. The reason they can get away with injustice is that younger generations have less political influence than in previous generations. At the 2013 federal election almost half the people registered to vote were <a href="http://www.news.com.au/finance/money/tax/is-it-time-for-the-older-generation-to-pay/news-story/c994c0e9e8c2a3f198f6bc26d84b1c69">over 50</a>. Children and future Australians have no say at all.</p>
<p>A better deal for younger and future generations depends on the willingness of older Australians to respond to the demands of justice.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/56291/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Janna Thompson received funding from the ARC for a project on intergenerational justice. </span></em></p>Young people are not entitled to a life as comfortable as that of their parents, but they are entitled to expect that governments will not hinder them in that pursuit.Janna Thompson, Professor of Philosophy, La Trobe UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/507162015-11-24T15:26:18Z2015-11-24T15:26:18ZExpert roundtable: the psychological benefits of our Thanksgiving rituals<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/102685/original/image-20151121-397-sdxb5l.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Hungry for more than just the turkey.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-325633145/stock-photo-thanksgiving-turkey-sits-on-platter-ready-for-holiday-dinner.html">Turkey image via www.shutterstock.com.</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><strong><em>When Americans gather together around a table groaning with favorite dishes on the fourth Thursday of November, what are we doing beyond filling our bellies with turkey and pie? We convened four experts in the psychology of family traditions and shared meals for a roundtable discussion about what ritual means in the context of Thanksgiving.</em></strong></p>
<p><strong>Anne Fishel, <em>psychologist and author of <a href="http://www.amacombooks.org/HomeForDinner.htm">Home for Dinner</a></em></strong>: I think of Thanksgiving as the mother of all family dinners. As a ritual, it has all the <a href="http://books.wwnorton.com/books/Rituals-in-Families-and-Family-Therapy/">important ingredients</a> – a prescribed time and place; aspects that are predictable and repeated year after year (signature foods) and some that are novel (guests added and departed, new family stories and arguments); and meaning conveyed through symbols. Each year, families come together to revisit something familiar but keep adding new layers of meaning, so that the ritual is reinterpreted. </p>
<p><strong>Janine Roberts, <em>family therapist and author of <a href="https://rowman.com/ISBN/9780765701565/Rituals-for-Our-Times-Celebrating-Healing-and-Changing-Our-Lives-and-Our-Relationships">Rituals for Our Times</a></em></strong>: I think another reason rituals are so powerful is because they’re active and have many sensory elements to them – smelling foods, seeing the lit candles, hearing the rhythm of words as thanks are given.</p>
<p><strong>Barbara Fiese, <em>psychologist and author of <a href="http://www.yalebooks.com/yupbooks/book.asp?isbn=9780300116960">Family Routines and Rituals</a></em></strong>: </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/102701/original/image-20151122-416-1du2n8o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/102701/original/image-20151122-416-1du2n8o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/102701/original/image-20151122-416-1du2n8o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=644&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102701/original/image-20151122-416-1du2n8o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=644&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102701/original/image-20151122-416-1du2n8o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=644&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102701/original/image-20151122-416-1du2n8o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=809&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102701/original/image-20151122-416-1du2n8o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=809&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102701/original/image-20151122-416-1du2n8o.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=809&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Things can and do go wrong when expectations are sky-high.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/69302634@N02/11616291635">Helena Jacoba</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>Another key ingredient is great expectations. Because Thanksgiving is repeated every year, there’s a buildup to the day – making sure everyone is included, dishes assigned, and lots and lots of planning around food. Expectations are sometimes a double-edged sword. You expect the turkey to taste fantastic; sometimes it does… and sometimes it’s on the dry side. You expect guests and relatives to be warm and inviting; sometimes they are… and sometimes they aren’t. Emotional connections keep this ritual going – along with some pretty good food.</p>
<p><strong>Bill Doherty, <em>researcher and family therapist</em>:</strong> I’d add that Thanksgiving has an element that makes for longstanding family traditions: an intergenerational ritual that we remember from childhood and gradually assume more responsibility for over the life cycle. There are also poignant times when the chief architect of the Thanksgiving ritual grows older and has to pass the mantle to the next generation, sometimes not willingly.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/102703/original/image-20151122-397-4vd5vt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/102703/original/image-20151122-397-4vd5vt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/102703/original/image-20151122-397-4vd5vt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102703/original/image-20151122-397-4vd5vt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102703/original/image-20151122-397-4vd5vt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=409&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102703/original/image-20151122-397-4vd5vt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102703/original/image-20151122-397-4vd5vt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102703/original/image-20151122-397-4vd5vt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=514&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Thanksgiving’s when even iconoclasts turn to familiar favorites, passed down from relatives.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/chiotsrun/4456597153">Susy Morris</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
