Generational Equality in Iceland

This paper presents generational accounts for Iceland over the period 1994–1998. A longer analysis period allows us to assess whether the economic boom during the latter part of the 1990s was more favourable to current- or future generations. We find that the restrictive government policy of the period moved the economy towards intergenerational equality. We also examine the generational impact of a resource tax for the exploitation of the Icelandic fishing grounds, using the revenue to cover the government’s unfunded pension liabilities. Finally, we employ Monte Carlo analysis to assess the sensitivity of the accounts to changes in the discount- and growth rate.