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The Spirit of the Welfare State? Adaptation in the Demand for Social Insurance

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  • Martin Ljunge

    (Department of Economics)

Abstract

Young generations demand substantially more social insurance than older generations, although program rules have been constant for decades. I postulate a model where the utility of taking up social insurance benefits depends on the past behavior of older generations. The model is estimated with individual panel data. The intertemporal mechanism estimated can account for half of the younger generations’ higher demand for social insurance benefits. The influence of older generations’ behavior remains when instrumenting using mortality rates, which makes a compelling case for a causal intertemporal influence on individual demand.

Suggested Citation

  • Martin Ljunge, 2011. "The Spirit of the Welfare State? Adaptation in the Demand for Social Insurance," Discussion Papers 11-30, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics.
    • Handle: RePEc:kud:kuiedp:1130
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    As found by EconAcademics.org, the blog aggregator for Economics research:
    1. Why the young demand more social insurance than older generations
      by Economic Logician in Economic Logic on 2011-12-28 20:50:00

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    Cited by:

    1. Juan D. Barón & Deborah A. Cobb‐Clark & Nisvan Erkal, 2015. "Welfare receipt and the intergenerational transmission of work‐welfare norms," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 82(1), pages 208-234, July.
    2. Martin Ljunge, 2011. "Sick of Taxes? Evidence on the Elasticity of Labor Supply when Workers Are Free to Choose," Discussion Papers 11-27, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics.
    3. Hansen, Kerstin F. & Stutzer, Alois, 2022. "Parental unemployment, social insurance and child well-being across countries," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 600-617.
    4. Giacomo Corneo & Frank Neher, 2014. "Income inequality and self-reported values," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 12(1), pages 49-71, March.
    5. Yann Algan & Pierre Cahuc & Marc Sangnier, 2016. "Trust and the Welfare State: the Twin Peaks Curve," Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 126(593), pages 861-883, June.
    6. Lucifora, Claudio & Meurs, Dominique, 2012. "Family Values, Social Needs and Preferences for Welfare," IZA Discussion Papers 6977, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    7. Lindbeck, Assar & Persson, Mats, 2015. "Norms, Incentives and Information in Income Insurance," Working Paper Series 1058, Research Institute of Industrial Economics.
    8. Martin Ljunge, 2015. "Social Capital and the Family: Evidence that Strong Family Ties Cultivate Civic Virtues," Economica, London School of Economics and Political Science, vol. 82(325), pages 103-136, January.
    9. Martin Ljunge, 2012. "Family Ties and Civic Virtues: Evidence on Wilson's "Moral Sense"," Discussion Papers 12-07, University of Copenhagen. Department of Economics.
    10. Hansen, Kerstin F. & Stutzer, Alois, 2021. "Experiencing Booms and Busts in the Welfare State and Support for Redistribution," IZA Discussion Papers 14327, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

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    JEL classification:

    • H31 - Public Economics - - Fiscal Policies and Behavior of Economic Agents - - - Household
    • I18 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - Health - - - Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health
    • J22 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Time Allocation and Labor Supply
    • Z13 - Other Special Topics - - Cultural Economics - - - Economic Sociology; Economic Anthropology; Language; Social and Economic Stratification

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