From avocado toast jokes to accusations of entitlement, every generation seems to get its turn in the stereotype spotlight. In this episode of The Missing Middle, economist Mike Moffatt and journalist Cara Stern dig into where these labels come from — and, more importantly, whether generations really do experience the economy differently.

They explore how major historical shocks — from the Great Depression and World War II to 9/11, the Great Recession, and the pandemic — shape our values, anxieties, and opportunities. The conversation moves beyond clichés to examine how birth year, cohort size, housing markets, job markets, technology, and public policy combine to create very different economic realities for Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z.

Chapters:

00:00 Introduction

00:37 Avocado toast & generational stereotypes

03:25 Horriscopes for statistical nerds?

04:46 The history of grouping people into generations

06:41 Mike’s genX and Cara’s millennial experiences 

13:24 Understanding generational differences

15:55 Generation size, power & public Policy

19:40 Inherited wealth & pulling the ladder up

22:30 The ethos of DemograFix

Research/links:

https://marcuse.faculty.history.ucsb.edu/classes/201/articles/27MannheimGenerations.pdf

Hosted by Mike Moffatt & Cara Stern & Sabrina Maddeaux

Produced by Meredith Martin

This podcast is funded by the Neptis Foundation and brought to you by the Smart Prosperity Institute.