Grandfather and grandchild
The U.S. National Debt is often cited as an example of intergenerational inequity, as future generations will have the responsibility of paying it off. The U.S. National Debt has grown substantially over the past several decades. Relative to total GDP, the debt burden has worsened in the past several years.

Intergenerational equity in economic, psychological, and sociological contexts, is the idea of fairness or justice between generations. The concept can be applied to fairness in dynamics between children, youth, adults, and seniors. It can also be applied to fairness between generations currently living and future generations.[1]

Conversations about intergenerational equity may include basic human needs, economic needs, environmental needs and subjective human well-being.[2] It is often discussed in public economics, especially with regard to transition economics,[3] social policy, and government budget-making.[4] Many cite the growing U.S. national debt as an example of intergenerational inequity, as future generations will shoulder the consequences. Intergenerational equity is also explored in environmental concerns,[5] including sustainable development,[6] and climate change. The continued depletion of natural resources that has occurred in the past century will likely be a significant burden for future generations. Intergenerational equity is also discussed with regard to standards of living, specifically on inequities in the living standards experienced by people of different ages and generations.[7][8][9][10][11] Intergenerational equity issues also arise in the arenas of elderly care, social justice, and housing affordability.[12][13][14]

Political rights

The debate around youth rights, children's rights and the rights of future generations includes discussions around when people should have political power, and how much they should have.[15] Adam Benforado argues, for example, that giving children more political rights than adults results in everyone being better off by, for example, increasing the salience of long-term issues.[16]

Those seeking rights or greater consideration for future generations discuss methods such as deliberative democracy,[17][18] an ombudsman for future generations,[19] or other institutions tasked specifically with considering future generations.[20]

Public economics usage

History

Since the first recorded debt issuance in Sumaria in 1796 BC,[21] one of the penalties for failure to repay a loan has been debt bondage. In some instances, this repayment of financial debt with labor included the debtor's children, essentially condemning the debtor family to perpetual slavery. About one millennium after written debt contracts were created, the concept of debt forgiveness appears in the Old Testament, called Jubilee (Leviticus 25), and in Greek law when Solon introduces Seisachtheia. Both of these historical examples of debt forgiveness involved freeing children from slavery caused by their parents' debt.

Investment management

In the context of institutional investment management, intergenerational equity is the principle that an endowed institution's spending rate must not exceed its after-inflation rate of compound return, so that investment gains are spent equally on current and future constituents of the endowed assets. This concept was originally set out in 1974 by economist James Tobin, who wrote that "The trustees of endowed institutions are the guardians of the future against the claims of the present. Their task in managing the endowment is to preserve equity among generations."[22]

In an economical context intergenerational equity refers to the relationship that a particular family has with resources. An example is the forest-dwelling civilians in Papua New Guinea, who for generations have lived in a certain part of the forest which thus becomes their land. The adult population sell the trees for palm oil to make money. If they cannot make a sustainable development on managing their resources, their next or future generations will lose this resource.

National debt

Future generations could benefit if the investments made with the debt are more valuable than the amount of debt they created.[23] For example, to the extent that borrowed funds are invested today to improve the long-term productivity of the economy and its workers, such as via useful infrastructure projects, future generations may benefit.[24] Economist Paul Krugman wrote in March 2013 that by neglecting public investment and failing to create jobs, we are doing far more harm to future generations than merely passing along debt: "Fiscal policy is, indeed, a moral issue, and we should be ashamed of what we’re doing to the next generation's economic prospects. But our sin involves investing too little, not borrowing too much."[25]

Others point out that higher debt levels also imply higher interest payments, which create significant costs for future taxpayers (e.g., higher taxes, lower government benefits, higher inflation, or increased risk of fiscal crisis).[26] Stanley Druckenmiller and Geoffrey Canada call the large increase in government debt being left by the Baby Boomers to their children "Generational Theft".[27]

U.S. Social Security

The U.S. Social Security system has provided a greater net benefit to those who reached retirement closest to the first implementation of the system. The system is unfunded, meaning the elderly who retired right after the implementation of the system did not pay any taxes into the social security system, but reaped the benefits. Professor Michael Doran estimates that cohorts born previous to 1938 will receive more in benefits than they pay in taxes, while the reverse is true to cohorts born after. Also, that the long-term insolvency of Social Security will likely lead to further intergenerational transfers.[28] However, Broad concedes that other benefits have been introduced into U.S. society via the welfare system, like Medicare and government-financed medical research, that benefit current and future elderly cohorts.[28]

