Search Results (10)

Demographic trends over the last decades and future projections clearly indicate a steady increase in the proportion of older adults (65+) relative to both the working-age (15–64) and child populations (0–15) across Europe. This demographic shift—driven by rising life expectancy and declining fertility—raises pressing challenges for intergenerational equity and questions the sustainability of the implicit formal and informal “social contract” that links generations through the distribution of rights, responsibilities, and resources. In particular, the two fundamental pillars of European post-industrial societies, namely an extensive welfare state and a liberal–democratic institutional framework, appear to be at risk. To address this issue, the notion of “intergenerational fairness”, recently adopted by social policies in both USA and Europe, appears flexible and fundamentally ambiguous. As a substantial variant of neoliberal austerity policies, it is simply used as a justification for further austerity measures, the withdrawal of entitlements to social and economic rights by citizens and the dismantling of welfare states. A second meaning of “intergenerational fairness” is possible starting from the concept of ambivalence used to describe the mix of conflict and solidarity that characterizes intergenerational relations in contemporary post-industrial societies. In this respect, the two concepts of “successful ageing” and “active ageing”, often considered as overlapping, actually involve very different perspectives: successful ageing adopts a substantially reductionist, individualistic, and static approach to the process of ageing, whereas active ageing is a more comprehensive and dynamic strategy that seeks to overcome all these limitations by a life-course perspective. This recognizes that a person’s path to old age is not predetermined but depends primarily on earlier life experiences and their influence: the ageing process affects people of all ages, not just the elderly. And since the subjectivization of ageing in contemporary societies has challenged the conventional notion of “natural life stages”, the new theoretical concept advanced in the article of “ageing styles” becomes central to understanding the ageing process today. Ageing styles are the outcome of the interplay between the objective and subjective dimensions of the life course, represented, respectively, by life chances (social structure) and life choices (agency). A theoretical framework is proposed for analyzing ageing styles that can be used from a life-course perspective to highlight their complex and dynamic nature. An evidence-based European political strategy aimed at promoting active ageing from a perspective of intergenerational fairness, based on the eight principles indicated, can be flexible enough to ensure that everyone can adopt their preferred ageing style without top-down imposition and contribute to the maintenance of the intergenerational social contract. Full article

(1) Background: This study investigates whether older adult individuals support childcare policies not only out of altruism, but also due to extended self-interest arising from intergenerational co-residence. It challenges the conventional view that welfare attitudes are shaped solely by one’s own life-cycle needs. (2) Methods: Using the 2013 and 2016 waves of the Korean Welfare Panel Study waves of the Korean Welfare Panel Study, a difference-in-differences (DiD) approach compares attitudes toward government childcare spending between older adults living with children (Co-residing Older Adults) and those who do not (Non-co-residing Older Adults), before and after universal childcare policies were introduced in 2013. (3) Results: The Co-residing Older Adults consistently expressed stronger support for family policies than their counterparts. However, this support did not significantly increase after the 2013 reform, indicating that extended self-interest may not be sensitive to short-term policy changes. (4) Conclusions: Extended self-interest appears to be a stable orientation shaped by family context rather than a flexible, policy-reactive stance. These findings highlight the role of intergenerational household ties in shaping welfare attitudes and offer implications for fostering generational solidarity in aging societies. Full article

Oil palm cultivation plays a critical role in rural livelihoods in Indonesia, yet previous research has often overlooked systematic institutional differences among smallholders. This study aims to analyze disparities in assets, strategies, and livelihood outcomes among three oil palm smallholder typologies—ex-Perkebunan Inti Rakyat (PIR) transmigrant smallholders who received land through government transmigration programs, independent smallholders who cultivate oil palm without formal partnerships, and plasma smallholders operating under corporate partnership schemes—in Central Mamuju Regency, West Sulawesi. A descriptive quantitative approach based on the sustainable livelihoods framework was employed, using chi-square analysis of data collected from 90 respondents through structured interviews and field observations. The results show that ex-PIR smallholders possess higher physical, financial, and social capital and achieve better income and welfare outcomes compared to independent and plasma smallholders. Independent smallholders exhibit resilience through diversified livelihood strategies, whereas plasma smallholders face asset limitations and structural dependency on partner companies, increasing their economic vulnerability. The study concludes that differentiated policy approaches are necessary to enhance the resilience of each group, including improving capital access, promoting income diversification, and strengthening institutions for plasma smallholders. Future research should expand geographical scope and explore factors such as technology adoption, gender dynamics, and intergenerational knowledge transfer to deepen understanding of sustainable smallholder livelihoods in tropical plantation contexts. Full article