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<p><strong><em>What is the value of these kinds of traditions and rituals? What do we get out of participating, in terms of our health?</em></strong></p>
<p><strong>Barbara</strong>: Our group has conducted research on how routines and rituals are related to both physical and mental health. Through direct observation of family mealtimes at home, we’ve found that how families communicate with one another during meals is <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ehb.2012.04.004">related to the children’s health</a>. For example, when families show genuine concern about their child’s daily activities – such as asking about their day or following up on how a test went in school – teachers report these children are less likely to show acting-out behaviors in school. What’s more, these interactions make children with <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01545.x">chronic health conditions such as asthma</a> feel more secure, and they’re more likely to report that they feel better throughout the day.</p>
<p>These are just correlational studies – we can’t say that positive communication <em>causes</em> better health outcomes. But we do think that repeating these positive behaviors – attending to emotions during meals, recognizing other’s concerns, demonstrating you truly care about what’s happening in each other’s lives – over time provides a supportive emotional climate for healthy development.</p>
<p>For rituals such as Thanksgiving, these emotional connections come to represent what it means to be a member of a particular family. We’ve also found in our research that when parents have <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1540-5834.00019">more positive memories of family rituals</a> from when they were growing up, they also tend to interact more positively with their children, which in turn leads to better mental health for the kids. It’s hard to escape the intergenerational pattern of these rituals.</p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/102702/original/image-20151122-416-1kls05d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/102702/original/image-20151122-416-1kls05d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/102702/original/image-20151122-416-1kls05d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=903&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102702/original/image-20151122-416-1kls05d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=903&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102702/original/image-20151122-416-1kls05d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=903&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102702/original/image-20151122-416-1kls05d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1135&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102702/original/image-20151122-416-1kls05d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1135&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102702/original/image-20151122-416-1kls05d.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1135&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Preparing together for the feast can help bond the generations together.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/gesika22/5608048741">Jessica Fiess-Hill</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
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<p><strong>Anne</strong>: There’s another intergenerational aspect of Thanksgiving – joining a Thanksgiving meal makes us feel we’re part of something bigger than ourselves when we connect to our extended family and to the generations that preceded us. Often, this larger family is represented by stories told about the food or about family members. Kids who know their family’s stories <a href="http://www.psychology.emory.edu/cognition/fivush/lab/FivushLabWebsite/Publications.html">grow up to be more resilient</a> – better able to withstand the slings and arrows of everyday life. And adults who get to share their stories feel valued. </p>
<p><strong>Bill</strong>: The classic outcomes of regular rituals for families are coherence (a sense of identity) and connection (a sense of closeness). Beyond the good health outcomes of positive family interaction during family dinner rituals, in a new study, my colleagues and I have found that barriers to good interaction – such as cellphone use, people getting up from the table and arguments – were even more strongly related (in a negative direction) to children’s psychological well-being and academic performance. The implication is that we have to pay attention to doing some things well during meals – such as staying at the table and laughing together – but also avoid negative interactions.</p>
