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Intergenerational fairness blogs

Following on from our survey of 10,000 citizens in 10 European countries, we asked a range of experts how to ensure the fair distribution of resources between generations; their responses are below.

Intergenerational fairness
Public finances
Europe

Intergenerational Fairness survey

This survey of 10,000 Europeans explores whether they feel their generations are being treated fairly by government and whether they trust that their governments are taking account of the longer-term financial impact of policies.
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Public finances in Europe

Find out more about our long-standing initiatives to enhance shared understanding of the key issues affecting public finances in Europe.
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European public policy activities

The ICAEW Europe Region engages closely with other European professional institutes, policy-makers and stakeholders, ensuring that ICAEW is at the centre of the conversations that matter to the profession globally.
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Ann Mettler

Europe’s sustainability agenda relates closely to today’s young and future generations

Ann Mettler, Head of the European Political Strategy Centre

Caring for future generations lies at the heart of Europe's decades-long efforts to ensure environmental and resource sustainability.

Acting today to secure a safe tomorrow

Catherine Pearce, Vice Chair, Network of Institutions for Future Generations

Establishing mechanisms to guarantee the well-being of future generations is not a new idea: rather, it marks the return of a longstanding principle to help build a safe, sustainable and shared future for all.

Catherine Pearce
Giles Merritt

An ageing continent: Europe’s real big issue

Giles Merritt, Founder and Chairman, Friends of Europe

Europeans need to consider the real impact of ageing societies on younger generations – and to urgently take steps to share the cost of demographic upheaval more fairly.

Don’t raise expectations that can’t be fulfilled

Iliana Ivanova, Member of the European Court of Auditors

Improving policy-making by learning lessons from auditors’ evaluations of youth unemployment schemes.

Pathways to 'fair progress' in developing countries

Ambar Narayan and Roy van der Weide, The World Bank Group

Enhancing economic mobility across generations, particularly in developing economies, requires a range of different policy interventions, encouraging intergenerational fairness and economic prosperity at the same time.

Social spending on children vs pensioners

Yekaterina Chzhen, Social Policy Specialist, UNICEF Office of Research - Innocenti

In recent years social policies have tended to favour one generation over the other. To ensure intergenerational fairness, spending must be distributed more equally across age groups.

Fostering intergenerational solidarity

Philippe Seidel, Policy and EP Liaison Officer, Age Platform Europe

Solidarity between generations is a value to foster, including through public action, and can help a more consensual resolution to some of the more difficult parts of the policies needed in view of demographic change.

Public financial management in New Zealand – the intergenerational dimension

Ian Ball, Professor of Public Finance Management at Victoria University of Wellington

Fiscal control and the use of accrual information can play a key role in helping governments to enhance intergenerational equity. Embedding intergenerational ‘wellbeing’ into the national budget brings new challenges and opportunities.

Promoting commitments to the next generations

Luis Lobo Xavier, Director of the Gulbenkian Sustainability Program at the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation

Sustainable development goes hand in hand with the protection of future generations’ interests. This requires action at a political as well as individual level.

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