Neil Howe
Encyclopedia
Neil Howe is an American historian, economist, and demographer. He is best known for his work with William Strauss
on social generations and generational cycles in American history. He is currently the president of LifeCourse Associates, a consulting company he founded with Strauss to apply their generational theory
. He is also a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies
' Global Aging Initiative, and a senior advisor to the Concord Coalition
.
. His grandfather was the astronomer Robert Julius Trumpler
. His father was a physicist and his mother was a professor of occupational therapy. He attended high school in Palo Alto, California
and earned an AB in English Literature at U.C. Berkeley in 1972. He studied abroad in France and Germany, and later earned graduate degrees in economics (M.A., 1978) and history (M.Phil., 1979) from Yale University
.
After receiving his degrees, Howe worked in Washington, DC as a public policy consultant on global aging, long-term fiscal policy
, and migration
. His positions have included advisor on public policy to the Blackstone Group
, policy advisor to the Concord Coalition, and senior associate for the Global Aging Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
During the 1990s, Howe developed a second career as a historian and sociologist, examining how generational differences shape attitudes, behaviors, and the course of history. He has since written eight books on social generations, mostly with William Strauss
. In 1997, Strauss and Howe founded LifeCourse Associates, a publishing, speaking, and consulting company built on their generational insights. As president of LifeCourse, Howe currently provides marketing, personnel, and government affairs consulting to corporate and nonprofit clients, and writes and speaks about the collective personalities of today’s generations.
Howe lives in Great Falls
, Virginia and has two grown children.
He is best known for his books with William Strauss on generations in American history. These include Generations
(1991) and The Fourth Turning (1997) which examine historical generations and identify a cycle of recurring mood eras in American History (now known as the Strauss-Howe generational theory
). Howe and Strauss also co-authored 13th Gen (1993) about the life story of Generation X
, and Millennials Rising (2000) about the Millennial Generation
.
Howe has written a number of application books with Strauss about the Millennials’ impact on various sectors, including Millennials Go to College (2003, 2007), Millennials and the Pop Culture (2005), and Millennials and K-12 Schools (2008). After Strauss died in 2007, Howe has also authored Millennials in the Workplace (2010).
In his career as a demographer and policy advisor, Howe has published a number of additional books. In 1989 he coauthored On Borrowed Time with Peter G. Peterson, one of the early calls for budgetary reform (the book was reissued 2004). Since the late 1990s, Howe has also coauthored a number of academic studies published by CSIS, including the Global Aging Initiative’s Aging Vulnerability Index and The Graying of the Middle Kingdom: The Economics and Demographics of Retirement Policy in China. In 2008, he co-authored The Graying of the Great Powers with Richard Jackson.
William Strauss
William Strauss was an American author, historian, playwright, theater director, and lecturer. As a historian, he is known for his work with Neil Howe on social generations and for their theory of generational cycles in American history...
on social generations and generational cycles in American history. He is currently the president of LifeCourse Associates, a consulting company he founded with Strauss to apply their generational theory
Strauss-Howe generational theory
The Strauss-Howe generational theory, created by historians William Strauss and Neil Howe, identifies a recurring generational cycle in American history. Strauss and Howe lay the groundwork for the theory in their 1991 book Generations, which retells the history of America as a series of...
. He is also a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies
Center for Strategic and International Studies
The Center for Strategic and International Studies is a bipartisan Washington, D.C., foreign policy think tank. The center was founded in 1962 by Admiral Arleigh Burke and Ambassador David Manker Abshire, originally as part of Georgetown University...
' Global Aging Initiative, and a senior advisor to the Concord Coalition
Concord Coalition
The Concord Coalition is a political advocacy group in the United States, formed in 1992. A bipartisan organization, it was founded by former U.S. Senator Warren Rudman, former Secretary of Commerce Peter George Peterson, and the late U.S. Senator Paul Tsongas. The Concord Coalition's advocacy...
.
Biography
Howe was born in Santa Monica, CaliforniaSanta Monica, California
Santa Monica is a beachfront city in western Los Angeles County, California, US. Situated on Santa Monica Bay, it is surrounded on three sides by the city of Los Angeles — Pacific Palisades on the northwest, Brentwood on the north, West Los Angeles on the northeast, Mar Vista on the east, and...
. His grandfather was the astronomer Robert Julius Trumpler
Robert Julius Trumpler
Robert Julius Trumpler was a Swiss-American astronomer....
. His father was a physicist and his mother was a professor of occupational therapy. He attended high school in Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto, California
Palo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...
and earned an AB in English Literature at U.C. Berkeley in 1972. He studied abroad in France and Germany, and later earned graduate degrees in economics (M.A., 1978) and history (M.Phil., 1979) from Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
.
After receiving his degrees, Howe worked in Washington, DC as a public policy consultant on global aging, long-term fiscal policy
Fiscal policy
In economics and political science, fiscal policy is the use of government expenditure and revenue collection to influence the economy....
, and migration
Human migration
Human migration is physical movement by humans from one area to another, sometimes over long distances or in large groups. Historically this movement was nomadic, often causing significant conflict with the indigenous population and their displacement or cultural assimilation. Only a few nomadic...
