Reallocation of resources across age in a comparative European setting

We investigate the reallocation of resources across age and gender in a comparative European setting. Our analysis is based on the NTA methodology, NTA-data, as well as on income data from the European Survey of Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) and data from the Multinational Time Use Study (MTUS). The aggregate NTA life cycle deficit is introduced as a concept of an economic dependency ratio that allows for flexible age limits and age specific levels of economic dependency. We move beyond the current NTA methodology and study gender differences in the generation of income and extend our analysis by unpaid household work. We combine paid work as well as unpaid household work into a measure for total production and consumption at each age and by gender. Our results clearly indicate that a reform of the welfare system needs to take into account not only public transfers but also private transfers, in particular those that relate to services produced within the household for own consumption.