<p><strong>Barbara</strong>: How true, Bill. We recently used an <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/cfp0000047">experimental approach to document</a> how disruptions can really mess up the power of good positive mealtime interactions. We have <a href="http://familyresiliency.illinois.edu/about/about_facilities_resources.html">a research home</a> here at the University of Illinois, complete with dining area, kitchen and living room. We brought 60 families into the home (one family at a time, of course) and exposed half of them to a very loud vacuum cleaner for the first 10 to 15 minutes of a meal. People exposed to this racket got up from the table more often, engaged in less positive communication and ate more unhealthy foods (Oreos) than those who were not exposed to the loud noise. We think this is an analog of all the intrusions you often see at meal gatherings – the cellphones, tablets and televisions that disrupt the positive benefits of sharing meals together.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/102704/original/image-20151122-435-1pdul7h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/102704/original/image-20151122-435-1pdul7h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/102704/original/image-20151122-435-1pdul7h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102704/original/image-20151122-435-1pdul7h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102704/original/image-20151122-435-1pdul7h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102704/original/image-20151122-435-1pdul7h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102704/original/image-20151122-435-1pdul7h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102704/original/image-20151122-435-1pdul7h.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Doing the dishes has multiple beneficiaries.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=225569962">Family image via www.shutterstock.com.</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Bill</strong>: Great to see experimental research in this area, Barbara! On the positive side of the equation, we found something intriguing in a survey of 1,000 children ages eight to 18. Participating in cleanup after the meal was right up there with more traditional correlates of children’s well-being outcomes, such as having a good conversation and laughing together. Active participation is good for family rituals, as opposed to the consumer approach where someone puts on Thanksgiving for everyone else to enjoy. </p>
<p><strong>Anne</strong>: Another study found elementary school kids who made lunch were <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0022-3182(98)70339-5">much more likely to eat it</a>. One of the great features of Thanksgiving is that it usually pulls in many cooks to the kitchen. Guests often come bearing a homemade pie or cranberry sauce. I wish that this spirit of sharing the work of dinner could carry to everyday family dinners. </p>
<p><strong>Barbara</strong>: And let’s not forget that Thanksgiving is traditionally a time for expressing gratitude about health, family and personal circumstances. Psychologists are finding that simply <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.84.2.377">enumerating the things you’re grateful for</a> can give you a greater sense of well-being. Family researchers have recently turned their attention to the role that forgiveness may play in <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3729.2006.00411.x">marital satisfaction and health</a>. Forgiveness is a complex process that requires genuine interpersonal change. If we take time to pause at this time of the year to let go of petty transgressions and/or annoyances in relationships, perhaps this will allow greater perspective about the gratitude we can feel for what we have.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/102917/original/image-20151124-18271-erv83r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/102917/original/image-20151124-18271-erv83r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/102917/original/image-20151124-18271-erv83r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102917/original/image-20151124-18271-erv83r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102917/original/image-20151124-18271-erv83r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102917/original/image-20151124-18271-erv83r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102917/original/image-20151124-18271-erv83r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102917/original/image-20151124-18271-erv83r.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Family members from the youngest to the oldest can participate in giving thanks around the table.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic.mhtml?id=341515658&src=lb-29877982">Family via www.shutterstock.com.</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>Janine</strong>: Being attentive to all the different ages of people who are there at Thanksgiving is central to making sure giving thanks is part of the gathering. How can elders connect with children and vice versa in meaningful ways? One family wrote simple thanks cards (the youngest members drew) highlighting things they were thankful for over the past year and then shared them as a way to focus dinnertime talk on gratitude and appreciation. And some families choose to serve food at a community Thanksgiving for the homeless or do other types of service to connect with those who don’t have access to the same level of resources.</p>
<p><strong><em>What is participation in these rituals like for people who don’t fit the Normal Rockwell painting version?</em></strong></p>
<p><strong>Janine</strong>: The media and people selling things push expectations by featuring, for example, photos of the “perfect” family – usually a white, heterosexual couple, two children, and the dog and cat – with huge smiles sitting down to a delicious Thanksgiving meal. This sends difficult messages to families that are actually the majority: single-parent or remarried; Latino, black, Native American and Asian families; bicultural and biracial families; gay, lesbian or transgender; or families who have recently experienced a death or other major loss.</p>
<p><strong>Barbara</strong>: Janine, you raise some really good points. These rituals are times of remembrance. When we tell the same stories over and over again, often we’re remembering people who are no longer there, even as we miss the laughter and joke-telling of those who are gone. It’s also a way to share across generations so the younger family members can learn about older folks that they may have never met. Often these are stories that are told about ritual gatherings like Thanksgiving.</p>
