Intergenerational Solidarity (PDF)

MARIA CRUZ-SACO PhD is Professor of Economics at Connecticut College, USA. She has been a frequent consultant to the Inter American Development Bank and the US Agency for International Development regarding social security, pension, and insurance programs in Guatemala and Peru. 

SERGEI ZELENEV is Chief of the Social Integration Branch, Division for Social Policy and Development, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, United Nations, USA.

"Changing ties among generations caused by migration of working-age adults, aging populations, increased reliance on non-family caregivers, and government pension programs raise serious issues concerning how to protect and support young and old dependent groups. This important collection of essays identifies tensions and proposes methods for improving relations among generations such that the needs of each are addressed rather than producing inter-generational conflict. The volume is a significant interdisciplinary contribution to dealing with divisions that have become salient in countries around the world." - Susan S. Fainstein, Professor of Urban Planning at Harvard University and author of The Just City

"An international group of experts in the most varied disciplines combine their efforts in this book to make an urgent call for strengthening our understanding of intergenerational solidarity. In acknowledging the multiplicity of factors involved, the authors unlock some rich responses to the challenges of aging, climate change, the evolution of families, and the sustainability of life styles supported by inequality, to name a few. Not only educators and researchers will find pearls of wisdom in this collection. Health care practitioners, social service providers, and policy makers, and anyone with responsibilities in the public arena will learn how their efforts could be organized meaningfully around a process that impacts all of us." - Gonzalo Bacigalupe, EdD, MPH, Ikerbasque Research Professor, University of Deusto, Bilbao, Spain

"based on solid arguments and rigorous analysis, this book is a splendid example of the high value that solidarity among generations carries for everyone in society, making it a truly shared society, a society for all." - Wim Kok, former Prime Minister of the Netherlands and President of the Club de Madrid

"This is an important volume that addresses a set of issues facing virtually all societies today - the