SUSTAINWELL provides new understanding and evidence-based recommendations for stakeholders and policymakers on the long-term impact, challenges, and opportunities of the ageing population concerning labour markets and welfare.
The demographic transition that has taken place over the last century with the gain in like expectancy and lower fertility is having many implications for societies which inevitably need to adapt their current structures. Ageing of the population increases public spending on welfare policies such as pensions, healthcare, and long-term care whilst its redistributive capacity is being limited. SUSTAINWELL analyses the interaction of the welfare state with the other resources available of provision: the market and the non-market activities of the private sector, which have proven to be crucial during the COVID-19 pandemic. The project explores inter- and intra-generational income inequality, which are important factors underlying social cohesion. The analysis also considers the inter-temporal effects of policy, including for example, the influences on human capital acquisition, birth rates, and overall productivity growth.
The SUSTAINWELL project has four specific objectives: (i) Determine the impact of welfare state transfers along the lifecycle; (ii) implement a dynamic microsimulation model for comparative projections by integrating NTA and EUROMOD; (iii) examine the individual and household decisions taken across the lifecycle, and its consequences; (iv) identify policy options for including a lifecycle perspective in welfare policies, leading to a balanced and sustainable welfare state model.