<p><strong>Anne</strong>: In my work with <a href="http://thefamilydinnerproject.org">The Family Dinner Project</a>, we try to push back on visions of family dinner that are constraining. Instead of invoking the bygone 1950s era of women doing all the cooking, we emphasize the importance of sharing the workload. And rather than focus on trying to cook a perfect, gourmet meal, we concentrate on what happens at the table in terms of having fun and interesting conversation.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/102700/original/image-20151122-408-5u0i6q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/102700/original/image-20151122-408-5u0i6q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/102700/original/image-20151122-408-5u0i6q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102700/original/image-20151122-408-5u0i6q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102700/original/image-20151122-408-5u0i6q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102700/original/image-20151122-408-5u0i6q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102700/original/image-20151122-408-5u0i6q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/102700/original/image-20151122-408-5u0i6q.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Friendsgiving is one newer spin on the traditional feast.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/7666989@N04/4141436956">Cecilia</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong><em>Our current national moment is characterized by more “nontraditional” families and more of us separated by distance from those we care about. How does a somewhat old-fashioned harvest holiday maintain its value on the annual calendar?</em></strong></p>
<p><strong>Barbara</strong>: A marker of successful rituals is that they also change with the times. As we bring new members into the fold, we make room for new traditions. We can redefine “family” so neighbors, newcomers to the community and international visitors can have a place at the table. These are times to learn about other traditions – expand our group and hopefully expand our world.</p>
<p><strong>Anne</strong>: I agree that change is a vital characteristic of vibrant rituals. You also made me think about ways the larger cultural observance of Thanksgiving has changed – in particular the advent of <a href="http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/11/19/456536083/how-to-put-real-giving-into-the-friendsgiving-feast">Friendsgiving</a>, a more casual get-together before or after Thanksgiving that highlights the importance of friends.</p>
<p><strong>Bill</strong>: The hallmark of successful rituals over time is a combination of predictability and flexibility. You can change the people, for example, but keep the turkey! Sometimes when a family has gone through a major loss, they may decide to try something very different the next Thanksgiving. After the death of the mother in a family with young children, the father and children decided to travel and be in a different part of the country with family friends the first Thanksgiving after their loss. Families need cultural permission to emphasize stability of rituals when they need that, and innovation when they need something different.</p>
<p><strong>Janine:</strong> Well-said, Bill. I’ve worked with a number of families over the decades who, to honor changing values and dietary needs, have made vegetarian dishes the heart of the meal. After all, the “Turkey Day” tradition is “thanks to an <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Curious-Customs-Thaddeus-F-Tuleja/dp/0517566540">aggressive marketing campaign on the part of the poultry industry</a>.” Create what works for you and leave behind what doesn’t. And we shouldn’t forget that holidays and rituals can be very different in different communities – some Native Americans, for example, mark Thanksgiving as a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/native-americans-national-day-of-mourning_5650c46ee4b0258edb31c3ca">National Day of Mourning</a>.</p>
<p><strong>Anne</strong>: It’s that balance of sameness and change that makes this ritual so important. Adults need rituals as much as kids do because they help us step back from the everyday hubbub and feel connected to something bigger and something evolving.</p>
<p>Annual holidays remind us of the continuity of family life, linking us to the generations who preceded us and to earlier times in our own family when we celebrated this same holiday. Against the predictable canvas of the turkey and mashed potatoes, we’re also reminded that our family keeps changing. A grandfather’s death leaves an empty chair. A cousin is expecting her first child. An adult child has gone to spend the holiday with his girlfriend’s family. I think it’s important to embrace change by adding some new elements: you might invite someone new or add a different twist to your mother’s stuffing, or play a new game. The balance of familiarity and novelty keeps holidays feeling meaningful. Maintaining our connections year after year gives an anchor.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/50716/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Barbara Fiese receives funding from the Dairy Research Institute, Feeding America, USDA, NIH, and the Christopher Family Foundation. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anne Fishel is affiliated with The Family Dinner Project.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>For his research on family meals Bill Doherty receives funding from Barilla America, the pasta company, for its Share the Table Initiative. None of the research dealt with pasta, however!</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Janine Roberts is affiliated with Family Process, the leading family therapy journal. </span></em></p>Our panel discusses the benefits of gathering for an annual holiday meal. Traditions and rituals give us a sense of identity and closeness with those we love – and come with mental and physical health benefits too.Barbara Fiese, Director of the Family Resiliency Center and Professor of Human Development & Family Studies, University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignAnne Fishel, Associate Clinical Professor of Psychology, Harvard UniversityBill Doherty, Professor of Family Social Science, University of MinnesotaJanine Roberts, Professor Emerita of Family Therapy, UMass AmherstLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/467752015-09-08T11:39:20Z2015-09-08T11:39:20ZIf poor people don’t vote, will their children be poor as well?<p>None of us has any control over the family we are born into. Yet the accident of birth determines a large share of each of our future earnings. Alarmingly, the more somebody’s own earnings depend upon what their parents earned, the more inequality persists. If this dependence – known as intergenerational earnings persistence – is high, a society is characterised by a dynastic structure where the poor stay poor and the rich stay rich.</p>
