This paper explores the issue of the fiscal burden of population aging in Canada over the period from 2004 to 2026 by introducing a new methodological tool and using an approach that (a) is comprehensive with respect to government revenues and expenditures, (b) uses a fine disaggregation of government revenues and expenditures, and (c) integrates demographic, economic, and fiscal developments. The results indicate that the concerns about the ability of the existing fiscal system to withstand the pressures of population aging are unfounded. They indicate that, in the absence of an economic collapse, the existing fiscal structure will be able to handle the fiscal pressures of population aging. Instead of letting a nonexistent problem drive the course of fiscal policy in Canada, it would be more profitable to focus on avenues for making the fiscal structure a more effective tool for economic growth and human development. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2007Population aging, Fiscal burden, Dependency ratios, Fiscal dependency,

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

There is a concern in many countries that projected increases in the population age sixty-five and older will impose unsustainable burdens on future generations. These fiscal pressures are often expressed with reference to population dependency ratios. The authors argue that concerns about fiscal sustainability may be legitimate, but the use of population dependency ratios as indicators of fiscal pressures is not. They develop an approach to this issue that includes (1) a comprehensive coverage of the public sector, (2) a new methodology for capturing the fiscal effects of population aging, and (3) the integration of demographic, economic, and fiscal variables. This approach is applied to the Canadian fiscal system for the period from 2002-2003 to 2025- 2026. The results indicate that the current fiscal system is sustainable over the long run and does not incorporate intergenerational inequities.