Positive-sum solutions in the generational welfare state

Book section

Population ageing is expected to fundamentally change the ability of welfare states to sustainably support an equitable distribution of risks and resources in society. Concerns have been raised about the growing power of older voters, who may receive an increasing share of redistributive commitments at the expense of younger age groups. In this chapter, we use social rights data from the Social Policy Indicators (SPIN) database to analyse how wealthy countries emphasise sets of policies that address different stages of the life course. Our analysis shows that those countries with a balanced approach to income compensation across all ages also provide the highest levels of social benefits for old age. This suggests that the generous provision of social policies does not necessarily lead to a zero-sum game in which addressing one part of the life course is at the expense of another because of fiscal constraints. Finally, we argue that the provision of generous policies for all is a way out of the dilemma of the emerging intergenerational conflict and show that a balanced approach to policymaking that benefits all citizens, regardless of age, is not necessarily a zero-sum game, but rather a socially sustainable path.

Authors: Helmdag, J; Nelson, K; Kuitto, K

• Publication status: Published
• Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
• Pages: 36-57
• Publication date: 2025-06-10
• DOI: 10.4337/9781035318377.00009
• EISBN: 9781035318377
• ISBN: 9781035318360
• Language: English
• Keywords: state (computer science); political science; mathematical economics; market economy; mathematics; algorithm; welfare; law; economics; welfare state