Environmental usage

Global warming is an example of intergenerational inequity, see climate justice

Intergenerational equity is often referred to in environmental contexts, as younger age cohorts will disproportionately experience the negative consequences of environmental damage. For instance, it is estimated that children born in 2020 (e.g. "Generation Alpha") will experience 2–7 as many extreme weather events over their lifetimes, particularly heat waves, compared to people born in 1960, under current climate policy pledges.[29][30] Moreover, on average, the elderly played "a leading role in driving up GHG emissions in the past decade and are on the way to becoming the largest contributor" due to factors such as demographic transition, low informed concern about climate change and high expenditures on carbon-intensive products like energy which is used i.a. for heating rooms and private transport.[31][32]

Climate change

In 2015, a group of youth environmental activists filed a lawsuit against the U.S. federal government for insufficiently protecting against climate change in Juliana v. United States. Their statement emphasized the disproportionate cost of climate-related damage younger generations would bear:[33] “Youth Plaintiffs represent the youngest living generation, beneficiaries of the public trust. Youth Plaintiffs have a substantial, direct, and immediate interest in protecting the atmosphere, other vital natural resources, their quality of life, their property interests, and their liberties. They also have an interest in ensuring that the climate system remains stable enough to secure their constitutional rights to life, liberty, and property, rights that depend on a livable Future.”[34] In November 2016, the case was allowed to go to trial after US District Court Judge Ann Aiken denied the federal government’s motion to dismiss the case. In her opinion and order, she said, "Exercising my ‘reasoned judgment,’ I have no doubt that the right to a climate system capable of sustaining human life is fundamental to a free and ordered society."[35]

Australian politician Christine Milne made statements in the lead-up to the 2014 Carbon Price Repeal Bill, naming the Liberal National Party (elected to parliament in 2013) and inherently its ministers, as intergenerational thieves; her statement was based on the party's attempts to roll back progressive carbon tax policy and the impact this would have on the intergenerational equity of future generations.[36]

Strong vs. weak sustainability

Two perspectives have been proposed on what should be done to ameliorate environmental intergenerational equity: the "weak sustainability" perspective and the "strong sustainability" perspective. From the "weak" perspective, intergenerational equity would be achieved if losses to the environment that future generations face were offset by gains in economic progress (as measured by contemporary mechanisms/metrics). From the "strong" perspective, no amount of economic progress (or as measured by contemporary metrics) can justify leaving future generations with a degraded environment. According to Professor Sharon Beder, the "weak" perspective is undermined by a lack of knowledge of the future, as we do not know which intrinsically valuable resources will not be able to be replaced by technology.[37] We also do not know to what extent environmental damage is irreversible. Further, more harm cannot be avoided to many species of plants and animals.[37]

Other scholars contest Beder's point of view. Professor Wilfred Beckerman insists that "strong sustainability" is "morally repugnant", particularly when it overrides other moral concerns about those alive today.[38] Beckerman insists that the optimal choice for society is to prioritize the welfare of current generations – albeit, depending e.g. on lifespans, these are also affected by unsustainability – above future generations. He suggests placing a discount rate on outcomes for future generations when accounting for generational equity.[38] Beckerman is extensively criticized by Brian Barry[39] and Nicholas Vrousalis.[40]

Still others have criticized the economistic foundations of environmental debates about intergenerational equity and longtermism. For example, anthropologist Vincent Ialenti has called for a "more textured, multifaceted, multidimensional longtermism that defies insular information silos and disciplinary echo chambers."[41]

Standards of living usage

Discussions of intergenerational equity in standards of living reference differences between people of different ages or of different generations. Two perspectives on intergenerational equity in living standards have been distinguished by Rice, Temple, and McDonald.[9] The first perspective – a "cross-sectional" perspective – focuses how living standards at a particular point in time vary between people of different ages. The relevant issue is the degree to which, at a particular point in time, people of different ages enjoy equal living standards. The second perspective – a "cohort" perspective – focuses on how living standards over a lifetime vary between people of different generations. For intergenerational equity, the relevant issue becomes the degree to which people of different generations enjoy equal living standards over their lifetimes.[9]

