Intergenerational inequality in the European Union increased during the economic crisis and policy measures are needed to address the gap between generations said Guntram Wolf, Director of Bruegel, the Brussels-based economic think-tank, at an EIB Institute seminar.

With an overall figure of almost 16% for the EU 27 between 2005 and 2015, the unemployment rate was much higher for 20-29-year-olds than for 30-49-year-olds (8%) and 50-64-year-olds (7%), he said. In most EU countries, “the old have experienced a substantial reduction in the rate of people at risk of poverty (AROP), while the young have seen a substantial increase,” he added. In many countries, governments under pressure during the crisis have implemented pension reforms, curtailing entitlements but favouring current over future pensioners, said Guntram Wolf.

Policy measures, such as labour market reforms, better fiscal policy coordination, adjusting contribution rates for the working population and benefit levels for pensioners, and reorienting government spending towards education and child care, are needed to address the intergenerational divide, M Wolf concluded.

Click here for the presentation.