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Title: Social Generations, Life Chances and Welfare Regime Sustainability
Citation Type: Book, Section
Publication Year: 2006
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Abstract: The aim of this chapter is to examine the concept of social generation as it relates to the analysis of the distribution of well-being, and to compare American and French welfare regime dynamics. The French case is not unique in its generational imbalances; the United States also faces major generational imbalances. In previous publications on the social consequences of economic fluctuations, from the Trente glorieuses (1945-1975) to the Croissance ralentie (1975-today), I have demonstrated the existence in France of a generational cleavage (fracture gnrationnelle) between the generations born before 1955 (the early baby boom generations and the previous ones, who benefited most from the economic acceleration of the postwar period) and those born after 1955 (who are facing an economic slowdown, high youth unemployment, and the resulting social problems). Thus we find an insiderization of previous generations and an outsiderization of new ones. This generational cleavage is often denied by policymakers and in the public debate; however, the long-term implications of these generational dynamics could have major consequences for the stability of the welfare state. This cleavage may be less visible than those based on class, ethnic or gender inequalities, but it nevertheless alters the long-term sustainability of the system. After defining social generations, and briefly discussing some theories of generational dynamics, I will analyze the consequences of macroeconomic changes in the context of strong social regulation on the opportunities of successive generations. I will first consider the different dimensions of the generational cleavage in France and then discuss national specificities within a French-American comparison.
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Authors: Chauvel, Louis
Editors: Culpepper, Pepper D.; A.Hall, Peter; Palier, Bruno
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Volume Title: Changing France, The Politics that Markets Make
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan
Publisher Location: New York, NY
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Data Collections: IPUMS USA
Topics: Other, Poverty and Welfare
Countries: France