Greying the Budget: Ageing and Preferences Over Public Policies

33 Pages Posted: 20 Apr 2016

See all articles by Luiz R. de Mello

Luiz R. de Mello

OECD

Simone Raphaela Schotte

United Nations - World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU/WIDER)

Erwin R. Tiongson

Georgetown University - Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service (SFS); Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA); University College London - CReAM - Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration; Asian Institute of Management

Hernan Winkler

World Bank

Multiple version iconThere are 2 versions of this paper

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

Suggested Citation

de Mello, Luiz R. and Schotte, Simone Raphaela and Tiongson, Erwin R. and Winkler, Hernan Jorge, Greying the Budget: Ageing and Preferences Over Public Policies (February 2, 2016). World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 7555, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2726978

Luiz R. De Mello (Contact Author)

OECD ( email )

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Simone Raphaela Schotte

United Nations - World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU/WIDER)

Erwin R. Tiongson

Georgetown University - Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service (SFS) ( email )

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United States

Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA) ( email )

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Asian Institute of Management ( email )

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Hernan Jorge Winkler

World Bank ( email )

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