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The Welfare State and the demographic dividend: A cross-country comparison

Author

Listed:
  • Gemma Abio Roig

    (Universitat de Barcelona)

  • Concepció Patxot Cardoner

    (Universitat de Barcelona)

  • Miguel Sánchez-Romero

    (Wittgenstein Centre (IIASA, VID/OAW and WU))

  • Guadalupe Souto Nieves

    (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona)

Abstract

The sustainability of the welfare state is in doubt in many developed countries due to drastic population ageing. The extent of the problem and the margin for reforms depend - among other factors - on the size of the ageing process and the size of the public transfer system. The latter has a crucial impact on the extent to which the first demographic dividend previous to the ageing process turns into a second demographic dividend. The contribution of the different factors driving the demographic dividend is, ultimately, an empirical question. In this paper we contribute to the debate, exploding the cross-country comparison potentialities of the National Transfer Accounts (NTA) database. In particular, we introduce different configurations of the welfare state transfers – Sweden, United States and Spain - into a realistic demography Overlapping Generations (OLG) model and simulate its effects on the second demographic dividend.

Suggested Citation

  • Gemma Abio Roig & Concepció Patxot Cardoner & Miguel Sánchez-Romero & Guadalupe Souto Nieves, 2015. "The Welfare State and the demographic dividend: A cross-country comparison," UB School of Economics Working Papers 2015/332, University of Barcelona School of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:ewp:wpaper:332web
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Ageing; demographic dividend; intergenerational transfers; national transfer accounts; overlapping generations model; welfare state.;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J11 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts
    • J18 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Public Policy
    • E21 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Consumption; Saving; Wealth
    • H53 - Public Economics - - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies - - - Government Expenditures and Welfare Programs

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