The paper examines the applicability of the concept of ‘generation rent’ in the ‘super-homeownership’ housing regime and better-off focused welfare regime of Hungary. Available official statistical and survey data show the increase in private rentals among young households, and the appearance of private rental housing as a potential longer-term solution in the attitudes of young people towards housing. In the Hungarian context, the strong role of intergenerational transfers in access to home ownership and public housing policies contribute to the development of a ‘generation rent’. Furthermore, housing policies also affect the housing experiences of the Hungarian ‘generation rent’. In order to reduce tenure security and affordability risks, many households turn to family and friend networks. The involvement of family relations tends to prolong dependency on the family, thus affecting the youth-adulthood transition. Meanwhile the housing career plans of young people reflect the strongly ownership-oriented public discourse, even in the case of low-status young people, for whom acquiring homeownership is not a realistic aspiration. The analysis argues that the concept can be applied in the Hungarian context; however, the development, housing experiences, and housing career plans of ‘generation rent’ in Hungary are strongly influenced by the specific welfare regime and housing system context. Full article

Child poverty is an increasing challenge for Norwegian society and its municipalities. Policies to reduce it include housing as one particularly important health determinant. The capability approach allows us to focus on determinants for health. Methods were triangulated and literature and document studies, interviews and participating observations were part of the data-gathering process. Thematic analyses were used to analyse data. Children and adults view housing as important. Housing determines families’ possibilities of consuming other goods and choosing what functionings they will convert their resources into. Municipalities can change the course of development by engaging with the Norwegian Government Housing Bank and implementing instruments such as social housing, housing allowances and starter loans giving families the possibility to become homeowners. Housing determines intra- as well as inter-generational life chances. Housing is a corrosive functioning if children live in families that have low-quality housing or high housing costs. Housing is a positive functioning for children if families own their housing. Housing is defined as a market good and a welfare asset. Policies enable some families to buy their own housing, whereas the number of poor children still increases. Full article

This paper investigates the impact of Social Discount Rate (SDR) choice on intergenerational equity issues caused by Public–Private Partnerships (PPPs) projects. Indeed, more PPPs mean more debt being accumulated for future generations leading to a fiscal deficit crisis. The paper draws on how the SDR level taken today distributes societies on the Social Welfare Function (SWF). This is done by answering two sub-questions: (i) What is the risk of PPPs’ debts being off-balance sheet? (ii) How do public policies, based on the envisaged SDR, position society within different ethical perspectives? The answers are obtained from a discussion of the different SDRs (applied in the UK for examples) according to the merits of the pertinent ethical theories, namely libertarian, egalitarian, utilitarian and Rawlsian. We find that public policymakers can manipulate the SDR to make PPPs looking like a better option than the traditional financing form. However, this antagonises the Value for Money principle. We also point out that public policy is not harmonised with ethical theories. We find that at present (in the UK), the SDR is somewhere between weighted utilitarian and Rawlsian societies in the trade-off curve. Alas, our study finds no evidence that the (UK) government is using a sophisticated system to keep pace with the accumulated off-balance sheet debts. Thus, the exact prediction of the final state is hardly made because of the uncertainty factor. We conclude that our study hopefully provides a good analytical framework for policymakers in order to draw on the merits of ethical theories before initiating public policies like PPPs. Full article

In this paper, a “general equilibrium” (GE) model was developed for the allocation of exhaustible natural resources to examine the impact of different extraction scenarios on intergenerational economic welfare. A stylized GE model was applied to Israel’s natural gas (NG) market to evaluate economic indicators resulting from NG-extraction scenarios: a baseline scenario based on current policy in the NG sector, a conservative scenario based on a lower extraction rate, and an intensive scenario based on a faster extraction rate. The impact of various resource income-allocation strategies on intergenerational economic welfare was examined through the mechanism of a “sovereign wealth fund” (SWF). The results indicate that a higher NG-extraction rate combined with an appropriate investment strategy for NG profits is preferable from an economic perspective compared to a conservative rate. Investment of the government take from the NG market in research and development (R&D) of renewable electricity production can sustainably increase economic welfare. Full article