. His positions have included advisor on public policy to the Blackstone Group
Blackstone Group
The Blackstone Group L.P. is an American-based alternative asset management and financial services company that specializes in private equity, real estate, and credit and marketable alternative investment strategies, as well as financial advisory services, such as mergers and acquisitions ,...
, policy advisor to the Concord Coalition, and senior associate for the Global Aging Initiative at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
During the 1990s, Howe developed a second career as a historian and sociologist, examining how generational differences shape attitudes, behaviors, and the course of history. He has since written eight books on social generations, mostly with William Strauss
William Strauss
William Strauss was an American author, historian, playwright, theater director, and lecturer. As a historian, he is known for his work with Neil Howe on social generations and for their theory of generational cycles in American history...
. In 1997, Strauss and Howe founded LifeCourse Associates, a publishing, speaking, and consulting company built on their generational insights. As president of LifeCourse, Howe currently provides marketing, personnel, and government affairs consulting to corporate and nonprofit clients, and writes and speaks about the collective personalities of today’s generations.
Howe lives in Great Falls
Great Falls
Great Falls may refer to:CommunitiesIn the United States:* Great Falls, Montana* Great Falls, South Carolina* Great Falls, Virginia** Great Falls Park* Great Falls, New Hampshire, previous name of Somersworth, New HampshireWaterfalls...
, Virginia and has two grown children.
Work
Howe has written a number of scholarly and popular books on both demographic and generational trends, all of which remain in print.He is best known for his books with William Strauss on generations in American history. These include Generations
Generations (book)
Generations is the first book by William Strauss and Neil Howe that describes a cyclical theory of history based on repeating generational archetypes. It examines Anglo-American history by dividing it into saecula, or seasonal cycles of history...
(1991) and The Fourth Turning (1997) which examine historical generations and identify a cycle of recurring mood eras in American History (now known as the Strauss-Howe generational theory
Strauss-Howe generational theory
The Strauss-Howe generational theory, created by historians William Strauss and Neil Howe, identifies a recurring generational cycle in American history. Strauss and Howe lay the groundwork for the theory in their 1991 book Generations, which retells the history of America as a series of...
). Howe and Strauss also co-authored 13th Gen (1993) about the life story of Generation X
Generation X
Generation X, commonly abbreviated to Gen X, is the generation born after the Western post–World War II baby boom ended. While there is no universally agreed upon time frame, the term generally includes people born from the early 1960's through the early 1980's, usually no later than 1981 or...
, and Millennials Rising (2000) about the Millennial Generation
Generation Y
Generation Y, also known as the Millennial Generation , Generation Next, Net Generation, or Echo Boomers, describes the demographic cohort following Generation X. There are no precise dates for when the Millennial generation starts and ends, and commentators have used birth dates ranging somewhere...
.
Howe has written a number of application books with Strauss about the Millennials’ impact on various sectors, including Millennials Go to College (2003, 2007), Millennials and the Pop Culture (2005), and Millennials and K-12 Schools (2008). After Strauss died in 2007, Howe has also authored Millennials in the Workplace (2010).
In his career as a demographer and policy advisor, Howe has published a number of additional books. In 1989 he coauthored On Borrowed Time with Peter G. Peterson, one of the early calls for budgetary reform (the book was reissued 2004). Since the late 1990s, Howe has also coauthored a number of academic studies published by CSIS, including the Global Aging Initiative’s Aging Vulnerability Index and The Graying of the Middle Kingdom: The Economics and Demographics of Retirement Policy in China. In 2008, he co-authored The Graying of the Great Powers with Richard Jackson.
Selected Bibliography
- On Borrowed Time (1988)
- Generations (1991)
- 13th-GEN (1993)
- The Fourth Turning (1997)
- Global Aging: The Challenge of the Next Millennium (1999)
- Millennials Rising (2000)
- The 2003 Aging Vulnerability Index (2003)
- Millennials Go To College (2003, 2007)
- The Graying of the Middle Kingdom (2004)
- Millennials and the Pop Culture (2006)
- Long-Term Immigration Projection Methods (2006)
- Millennials and K-12 Schools (2008)
- The Graying of the Great Powers (2008)
- Millennials in the Workplace (2010)
See also
- Strauss-Howe generational theoryStrauss-Howe generational theoryThe Strauss-Howe generational theory, created by historians William Strauss and Neil Howe, identifies a recurring generational cycle in American history. Strauss and Howe lay the groundwork for the theory in their 1991 book Generations, which retells the history of America as a series of...
- Strauss and Howe
- William StraussWilliam StraussWilliam Strauss was an American author, historian, playwright, theater director, and lecturer. As a historian, he is known for his work with Neil Howe on social generations and for their theory of generational cycles in American history...
- Generations (book)Generations (book)Generations is the first book by William Strauss and Neil Howe that describes a cyclical theory of history based on repeating generational archetypes. It examines Anglo-American history by dividing it into saecula, or seasonal cycles of history...
External links
- http://www.lifecourse.com/
- http://csis.org/expert/neil-howe
- http://www.concordcoalition.org/publications/facing-facts