Diminishing Prospects for Young People: A Comparison of the Intergenerational Fairness Index and Generational Divide Index in Addressing the Problem

Abstract

This paper focuses on the origins of the generational divide, namely, the unsustainability of national policies that have disproportionately benefitted the older generations to the detriment of younger generations. Much of southern Europe remains mired by unacceptably high rates of youth unemployment, which leaves an indelible scar on young people, poses economic problems for future generations, and threatens the European economies competitiveness. This paper outlines and compares the objectives, methodologies and results of two cutting-edge approaches in identifying the extent of these generational imbalances, namely: the Intergenerational Foundation’s Intergeneration Fairness Index (IFI) and the Bruno Visentini Foundation’s Generational Divide Index (GDI). The findings outline the differing objectives and methodologies of these respective approaches. Although both instruments arrive at broadly similar conclusions, (i.e. young people’s diminishing prospects over time) there are palpable differences in the results. This is attributable to IFI and GDI’s different aims and objectives: IFI is mainly helpful for country comparisons and GDI for fixing country-specific targets.