Federica Bertocchi

The essay analyzes the current debate about intergenerational equity. The debate originated in the United States in the Eighties as a reflection on some deep socio-demographic shifts of Western societies, the so-called third social demographic transition (in particular the ageing of the population and the falling of birthrates). In this situation, more and more resources are devoted to benefit older generations while shares available to future generations are in danger. After a brief description of the paradigms that have emerged in the debate about intergenerational equity (the sustainability paradigm, the entitlements paradigm and the relational paradigm), the essay analyzes Welfare State reforms, paying special attention to the suggestion to privatize the Social Security System. In the end, the author presents some proposal aimed at tackling the generational equity problem in a relational perspective.