Sustainable Welfare: Rethinking the Roles of Family, Market and State (SUSTAINWELL)
Current research studies (work in progress)
Commissioned by: European Commission, Framework Programme
Study by: Austrian Institute of Economic Research – University of Barcelona
SUSTAINWELL addresses the long-term socio-economic impact of population ageing on European society. The aims of this project
will be to identify: first, opportunities arising from longer and healthy life expectancy and in general from the silver economy;
second, resilient responses from individuals and households (in market and non-market outcomes) and from other actors in society
facing the challenges posed by ageing; third, the impact of ageing on inequality (both within and between generations), knowing
that social cohesion is crucial to face the ageing challenge; fourth, gender and lifecycle balanced policies helping the sandwich-generation
to sustain baby-boomers entering retirement, without decreasing fertility nor investment in education. Particular attention
will be devoted to the role of job design to foster intergenerational complementarities in the labour market. To better understand
the benefits of living longer, SUSTAINWELL will take a holistic perspective by: investigating the behavioural reactions in
key lifetime decisions along the lifecycle (education, skills, fertility, work effort, home production, savings and retirement)
and the decision process itself leading to prosocial behaviour; and accounting for the three ways to provide welbeing along
the lifecycle (market, family and welfare state). Both dimensions will be analysed by extending the National Transfer Accounts
method (using comparable EU datasets) to be incorporated as inputs in a dynamic microsimulation comparative model quantifying
the future of ageing societies. The project will take a new multidisciplinary approach in different basic (Neuroscience) and
social sciences (Economics, Demographics, Sociology and Political Science). The results of the project will be pursued in
permanent contact with stakeholders, to deliver knowledge and evidence-based policy measures by applying a participatory design
and co-creation activities.
Research group:Labour Economics, Income and Social Security