This highly topical book explores key issues in evaluating the long-run implications of population ageing for pensions, taxation, intergenerational equity and social welfare. Societies face long-term phenomena, such as demographic change and climate change that impose costs and benefits far into the future. These present challenges for policymakers in planning intertemporal consumption paths that balance the goals of efficiency and equity. An exploration of these issues, with respect to population ageing in particular, is the primary motivation for this book. John Creedy and Ross Guest evaluate these problems with a particular focus on the role of concepts, assumptions and value judgements. This book will be a fascinating read for researchers interested in the social evaluation of population ageing and climate change. Public policy makers and advisers will find the analysis of practical policy questions such as alternative regimes for taxing public pensions of special interest. Graduate students of macroeconomics and public economics will also find helpful discussions of social discounting, the efficiency and equity effects of tax smoothing, and potential new effects of population ageing on labour productivity.

This volume provides an important collection of recent papers on the macroeconomic effects of population ageing. The articles are focused into three categories which cover the main channels through which population ageing affects national living standards: productivity and growth; consumption and saving; and labour market and fiscal effects. The papers have been selected for their clear and valuable contributions to this field of study. The book will be an essential reference volume for academic and public sector economists, policy makers and demographers.