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Accounting for Future Generations: Intergenerational Equity in Australia 1
Author(s) -
Bessant Judith C.,
Emslie Michael,
Watts Rob
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
australian journal of public administration
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.524
H-Index - 41
eISSN - 1467-8500
pISSN - 0313-6647
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8500.2011.00723.x
Subject(s) - intergenerational equity , equity (law) , neutrality , distributive justice , economic justice , sociology , privilege (computing) , economics , population ageing , law and economics , population , public economics , positive economics , accounting , political science , law , neoclassical economics , ecology , demography , sustainability , biology
Australian governments have published three intergenerational reports since 2002. In line with a general international trend these reports pointed to a problem said to arise from an ageing population which exposes Australia to the risk of a future major fiscal crisis. In this article we argue that by failing to use a generational accounting framework, the reports privilege the elderly at the expense of young people. Added to this, they fail to engage any discussion of intergenerational equity defined as distributive fairness and justice. In this article we explore the value of various approaches to intergenerational justice, focusing on the Principle of Intergenerational Neutrality derived from Rawls' theory of justice. We argue that this does not work as well from a policy point of view as Sen's freedom‐as‐capabilities approach. We conclude that linking Sen's approach to justice to a generational accounting will enable governments to address future issues of equity.