Intertemporal Aspects of Fiscal Policy in Denmark

Using the device of generational accounting, this paper assesses the distribution of lifetime net tax payments acros gender and generations in Denmark. We find two significant imbalences associated with current fiscal policy. First, not only do men contribute a much larger share of their lifetime incomes to the government than women, womens' net payments are even negative. Second, in order to equalize the fiscal burdens on newborns and future generations, current fiscal policy would have to be tightened by an amount corresponding to almost 10 per cent of the labour income tax revenue in Denmark in 1992.