Analyzing 30 OECD-countries between 1980-2010, this paper estimates the effect of an aging electorate on public expenditure on old age. The main outcome is that an increase in the age of the median voter is not significantly associated with more generous pensions. The second result is that an...

The political discourse on demographic change has gained momentum in many developed countries. Whereas in its beginning the discussion centred on the question of how to politically influence population ageing (e.g. by raising fertility rates), political decision makers now seem to be concerned...

Norway will face a fast maturing old age pension scheme over the 30 next years whereas oil revenues will supply only a part of implicit liabilities related to the present generation. This working paper examines the recently proposed new measures to strengthen long term fiscal sustainability in...

It has been widely recognized that population ageing could generate structural changes centered around a dwindling labor force, on one hand, and an expanding dependency on the generosity of the welfare state, on the other hand. Welfare state policy related to population ageing entails both...