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Generational conflict and education politics: Implications for growth and welfare

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  • Uchida, Yuki
  • Ono, Tetsuo

Abstract

This study considers the politics of public education and its impact on economic growth and welfare across generations. We employ probabilistic voting to demonstrate the generational conflict regarding taxes and spending and show that aging shifts the tax burden from the retired to the working generation, reduces public education spending, and ultimately slows economic growth. We subsequently consider a legal constraint that aims to boost education spending: a spending floor for education. This constraint stimulates economic growth but creates a trade-off between current and future generations’ welfare. Finally, the quantitative implications of our results are explored by calibrating the model to the Japanese economy.

Suggested Citation

  • Uchida, Yuki & Ono, Tetsuo, 2021. "Generational conflict and education politics: Implications for growth and welfare," Journal of Macroeconomics, Elsevier, vol. 69(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:jmacro:v:69:y:2021:i:c:s0164070421000240
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jmacro.2021.103315
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    1. Minoru Watanabe, 2022. "Capital income taxation and public debt in an endogenous fertility model," Discussion Papers 2209, Graduate School of Economics, Kobe University.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Public education; Economic growth; Capital income tax; Probabilistic voting;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D70 - Microeconomics - - Analysis of Collective Decision-Making - - - General
    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • H52 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Education

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