Three indicators of intergenerational equity in standards of living have been proposed by d'Albis, Badji, El Mekkaoui, and Navaux.[8] Their first indicator originates from a cross-sectional perspective and describes the relative situation of an age group (retirees) with respect to the situation of another age group (younger people). Their second indicator originates from a cohort perspective and compares the living standards of successive generations at the same age. D'Albis, Badji, El Mekkaoui, and Navaux's third indicator is a combination of the two previous criteria and is both an inter-age indicator and an intergenerational indicator.[8] Further indicators of intergenerational equity have been developed by Rice, Temple, McDonald, and Wilson.[10][11]

In Australia, notable equality has been achieved in living standards, as measured by consumption, among people between the ages of 20 and 75 years.[9] Substantial inequalities exist, however, between different generations, with older generations experiencing lower living standards in real terms at particular ages than younger generations. One way to illustrate these inequalities is to look at how long different generations took to achieve a level of consumption of $30,000 per year (2009–10 Australian dollars). At one extreme, people born in 1935 achieved this level of consumption when they were roughly 50 years of age, on average. At the other extreme, Millennials born in 1995 had achieved this level of consumption by the time they were around 10 years of age.[9]

Considerations such as this have led some scholars to argue that standards of living have tended to increase generation over generation in most countries, as development and technology have progressed. When taking this into account, younger generations may have inherent privileges over older generations, which may offset the redistribution of wealth towards older generations.[42]

Health and wellbeing

A wide range of health measures, both objective and subjective, can be used to discuss how to prioritize wellbeing across generations. One such measure seeks to help everyone achieve a certain level of health for a 'fair' period of time in their life, even if it means sacrificing some efficiency in the health care system.[43]

Elder care

Professor Steven Wisensale describes the burden on current working age adults in developed economies, who must care for more elderly parents and relatives for a longer period of time. This problem is exacerbated by the increasing involvement of women in the workforce, and by the dropping fertility rate, leaving the burden for caring for parents, as well as aunts, uncles, and grandparents, on fewer children.[44] In systems with weak social security systems, this also impacts the wellbeing of the elderly who may have fewer caretakers than are optimal.[45]

