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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Young against old?
— What's really causing wealth inequality? | | Author(s) | James Lloyd |
| Corporate Author | Trades Union Congress - TUC |
| Publisher | TUC, London, 2015 |
| Pages | 48 pp (Touchstone pamphlet, 14) |
| Source | Trades Union Congress, Congress House, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3LS. Download: https://www.tuc.org.uk/sites/default/files/YoungagainstOld... |
| Keywords | Wealth ; Poverty ; Social economics ; Public expenditure ; Young people ; Age groups [elderly] ; Social policy. |
| Annotation | The idea that the fall in living standards experienced by some younger people in recent years are the result of 'older people hoarding all the wealth' is challenged. This discussion paper provides new insight and analysis for the UK debate on intergenerational fairness and how best to improve the long-term outlook for today's younger cohorts. It draws on research commissioned by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) from the Personal Finance Research Centre at the University of Bristol, using data from the UK Wealth and Assets Survey (WAS). It uses this evidence to critically examine some of the assumptions in public debate on intergenerational fairness and the wealthy old. For example, it asks whether pensioners are now the wealthiest group in society; whether age is the best predictor of household wealth; and can public spending on older people easily be cut or rationed? To sum up, would transfers from age-related public spending be an effective way of improving intergenerational fairness? The analysis concludes that although retirees are more likely to be wealthier than the youngest cohorts, it is adults in their 40s and 50s, high earners and homeowners who are most likely to be the wealthiest. Public policy should focus on measures that improve job security and earnings, and which distribute assets more fairly. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-150904002 E |
| Classmark | W7: W6: W4: WN8: SB: BB: TM2 |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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