<p>The US was originally associated with the “American Dream”, the ideal that everybody can make it in life through effort. However, the US is not only among the most unequal countries in the world, but is also among the most rigid societies <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/krueger_cap_speech_final_remarks.pdf">where a person’s earnings</a> are closely linked to what their parents earned. </p>
<p>Recent research suggests that <a href="https://a8411db2-a-62cb3a1a-s-sites.googlegroups.com/site/cmherrington/files/Herrington%20public%20edu%20and%20inc%20dist%20July%202015.pdf?attachauth=ANoY7cpx1OUsC-KVYaVizfId61WheMBhK9fS1FNvThgZmJ8SvJrOV-lVdJsJsHV3M4RT_LFNYk6bV2J0AfZAY7KzgigUv1prycIoZ0s6Wc39WRcaA49JmnB6LGOUFjNNf_63UlmWLqjgwlCRKFydKHKkQil0KaQDhWBEnJ6iTDx8bN2OyuKWpa6URM5QXaQ3fJH2_MgfcVjBesRb5dCkw-VTA53OrBAsT2m65nM7Pe6lwg-XwN3HWbefbDl1AHQnxn4gYGF3tBW5hnSeHbaRz7jjWp-7eL7zmw%3D%3D&attredirects=0">higher public spending on education</a> for very young children and <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.3982/QE286/abstract">more progressive taxation</a> can help foster social mobility, thereby making parental earnings less important for a person’s future.</p>
<p>Taking this one step further, my recent working paper <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0NrAS-EoM0JbkN0ZWZTU3VSX0k/view">found that</a> differences in voter turnout between countries can explain differences in public education expenditures. Because of this, the way people vote – and if they vote for more public spending on education – can affect inequality and intergenerational mobility, the difference between what parents and their children earn.</p>
<h2>Education spending and inequality</h2>
<p>If the state provides no public education then the education a child receives depends solely on the investments that their parents make. In contrast, public education can equalise the playing field by giving both rich and poor families’ access to quality education. It is considered redistributive expenditure.</p>
<p>So we would expect voters to demand more public education when inequality is high. However, my analysis of data from OECD countries suggests the opposite, as the graph below shows. Surprisingly, the share of GDP dedicated to public education is lower in countries where inequality is high. At the same time, in more unequal countries private education expenditures are higher. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/93377/original/image-20150829-19940-1l3xv3q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/93377/original/image-20150829-19940-1l3xv3q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93377/original/image-20150829-19940-1l3xv3q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93377/original/image-20150829-19940-1l3xv3q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93377/original/image-20150829-19940-1l3xv3q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93377/original/image-20150829-19940-1l3xv3q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93377/original/image-20150829-19940-1l3xv3q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Earnings inequality and public education.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/93377/original/image-20150829-19940-1l3xv3q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/93377/original/image-20150829-19940-1l3xv3q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/93377/original/image-20150829-19940-1l3xv3q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93377/original/image-20150829-19940-1l3xv3q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93377/original/image-20150829-19940-1l3xv3q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=436&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93377/original/image-20150829-19940-1l3xv3q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93377/original/image-20150829-19940-1l3xv3q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/93377/original/image-20150829-19940-1l3xv3q.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=548&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Earnings inequality and public education.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The x-axis shows inequality in terms of the Gini index, which takes the value zero when everybody earns the same and one if one single person earns everything. The y-axis shows the percentage of GDP spent on public education, so the countries on the top left such as Iceland are the most equal and also spend the most on public education in relative terms.</p>
<p>In my model, public education expenditures on early and college education are determined through voting. I took into consideration that some people are more likely to vote than others by using data on voter turnout by age and education in each country. Politicians are only accountable to those people that actually vote – and cater to these voters when deciding on policies. </p>
<p>Relatively high turnout among the educated, as in the US, might bias policies in their favour. So if richer households prefer private education this could limit the provision of public education even in countries with high inequality. In contrast, relatively high voter turnout among less educated individuals, such as in Scandinavian countries, could increase public spending on early education due to its redistributive nature. </p>
