This archive report was first published on 16 July 2020.
Published on July 16, 2020, a Brookings Institution expert, Elaine Kamarck, noted that the 1950s was an extraordinary decade for the United States. The country was experiencing economic prosperity, and the population was growing rapidly, with the birth rate being exceptionally high.
As a result, the Baby Boomer generation, born between 1946 and 1964, has had a significant impact on American politics. They have been more politically engaged than previous generations, voting at higher rates and producing the last four presidents, including Joe Biden, who would become the first president from the Silent Generation if elected.
Demographer Neil Howe pointed out that the dominant-recessive generational pattern found in the United States is not typical of most other OECD countries. This pattern could have created space for younger political leaders to take power in those countries.
Political scientist Kaare Strom, of the University of California, San Diego, suggested that the way countries select their leaders also plays a role in the aging of politicians. In parliamentary systems, parties have significant control over whom to elevate, and they often choose younger leaders to appeal to particular constituencies or to brand themselves behind more telegenic faces.
However, in presidential systems, like the United States, parties have less control over who from their ranks will run, and national contests can favor candidates with large reserves of personal wealth or those with long records of public service and national exposure.