See also

References

  1. ↑ McMullan, Sarah (August 5, 2017). "The Big Read: Generation wars". Herald Scotland.
  2. ↑ Summers, J. K.; Smith, L. M. (October 2014). "The Role of Social and Intergenerational Equity in Making Changes in Human Well-Being Sustainable". Ambio. 43 (6): 718–728. doi:10.1007/s13280-013-0483-6. ISSN 0044-7447. PMC 4165836. PMID 24402649.
  3. ↑ (2005) "Economics of Intergenerational Equity in Transition Economies" Archived 2011-10-02 at the Wayback Machine The PIE International Workshop (10–11 March 2005)
  4. ↑ Thompson, J. (May 2003) Research Paper no. 7 2002-03 Intergenerational Equity: Issues of Principle in the Allocation of Social Resources Between this Generation and the Next Archived 2011-06-05 at the Wayback Machine. Social Policy Group for the Parliament of Australia.
  5. ↑ Gosseries, Axel (November 26, 2008). "Theories of intergenerational justice: a synopsis". S.A.P.I.EN.S. Surveys and Perspectives Integrating Environment and Society. 1 (1) – via journals.openedition.org.
  6. ↑ Carter, Neil. (2005) Core Principles of Sustainable Development Archived 2012-05-24 at the Wayback Machine Cambridge University Press. Fathom.com
  7. ↑ d'Albis, Hippolyte; Badji, Ikpidi (2017). "Intergenerational inequalities in standards of living in France" (PDF). Économie et Statistique / Economics and Statistics. 491–492: 71–92. doi:10.24187/ecostat.2017.491d.1906.
  8. 1 2 3 d'Albis, Hippolyte; Badji, Ikpidi; El Mekkaoui, Najat; Navaux, Julien (2020). "Private asset income in France: Is there a breakdown of intergenerational equity between 1979 and 2011?" (PDF). Journal of the Economics of Ageing. 17 (100137): 100137. doi:10.1016/j.jeoa.2017.11.002. S2CID 158450251.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Rice, James M.; Temple, Jeromey B.; McDonald, Peter F. (2017). "Private and public consumption across generations in Australia" (PDF). Australasian Journal on Ageing. 36 (4): 279–285. doi:10.1111/ajag.12489. hdl:11343/253838. PMID 29205845. S2CID 21715593.
  10. 1 2 Rice, James Mahmud; Temple, Jeromey B.; McDonald, Peter F. (2021). "Intergenerational inequality and the intergenerational state". Journal of Population Research. 38 (4): 367–399. doi:10.1007/s12546-021-09273-1. S2CID 239233692.
  11. 1 2 Rice, James Mahmud; Wilson, Tom; Temple, Jeromey B.; McDonald, Peter (2022). "The impact of demographic and economic change on the Australian generational economy: Financial sustainability, intergenerational inequality, and material living standards". Frontiers in Public Health. 10: 798298. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2022.798298. PMC 9237328. PMID 35774565. S2CID 249628645.
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  13. ↑ Elle Hunt (2021-03-19). "'Can you help me?': The quiet desperation of New Zealand's housing crisis". The Guardian.
  14. ↑ David Willetts (2019-07-03). "Intergenerational warfare: Who stole the millennials' future?". Financial Times.
  15. ↑ Meyer, Lukas (2021), "Intergenerational Justice", in Zalta, Edward N. (ed.), The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Summer 2021 ed.), Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, retrieved 2023-06-29
  16. ↑ Benforado, Adam (2023). "Chapter 1". A minor revolution: how prioritizing kids benefits us all (First ed.). New York: Crown. ISBN 978-1-9848-2304-5.
  17. ↑ Koirala, Pankaj; Timilsina, Raja Rajendra; Kotani, Koji (January 2021). "Deliberative Forms of Democracy and Intergenerational Sustainability Dilemma". Sustainability. 13 (13): 7377. doi:10.3390/su13137377. ISSN 2071-1050.
  18. ↑ Spencer, Llinos Haf; Lynch, Mary; Thomas, Gwenlli Mair; Edwards, Rhiannon Tudor (2023-02-11). "Intergenerational Deliberations for Long Term Sustainability". Challenges. 14 (1): 11. doi:10.3390/challe14010011. ISSN 2078-1547.
  19. ↑ Beckman, Ludvig; Uggla, Fredrik (2016-12-22), González-Ricoy, Iñigo; Gosseries, Axel (eds.), "An Ombudsman for Future Generations", Institutions For Future Generations, Oxford University Press, pp. 117–134, doi:10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198746959.003.0007, ISBN 978-0-19-874695-9, retrieved 2023-11-05
  20. ↑ Gardiner, Stephen M. (2022). "On the Scope of Institutions for Future Generations: Defending an Expansive Global Constitutional Convention That Protects against Squandering Generations". Ethics & International Affairs. 36 (2): 157–178. doi:10.1017/S089267942200017X. ISSN 0892-6794. S2CID 251232018.
  21. ↑ Goetzmann, William. "Financing Civilization". viking.som.yale.edu. Archived from the original on 20 March 2018. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  22. ↑ Tobin, James (1974) "What is Permanent Endowment Income?" American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 64(2), pages 427-432, May.
