Intergenerational Differences in Income and Wealth: Evidence from Britain

Abstract

How do average levels of income and wealth differ in Britain for those born between the 1930s and 1980s? Those in the 1980s cohort are the first post-war generation not to have higher median incomes in their early 30s than those born a decade earlier, though they have much higher incomes than those born in the 1960s and earlier. Median wealth for those in the 1980s cohort is 20 per cent lower in their early 30s than it was for those born in the 1970s. This is driven by lower property wealth and homeownership: 40 per cent at age 30 for the 1980s cohort, compared with 55 per cent for the 1970s cohort.