<p>By varying the weight a politician attaches to different social groups according to voter turnout by age and education in each country, I found this same link between inequality and low public education expenditures. This also helps to explain nearly one-quarter of the gap in inequality between the US and other OECD countries and the high importance of parents’ earnings on what their children earn. This suggests that if the poor do not vote, their children are more likely to stay poor (and the rich are more likely to stay rich).</p>
<h2>More voters, better education</h2>
<p>By projecting what would happen if 100% of the voting age population in the US turned out to vote, I found that a person’s earnings would be 10% less dependent on what their parents earned – mainly because of the predicted increase in public expenditures on early education. The logic is as follows: if everybody voted, politicians are now more interested in what poorer households think about public education, and so state spending on early education should increase. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/why-do-poor-children-perform-more-poorly-than-rich-ones-39281">Improved early education</a> prepares more children from poor households to enter college. The smarter a kid is coming out of high school, the more he or she gets out of going to college, and the likelier they are to graduate. When more children from poor households enter college, public support (and therefore funding) for <a href="http://esp.sagepub.com/content/22/3/219.abstract">college subsidies broadens</a>, thereby further alleviating barriers to college enrollment. In turn, this increase in college enrollment raises overall returns to public investment in early education. This feedback effect is what makes a child’s outcome less dependent on parental earnings.</p>
<p>The findings suggest that politicians concerned about equality of opportunity would do well to remove barriers to vote that disproportionately affect the poor – such as the requirement to present a birth certificate – and to emphasise to people that their vote really does count.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/46775/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christopher Rauh has received financial support from the Barcelona GSE through the Severo Ochoa Program for Centers of Excellence (SEV-2011-0075) and from the INET Institute Cambridge.</span></em></p>To make politicians invest more in quality public education, more people need to vote.Christopher Rauh, Postdoctoral research fellow , University of CambridgeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/445062015-07-21T20:16:56Z2015-07-21T20:16:56ZHow your parents’ level of education affects your chances<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/88925/original/image-20150720-21069-e0ee9b.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Did your folks finish high school? If not, you might be getting paid less for it. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/statelibraryofvictoria_collections/10127518606/">State Library Victoria</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>A <a href="http://www.oecd.org/employment/oecd-employment-outlook-19991266.htm">new report from the OECD</a> shows that across 22 member countries for which information is available, hourly wages of workers whose parents had a tertiary degree are significantly higher, on average, than hourly wages of workers whose parents had lesser qualifications.</p>
<p>In other words, people’s economic outcomes are to a considerable extent associated with the education of their parents. Australia is shown to be neither the best nor the worst performer in this respect. </p>
<p>The OECD report shows that the wage premium of Australians whose parents had a tertiary education compared with that of Australians whose parents had less than tertiary education was comfortably below premiums in the US, the UK and Italy, but higher than those in Denmark, the Netherlands and Canada.</p>
<p>However, the issue of intergenerational mobility – the extent to which parents’ education, occupation or income determines that of their children after they in turn reach adulthood – is a sensitive subject in Australia, which has historically prided itself on being a classless society. </p>
<p>As the writer <a href="https://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2013/december/1385816400/tim-winton/c-word">Tim Winton</a> puts it:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Australians have been trained to remain uncharacteristically silent about the origins of social disparity.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The <a href="http://www.curriculum.edu.au/verve/_resources/National_Declaration_on_the_Educational_Goals_for_Young_Australians.pdf">Melbourne Declaration</a>, Australian governments’ overarching policy document on the aims of education, boldly states that Australian schooling should: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>… ensure that socioeconomic disadvantage ceases to be a significant determinant of educational outcomes. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>This begs the question – to what extent has the relationship between the education, occupation or income of parents and their children in Australia changed over recent decades? Is intergenerational mobility increasing or decreasing?</p>
<p>Even though intergenerational mobility is hard to measure (not least in countries with high levels of immigration), existing evidence suggests that in Australia, parents’ origins and circumstances are a significant determinant of their children’s outcomes. </p>
<h2>Little has changed over time</h2>