This article examines sustainability from a policy perspective rooted in environmental economics and environmental ethics. Endorsing the Brundtland Commission stance that each generation should have undiminished opportunity to meet its own needs, I emphasize the foundational status of the intergenerational commitment. The standard concepts of weak and strong sustainability, WS and SS, are sketched and critiqued simply and intuitively, along with the more recent concept of WS-plus. A recently proposed model of a society dependent on a renewable but vulnerable resource (Barfuss et al. 2018) is introduced as an expositional tool, as its authors intended, and used as a platform for thought experiments exploring the role of risk management tools in reducing the need for safety. Key conclusions include: (i) Safety, in this case, the elimination of risk in uncertain production systems, comes at an opportunity cost that is often non-trivial. (ii) Welfare shocks can be cushioned by savings and diversification, which are enhanced by scale. Scale increases with geographic area, diversity of production, organizational complexity, and openness to trade and human migration. (iii) Increasing scale enables enhancement of sustainable welfare via local and regional specialization, and the need for safety and its attendant opportunity costs is reduced. (iv) When generational welfare is stochastic, the intergenerational commitment should not be abandoned but may need to be adapted to uncertainty, e.g., by expecting less from hard-luck generations and correspondingly more from more fortunate ones. (v) Intergenerational commitments must be resolved in the context of intragenerational obligations to each other in the here and now, and compensation of those asked to make sacrifices for sustainability has both ethical and pragmatic virtue. (vi) Finally, the normative domains of sustainability and safety can be distinguished—sustainability always, but safety only when facing daunting threats. Full article

The establishment of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) bolstered momentum to achieve a sustainable future. Undeniably, the welfare of future generations is a fundamental value of sustainable development since the publication of the Brundtland report. Nevertheless, SDGs and their targets are meagre on intergenerational justice concerns. The 15-year target horizon of the SDGs might be beneficial for implementation reasons. However, such a short-term perspective is far from innocuous in justice terms. It jeopardises the establishment of long-term goals, which protect both present and future people. This article advocates for clearer stances on intergenerational justice. What type of distributive principles could and should dictate the present socio-economic development? Looking at intragenerational justice principles contained in SDGs does not provide a full answer since they express conflicting visions of what constitutes a fair development. Furthermore, a fair distribution of the development benefits and burdens among present and near future people does not necessarily guarantee the wellbeing of more distant generations. I propose an intergenerational sufficientarian perspective as a way of extending the beneficial impacts of SDGs to both close and distant future generations. Hopefully, it facilitates the translation of the SDGs into policies that promote fairer implementation strategies. Full article

In times of economic crisis, most countries face the dual challenge of fighting unemployment while restraining social expenditures and closing budget deficits. The spending cuts and lack of employment affect a large number of decisions that have a direct or indirect impact on health. This impact is likely to be unevenly distributed among different groups within the population, and therefore not only health levels may be at risk, but also their distribution. The main purpose of this paper is to explore links between unemployment, economic growth, inequality, and health. We regress a measure of health, the Health Human Development Index (HHDI), against a set of explanatory variables accounting for the countries’ economic performance (GDP growth, unemployment, and income inequality), and some institutional factors related to welfare spending and the nature of the health systems for the past three decades. In addition, we explore the causes for different results obtained using an inequality-adjusted HHDI, vs. the unadjusted HHDI. We describe a panel data model, estimated by random effects, for 32 countries from 1980–2010, in five-year intervals. Our conclusion is that the high economic growth observed in the last decades, together with an increase in the levels of income inequality and/or poverty, explain the observed changes of our index, particularly when this indicator is weighted by health inequality. The remaining institutional variables (the share of social spending, health care expenditure, and the type of health systems) show the expected sign but are not statistically significant. A comment on the methodological pitfalls of the approach completes the analysis. Full article