  23. ↑ "Debt Is (Mostly) Money We Owe to Ourselves". The New York Times. 28 December 2011. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  24. ↑ Baker, Dean. "David Brooks Is Projecting His Self Indulgence Again". cepr.net. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  25. ↑ Krugman, Paul (28 March 2013). "Opinion - Cheating Our Children". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 April 2018.
  26. ↑ Huntley, Jonathan (July 27, 2010). "Federal debt and the risk of a fiscal crisis". Congressional Budget Office: Macroeconomic Analysis Division. Retrieved February 2, 2011.
  27. ↑ Canada, Geoffrey; Warsh, Stanley Druckenmiller And Kevin (2013-02-15). "Canada, Druckenmiller and Warsh: Generational Theft Needs to Be Arrested". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2023-06-29.
  28. 1 2 Michael Doran (2008). “Intergenerational Equity in Fiscal Policy Reform”. Tax Law Review. 61: 241-293
  29. ↑ Gramling, Carolyn (1 October 2021). "2020 babies may suffer up to seven times as many extreme heat waves as 1960s kids". Science News. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  30. ↑ Thiery, Wim; Lange, Stefan; Rogelj, Joeri; Schleussner, Carl-Friedrich; Gudmundsson, Lukas; Seneviratne, Sonia I.; Andrijevic, Marina; Frieler, Katja; Emanuel, Kerry; Geiger, Tobias; Bresch, David N.; Zhao, Fang; Willner, Sven N.; Büchner, Matthias; Volkholz, Jan; Bauer, Nico; Chang, Jinfeng; Ciais, Philippe; Dury, Marie; François, Louis; Grillakis, Manolis; Gosling, Simon N.; Hanasaki, Naota; Hickler, Thomas; Huber, Veronika; Ito, Akihiko; Jägermeyr, Jonas; Khabarov, Nikolay; Koutroulis, Aristeidis; Liu, Wenfeng; Lutz, Wolfgang; Mengel, Matthias; Müller, Christoph; Ostberg, Sebastian; Reyer, Christopher P. O.; Stacke, Tobias; Wada, Yoshihide (8 October 2021). "Intergenerational inequities in exposure to climate extremes". Science. 374 (6564): 158–160. Bibcode:2021Sci...374..158T. doi:10.1126/science.abi7339. PMID 34565177. S2CID 237942847.
  31. ↑ Mel, Svein Inge. "People over 60 are greenhouse gas emission 'bad guys'". Norwegian University of Science. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  32. ↑ Zheng, Heran; Long, Yin; Wood, Richard; Moran, Daniel; Zhang, Zengkai; Meng, Jing; Feng, Kuishuang; Hertwich, Edgar; Guan, Dabo (March 2022). "Ageing society in developed countries challenges carbon mitigation". Nature Climate Change. 12 (3): 241–248. Bibcode:2022NatCC..12..241Z. doi:10.1038/s41558-022-01302-y. hdl:11250/3027882. ISSN 1758-6798. S2CID 247322718.
  33. ↑ Chemerinsky, Erwin (July 11, 2016). "Citizens Have a Right to Sue for Climate Change Action". New York Times. Retrieved April 28, 2017.
  34. ↑ Juliana v. United States, First Amended Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief United States District Court, District of Oregon - Eugene Division, filed 9/10/15
  35. ↑ Juliana v. United States, Opinion and Order In the United States District Court for the District of Oregon Eugene Division, issued 11/10/16
  36. ↑ Hannam, Peter (2014-05-19). "'Selling out future generations': Christine Milne rounds on Tony Abbott over climate change". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2023-06-29.
  37. 1 2 Sharon Beder, 'Costing the Earth: Equity, Sustainable Development and Environmental Economics', New Zealand Journal of Environmental Law, 4, 2000, pp. 227-243.
  38. 1 2 Beckerman, Wilfred. "'Sustainable Development': Is it a Useful Concept?" Environmental Values 3, no. 3, (1994): 191–209. doi:10.3197/096327194776679700.
  39. ↑ Brian Barry, 'Sustainability and Intergenerational Justice', in Dobson (1999) (Ed) Fairness and Futurity.
  40. ↑ Nicholas Vrousalis, 'Intergenerational Justice: A Primer', Institutions for Future Generations, A. Gosseries & I. Gonzalez (eds.), Oxford University Press 2016, pp. 49–64.
  41. ↑ Ialenti, Vincent (2020). Deep time reckoning: how future thinking can help Earth now. One planet. Cambridge: MIT press. ISBN 978-0-262-53926-5.
  42. ↑ Gruber, Jonathan (2016). Public Finance and Public Policy Fifth Edition. Massachusetts, United States: Massachusetts Institute of Technology. ISBN 978-0716786559.
  43. ↑ Williams, A. (1997) "Intergenerational equity: An exploration of the 'fair innings' argument." Health Economics. 6(2):117-32.
  44. ↑ Steven K. Wisensale PhD (2005) Aging Societies and Intergenerational Equity Issues, Journal of Feminist Family Therapy, 17:3-4, 79-103, doi:10.1300/J086v17n03_05
  45. ↑ Willian, Caroline (March 27, 2017). "Sang-Hyop Lee on the middle-income trap and demographic crisis in East Asia". Asia Experts Forum.

Further reading

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