<p><a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.2202/1935-1682.1781">Evidence</a> suggests this association may not have changed much over the past several decades. For example, <a href="http://search.informit.com.au/documentSummary;dn=877950895293082;res=IELHSS">recent research</a> argues that among Australian children aged 4-12 years, the socioeconomic gradient associated with behaviour difficulties, persistence in behaviour difficulties over time and reading skills has remained the same or strengthened since the 1980s. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.ncver.edu.au/wps/portal/vetdataportal/restricted/publicationContent/!ut/p/a1/lZDBbsIwEES_pQeOkdfGiZ1jCmodBEKCViW-IMd2glEwgbion1-DeqW0extpduftIIk2SHp1ca0K7uhVd9Uy25aYTISgMFsKkUHJXt5Wa_E-BpyhDySR1D70YYcqry_2vB126mzNCPrPunP6dmkYAWGYXL29aq2xg2v9TWlnUJXj3DKr64RpgxOaZnmiTKMT2jQca10zTklEqSIK3JkC_kQaLZPXQlA2jzuUEyinz2LK8gVE84_hl4gqMrC7ISJF638-NXtEHb92-9NJFrHlow_2K6DNw5r7w4Hvm3m24jBOu_bpG9NyqGM!/dl5/d5/L2dBISEvZ0FBIS9nQSEh/">Other research</a> concludes that the relationship between parents’ ranking on a socioeconomic status scale and their children’s ranking on academic performance scales changed little between 1975 and 2006. </p>
<p>Australia is not alone. <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.econlet.2012.10.033">Research</a> for other countries for which data are available also suggests little change in relative intergenerational mobility over the past several decades.</p>
<h2>Why are inequalities in intergenerational mobility hard to shift?</h2>
<p>A number of trends suggest the situation has actually improved in many respects. First, relativities (that is, the average ranking of children on a given achievement scale relative to the average ranking of their parents on a given socioeconomic status scale) may not have changed greatly, but the current generation of young adults is nevertheless better educated and has a higher standard of living, on average, than their parents. </p>
<p>This is what the British sociologist John Goldthorpe refers to as “<a href="http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=8926832&fileId=S004727941300024X">absolute mobility</a>”. </p>
<p>For example, ever more Australians are gaining higher and higher qualifications (<a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/AUSSTATS/abs@.nsf/DetailsPage/6227.0May%202014?OpenDocument">37%</a> of 25-34 year olds had a bachelor degree or higher in 2014, compared with 27% in 2004). </p>
<p>Second, research suggests that Australia has become more of a <a href="http://www.jstor.org/stable/40645828?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents">meritocracy</a> since the 1960s – it’s not so much who you know any more, but what you know.</p>
<p>In-depth research in both <a href="https://www.sprc.unsw.edu.au/media/SPRCFile/2012_6_Making_a_Difference_Building_on_Young_Peoples_Experiences_of_Economic_Adversity.pdf">Australia</a> and in <a href="http://www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520271425">other countries</a> shows that middle-class parents and their children tend to be the biggest winners in meritocratic systems. They are generally adept at negotiating their way through education systems, while parents and students from disadvantaged backgrounds can find the process much more problematic. </p>
<p>Inequality in the social, economic and cultural resources that parents can bring to bear on their children’s development tends to leave the children of parents with fewer resources at a disadvantage in this intergenerational race. </p>
<p>In recent decades, parents have invested more heavily in their children’s education. <a href="http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs12187-012-9151-9">Private expenditure on education</a> has increased in real terms since the 1980s. </p>
<p>A large proportion of this increased expenditure has been concentrated in high-income households. This trend coincides with an increase in <a href="http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1467-8462.12098/epdf">income inequality</a> over the same period.</p>
<p>Intergenerational social mobility does not appear to have improved. However, increased income inequality notwithstanding, neither does it appear to have significantly deteriorated.</p>
<p>Is this the result of policy, or in spite of it? And what needs to be done if the aspirations of the Melbourne Declaration are to be more fully achieved and intergenerational mobility is to be accelerated?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/44506/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Gerry Redmond receives funding from the Australian Research Council, the Australian Government and UNICEF.</span></em></p>A new report shows that hourly wages of workers whose parents had a tertiary degree are significantly higher, on average, than hourly wages of workers whose parents have lesser qualifications.Gerry Redmond, Associate Professor, School of Social and Policy Studies, Flinders UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/409042015-06-09T04:18:42Z2015-06-09T04:18:42ZApartheid continues to cast shadow on equality of opportunity<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/83643/original/image-20150602-6976-1o4b55v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Leonardo DiCaprio plays Jay Gatsby in the The Great Gatsby. Jay's story has been used by economists to explain the combination of unequal distribution of income and less economic mobility.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Reuters/Andrew Kelly</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Countries with a more unequal distribution of income tend to have less economic mobility from one generation to the next. This relationship is often referred to as the <a href="http://milescorak.com/2012/01/12/here-is-the-source-for-the-great-gatsby-curve-in-the-alan-krueger-speech-at-the-center-for-american-progress/">“Great Gatsby Curve”</a>. </p>
<p>Generational mobility refers to the extent to which individuals have the opportunity to succeed economically regardless of the background of their parents. </p>
<p>There is growing global evidence on the nature of this relationship as well as on unequal access to opportunities in general. This has helped shine more light on the continued persistence of inequality. </p>
<p>Comparisons between countries point to a number of factors that result in inequality being passed from one generation to the next. </p>
<h2>South Africa makes an interesting case</h2>
<p>Given its high and dogged levels of inequality, South Africa represents a particularly interesting case. It also has a peculiar, and tragic, history of systematic racial discrimination against the majority of its population.</p>
