The issue of generational transfers is growing in importance. Populations are ageing, placing an increasing burden on provision of pensions, health care and other welfare services. In many nations the imbalance between a growing, older generation, supported by a shrinking younger generation, has fuelled debates about intergenerational justice. The key argument being that political and institutional developments over the last century have been to the advantage of older generations at the expense of current younger and future generations. But this only addresses half of the story, neglecting the flows of resources, through private, family channels. One key response to the growing fiscal problem of ageing societies has been to focus responsibility on self-funding and familial support. The growth of asset values, particularly housing, which are concentrated among the elderly, underpin such strategies. But this exposes new risks as potentially extractable resources are determined by wider fluctuations in the economy, and housing markets in particular. Clearly, these cohort effects, and responses to them, play out differently in different national developmental settings, depending on long-run patterns of economic, social and demographic change. This collection address these issues and provides original insights across different international contexts. The collection focusses on financial and non-financial transfers, generational interdependencies, and the role of labour and housing markets in welfare support, set against the changing economic landscape following the Great Financial Crisis of 2007. Although institutional and national differences exist the key emerging issues are the same: the financial and welfare challenges of supporting aging in societies; inequalities in the availability of assets across individuals, families and nations; and the extent to which private asset accumulation can support families over the life course. Drawing from examples across European countries, this collection will nonetheless be relevant to researchers and policy makers in other nations addressing the complexities of providing welfare across the life course in the face of restricted financial resources.

This book explores generation as both a reference to family or kinship structures, and a reference to cohorts or age sets. The principal objective is branching out this two-part concept through studies of tensions and solidarity within and between generations of advanced and robust welfare states. Answering key questions using multiple disciplinary approaches, the book considers how generations challenge advanced and robust welfare states; how new and young generations are affected by living in an advanced welfare state with older generations; how tensions or solidarity are understood when facing challenges; and what the key characteristics are of certain generation types. It contributes to the development of a more comprehensive generation approach within social sciences by developing the concept of generation by exploring different challenges to the welfare state such as migration, digitalization, environmental damages, demands for sustainability, and marginalization. Highlighting the escalating tensions and altered versions of solidarity between generations, this book shows how a comprehensive concept of a generation can create new insights into how we collectively coordinate and resolve challenges through the welfare state. It will be of interest to all scholars and students of social policy, sociology, political science, and social anthropology.

This authoritative text offers the first comprehensive analysis of intergenerational relations and social welfare. It examines both the micro-sociological relations within the family and the social contract which forms the backbone of the welfare state.; This book is intended to appeal to undergraduates and postgraduates in sociology, social policy and medicine and it will also be particularly useful for professional courses such as nursing, social work and gerontology.

This timely book critically examines the European Social Model as a contested concept and concrete set of European welfare and governance arrangements. It offers a theoretical and empirical analysis of new economic models and existing European investment strategies to address key issues within post-Covid-19 Europe.

The ageing of Western societies has provoked extensive sociological debate, surrounding both the role of the state and whether it can afford the cost of an ageing population, and the role of the family, especially women, in supporting older people. In this important book, the authors examine how changes, such as cuts in welfare provision, migration, urbanization and individualisation influence intergenerational relations. The collection addresses theoretical and policy issues connecting age and generation with the family and social policy, and focuses both on cross-cultural comparison within societies and analysis based on a range of societies. This edited collection brings together a range of leading researchers and theorists from across Europe to advance a sociological understanding of generational relations, in terms of the state and the family and how they are interlinked. It will be of interest to academics and researchers in sociology, social policy and ageing, and to policy makers concerned with the implications of demographic and policy changes.

Offering fresh insights into the key emerging issues in the field, including the changing socio-economic contexts brought about by the rise of the millennial generation and the creative class, the Covid-19 pandemic, and a greater emphasis on social responsibility, this forward-looking Research Agenda critically debates and rethinks theories and practices in the property sector.

Presenting the evolution of supplementary pensions over the past 25 years, this comprehensive book introduces the origin of pensions as a concept and explores the role that international organisations play within the field. It draws comparisons between different welfare states, reflecting upon current research and identifying new directions and ideas.