The Generational Welfare Contract

Justice, Institutions and Outcomes

Simon Birnbaum, Associate Professor of Political Science, Department of Political Science, Stockholm University and Institute for Futures Studies, Stockholm, Tommy Ferrarini, Associate Professor of Sociology, Swedish Institute for Social Research, Stockholm University, Kenneth Nelson, Full Professor of Sociology, Swedish Institute for Social Research, Stockholm University and Joakim Palme, Professor of Political Science, Department of Government, Uppsala University, Sweden

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This groundbreaking book brings together perspectives from political philosophy and comparative social policy to discuss generational justice. Contributing new insights about the preconditions for designing sustainable, inclusive policies for all of society, the authors expose the possibilities of supporting egalitarian principles in an aging society through balanced generational welfare contracts.

‘The Generational Welfare Contract provides an innovative conceptualization of social policy that is extremely well suited to the study of individual life courses and demographic change.’
– Elizabeth Thomson, Stockholm University, Sweden and University of Wisconsin-Madison, US

‘This deeply insightful book blends perspectives from political philosophy and comparative social policy to generate theoretical insights on generational justice to guide a nuanced empirical analysis of 18 economically developed OECD countries. It demonstrates the significance of the generational welfare contract, reflected in welfare state institutional structures, as a mediating factor linking demographic, socio-economic and political drivers with outcomes. Importantly, it incorporates a generational justice focus in welfare state analysis without downplaying other factors including social class and gender.’
——朱莉娅·奥康纳,阿尔斯特大学versity, UK

‘Adopting a life course perspective, this book is the first ever to systematically analyse the degree of generational balance in nations’ social policies. This is a fundamental issue, not only from a social justice perspective, but also for the political legitimacy and long-term sustainability of a welfare state. The Generational Welfare Contract is arguably the single most important welfare state study in our times. And it is one of those rare groundbreaking contributions that is destined to (re-)define social policy research for many years to come.’
– Gøsta Esping-Andersen, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Spain