Generational Accounting Around the World

by Auerbach, Alan J.; Kotlikoff, Laurence J.; Leibfritz, Willi; Kotlikoff, Laurence J.; Leibfritz, Willi

• ISBN13: 9780226032139
• ISBN10: 0226032132
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-06-01
• Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr

Summary

The realities of mounting government debt, tax burdens, and an aging population raise serious concerns about the financial legacy confronting future generations. How great a fiscal burden will current policies leave to subsequent generations, and how might changes in those policies alter the intergenerational distribution of public welfare? Generational accounting has recently emerged as a robust new method of fiscal analysis and planning designed to assess the long-term sustainability of fiscal policy and to measure the extent of the financial load ultimately borne by present and future generations. A seminal contribution to public economics, generational accounting has already been adopted by 23 nations around the world. Combining the latest and most extensive country-by-country generational analyses with a comprehensive review of generational accounting's innovative methodology, these papers are a consummate resource for economists, political scientists, and policy makers concerned with fiscal health and responsibility.

Table of Contents

Introduction	1	(8)
Alan J. Auerbach
Laurence J. Kotlikoff
Willi Leibfritz
1. From Deficit Delusion to the Fiscal Balance Rule: Looking for an Economically Meaningful Way to Assess Fiscal Policy	9	(22)
Laurence J. Kotlikoff
2. The Methodology of Generational Accounting	31	(12)
Alan J. Auerbach
Laurence J. Kotlikoff
3. Generational Accounting in General Equilibrium	43	(30)
Hans Fehr
Laurence J. Kotlikoff
4. An International Comparison of Generational Accounts	73	(30)
Laurence J. Kotlikoff
Willi Leibfritz
5. Argentina's Generational Accounts: Is the Convertibility Plan's Fiscal Policy Sustainable?	103	(38)
Marcelo F. Altamiranda
6. Generational Accounting in Australia	141	(20)
John Ablett
7. Generational Accounts for Belgium	161	(16)
Jean-Philippe Stijns
8. Generational Accounting in Brazil	177	(22)
Regina Villela Malvar
9. Canada: On the Road to Fiscal Balance	199	(20)
Philip Oreopoulos
10. Public Debt, Welfare Reforms, and Intergenerational Distribution of Tax Burdens in Denmark	219	(20)
Svend E. Hougaard Jensen
Bernd Raffelhuschen
11. Generational Accounting for France	239	(38)
Joaquim Levy
Ousmane Dore
12. Unification and Aging in Germany: Who Pays and When?	277	(22)
Bernd Raffelhuschen
Jan Walliser
13. Generational Accounts for Italy	299	(26)
Nicola Sartor
14. Generational Accounts for the Netherlands	325	(22)
A. Lans Bovenberg
Harry ter Rele
15. Generational Accounting in New Zealand	347	(22)
Bruce Baker
16. Generational Accounting and Depletable Natural Resources: The Case of Norway	369	(28)
Erling Steigum, Jr.
Carl Gjersem
17. Generational Accounts in Sweden	397	(16)
Robert P. Hagemann
Christoph John
18. Thailand's Generational Accounts	413	(34)
Nanak Kakwani
Medhi Krongkaew
19. Generational Accounting in Japan	447	(24)
Noriyuki Takayama
Yukinobu Kitamura
Hiroshi Yoshida
20. Generational Accounting in Portugal	471	(18)
Alan J. Auerbach
Jorge Braga de Macedo
Jose Braz
Laurence J. Kotlikoff
Jan Walliser
21. Generational Accounts for the United States: An Update	489	(30)
Jagadeesh Gokhale
Benjamin R. Page
John R. Sturrock
Contributors	519	(4)
Author Index	523	(4)
Subject Index	527