<p>Recent <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0305750X14003398">research</a> shows a high persistence of earnings from one generation to the next. This means that it is as difficult as ever for the children of those who were disadvantaged before the end of apartheid in 1994 to break out of circumstances they inherited from their parents. </p>
<p>In addition, unequal access to opportunities remains high.</p>
<h2>The white minority’s continued dominance</h2>
<p>Unsurprisingly, race is shown to be particularly relevant for economic mobility and opportunity. White South Africans made up only 10% of the sample but they accounted for about 40% of the intergenerational income persistence. This is measured as the association between the income of one’s parents and one’s earnings as an adult. </p>
<p>This result is similar to the <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0165176508000918">findings</a> in the US, where African-Americans are persistently confined to the lower end of the income distribution. This generates a high proportion of the overall degree of intergenerational income disparity in the US.</p>
<p>Something similar may be happening in South Africa. The only difference is that the minority group is positioned at the top of the earnings distribution. In other words, a large part of the similarity of incomes across generations can be explained by the continued positioning of the white minority at the top.</p>
<h2>More than earnings</h2>
<p>The high persistence of earnings from generation to generation is an indication of unequal chances in the labour market. However, the achievement of equal opportunity does not imply simply getting rid of all sources of earnings resemblance between parents and children. </p>
<p>On its own, an intergenerational tie in the earnings of parents and children tells us little about the types of advantages passed from parent to child, or across generations.</p>
<p>Rather than pursuing the objective of zero correlation in the income of parents and their children, a <a href="https://www.aeaweb.org/articles.php?doi=10.1257/089533002760278686">better approach</a> for policymakers might be to focus on those mechanisms that drive the transfer of advantage that seem unfair. </p>
<p>For example, most people would agree that <a href="http://www.unicef.org/southafrica/SAF_resources_ncfabridged.pdf">family culture and ethics</a> should be preserved. But some would regard <a href="http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/social-mobility-memos/posts/2015/01/30-wealth-inheritance-mobility-sawhill">wealth inheritance</a> as less defensible. </p>
<p>There is one mechanism that is clearly unfair. It is the role of race in passing on economic status from one generation to the next. </p>
<h2>Removing obstacles to mobility</h2>
<p>Local and international studies point to obstacles that may explain the limited mobility and opportunity for the majority in South Africa.</p>
<p>First, virtually everyone agrees that family and public investments in <a href="http://www.bostonfed.org/inequality2014/papers/magnusun-duncan.pdf">early childhood development</a> are crucially important. Early childhood conditions for most South Africans are far from optimal. This amounts to denying entire cohorts of low-income children a realistic chance to climb the social ladder.</p>
<p>Governments can adopt a number of early childhood interventions to remedy inherited social disadvantages. </p>
<p>The World Bank <a href="http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/TOPICS/EXTCY/EXTECD/0,,contentMDK:20260280%7EmenuPK:524346%7EpagePK:148956%7EpiPK:216618%7EtheSitePK:344939,00.html">lists</a> some relevant characteristics. These include: educating and supporting parents; delivering services to children; developing capacities of caregivers and teachers; and using mass communications to develop parents’ and caregivers’ knowledge. </p>
<p>Programs for children can be based at specialised centres or at home, can be formal or informal, and can include parent education.</p>
<p>Chances of economic success vary greatly across neighbourhoods. This is not simply a result of good neighbourhoods attracting individuals who <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/05/upshot/why-the-new-research-on-mobility-matters-an-economists-view.html?_r=0&abt=0002&abg=1">would succeed anyway</a>. This creates an obvious channel of economic resemblance across generations. It may be particularly relevant in South Africa where entire communities were moved under apartheid to designated areas.</p>
<p>Finally, <a href="http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/b7708984-cdf9-11e2-a13e-00144feab7de.html#axzz3btSzYP5T">nepotism</a> and discrimination in hiring processes that determine access to good jobs may play a key role. This is one of the areas more consistently targeted by South African policymakers through, for example, affirmative action. </p>
<p>Being serious about effective policies calls for an appreciation of the various the ways that income inequality is passed on from one generation to the next. <a href="http://www.hesa.org.za/increased-access-higher-education">Increasing access</a> to higher education institutions, for example, will not be as effective in promoting equality of opportunity if academic success is largely determined by human capital investments in <a href="http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/earlychildhooddevelopment">early childhood</a>.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/40904/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Patrizio Piraino has received funding from the National Research Foundation and the Economic Research Southern Africa program.</span></em></p>Evidence on the ability, or lack thereof, of children to rise above the economic status of their parents shines light on the continued persistence of inequality, including in South Africa.Patrizio Piraino, Associate Professor of Economics, University of Cape TownLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.