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The Age-Orientation of Social Policy Regimes in OECD Countries

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  • Julia Lynch

Abstract

This article presents a series of measures of the extent to which social policies in twenty-one OECD countries are oriented towards the support of elderly (over 65 or in formal retirement) and non-elderly (under 65 and not retired) population groups. Employing breakdowns by age in spending on social insurance, education and health, tax expenditures on welfare substituting goods, and housing policy outcomes, this article shows that countries tend to demonstrate a consistent age-orientation across a variety of policy areas and instruments. After correcting for the demographic structure of the population, Greece, Japan, Italy, Spain and the United States have the most elderly-oriented social policy regimes, while the Netherlands, Ireland, Canada and the Nordic countries have a more age-neutral repertoire of social policies. In identifying the age orientation of social policy as a dimension of distributive politics that is not captured by other welfare state typologies, this article suggests the need to develop new accounts of the development of welfare states that include the dimension of age.

Suggested Citation

  • Julia Lynch, 2001. "The Age-Orientation of Social Policy Regimes in OECD Countries," LIS Working papers 308, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    • Handle: RePEc:lis:liswps:308
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    Cited by:

    1. Vivekinan Ashok & Ilyana Kuziemko & Ebonya Washington, 2015. "Support for Redistribution in an Age of Rising Inequality: New Stylized Facts and Some Tentative Explanations," NBER Working Papers 21529, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Bernhard Hammer & Michael Christl & Silvia De Poli, 2020. "Redistribution across Europe: How much and to whom?," Working Papers 593, ECINEQ, Society for the Study of Economic Inequality.
    3. Peter H. Lindert, 2017. "The Rise and Future of Progressive Redistribution," Commitment to Equity (CEQ) Working Paper Series 73, Tulane University, Department of Economics.
    4. Hinrichs, Karl, 2003. "Between continuity and paradigm shift: Pension reforms in Germany," Working papers of the ZeS 14/2003, University of Bremen, Centre for Social Policy Research (ZeS).
    5. David K. Jesuit & Vincent A. Mahler, 2010. "Comparing Government Redistribution Across Countries: The Problem of Second-Order Effects," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 91(s1), pages 1390-1404.
    6. James Williamson & Timothy Smeeding, 2004. "Sliding into Poverty? Cross-National Patterns of Income Source Change and Income Decay in Old Age," LIS Working papers 388, LIS Cross-National Data Center in Luxembourg.
    7. Hammer, Bernhard & Christl, Michael & De Poli, Silvia, 2023. "Public redistribution in Europe: Between generations or income groups?," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 24(C).
    8. Robert Tanton & Yogi Vidyattama & Justine McNamara & Quoc Ngu Vu & Ann Harding, 2009. "Old, Single and Poor: Using Microsimulation and Microdata to Analyse Poverty and the Impact of Policy Change among Older Australians," Economic Papers, The Economic Society of Australia, vol. 28(2), pages 102-120, June.

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