"It’s all very well bemoaning the growing economic nihilism of younger generations — and the evidence bears it out — but they’re just playing the cards they have been dealt."

It has become a rite of passage for every new generation of young adults to be labelled lazy and irresponsible by its elders, but Gen Z has probably had it worse than most. Accusations range from not making an effort at work to splurging on luxuries and a “Yolo” attitude to risky investments like cryptocurrencies and NFTs.

There are two important differences between Gen Z and those previous generations facing similar disdain. The first is that rather than pushing back on these characterisations, today’s 20-somethings have tended to embrace them, leaning into neologisms such as “quiet quitting”. The second is that new evidence suggests these behaviours are rational responses to worsening economic prospects: specifically, the increasing unattainability of home ownership.

It's not our fault the housing market is rigged; we're just fixing it by fixing the money

In a pioneering study published last week, economists at the University of Chicago and Northwestern University used detailed data on the card transactions, wealth and attitudes of Americans to demonstrate that** reduced work effort, increased leisure spending and investment in risky financial assets** (including crypto) are all disproportionately common among young adults who face little to no realistic prospect of being able to afford a house.

Young British renters who have little hope of cobbling together a deposit are much more likely to take financial risks — with online betting, for example — than their contemporaries who are on or within reach of the housing ladder.

As housing affordability deteriorates, those who come to believe they are locked out of home ownership resort to a mixture of high-risk bets and what US economic commentator Kyla Scanlon calls “financial nihilism” — why strive and save when it won’t be enough to make it anyway? — while their better-placed counterparts tighten their belts.