This is an essay which risks displeasing those who love to oppose old and young, boomers and generations counter-arguments with scientific rigor, in his new work, Economy of the Ages of Life (Odile Jacob, 318 pages, 23.90 euros).
First demonstration: it wasn’t better before. The researcher worked with his team on original accounting, which defines and quantifies “all the transfers which underlie the links between generations”, whether they come from the State, the family or the market – whereas the figures usually cited in the public debate only concern public transfers. And the conclusion is therefore that, no, “it was not better before”.
Each generation, Hippolyte d’Albis demonstrates, has seen its standard of living improve compared to the previous one: on the other hand, this increase in the standard of living has declined over the past fifteen years, accompanying the slowing trend in economic growth. Just as each generation – at least in France, for the moment – lives longer and in better health than the previous one.
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Second demonstration: it is absurd to count public transfers such as retirement pensions that the elderly receive, without weighing up what they in turn pass on to their offspring. “When we see the extreme attention that parents pay to their children, to their studies, to their happiness, the accusation of selfishness towards future generations is pure slander,” the author annoys. To this must be added, he recalls, what the State devotes to public policies in favor of young people.
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Originally published at Almouwatin.com
