Greying the Budget: Ageing and Preferences Over Public Policies
33 Pages Posted: 20 Apr 2016
There are 2 versions of this paper
Greying the Budget: Ageing and Preferences Over Public Policies
Greying the Budget: Ageing and Preferences Over Public Policies
Date Written: February 2, 2016
Abstract
This paper looks at how individual preferences for the allocation of government spending change along the life cycle. Using the Life in Transition Survey II for 34 countries in Europe and Central Asia, the study finds that older individuals are less likely to support a rise in government outlays on education and more likely to support increases in spending on pensions. These results are very similar across countries, and they do not change when using alternative model specifications, estimation methods, and data sources. Using repeated cross-sections, the analysis controls for cohort effects and confirms the main results. The findings are consistent with a body of literature arguing that conflict across generations over the allocation of public expenditures may intensify in ageing economies.
Keywords: Youth and Governance, Social Analysis, Public Finance Decentralization and Poverty Reduction, Economic Adjustment and Lending, National Governance, Quality of Life & Leisure, Public Sector Economics, Macro-Fiscal Policy, Government Policies
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