In a France where generational debate systematically pits young people against seniors, economist Hippolyte d’Albis reveals an opposite reality. His work “The Economics of Life Stages” establishes an unprecedented scientific discipline that precisely measures economic flows between generations. Result: living standards improve constantly from one generation to the next, and the state is transferring more and more resources toward young people.

Professor at the Paris School of Economics and member of the Council of Economic Analysis, d’Albis heads the French team of National Transfer Accounts, an accounting system developed under UN auspices. These accounts make it possible for the first time to map all financial flows between age groups: public spending, social contributions, family transfers, inheritances.

Young generations live better than their predecessors at the same age

D’Albis’s data demolish the myth of generational downward mobility. The standard of living of current 25-35 year-olds surpasses that of their parents at the same age. This improvement spans all sectors: housing, education, health, consumption.

The economist demonstrates that every French generation born since 1945 has experienced a higher standard of living than the previous one. Millennials, often presented as sacrificed, benefit from greater real purchasing power than that of their thirty-something parents in the 1980s.

This progression is explained by productivity gains and the accumulation of human capital. Contrary to catastrophic discourse, French economic dynamics continue to produce intergenerational prosperity.

The state massively redistributes toward youth

The analysis of National Transfer Accounts reveals a shift in public policies. The French state now transfers more resources toward younger generations than it did previously.

National education mobilizes 6% of GDP, or 150 billion euros annually concentrated on ages 3-25. Added to this are family benefits, student housing assistance, and vocational integration programs. These public transfers to youth represent growing budgetary effort over the past forty years.

Simultaneously, pensions, long accused of absorbing all public resources, see their relative weight stabilize. The French pay-as-you-go pension system maintains a more robust balance between generations than alarming projections suggest.

Family transfers remain oriented downward

Beyond public action, French families massively transfer resources to their descendants. D’Albis quantifies these underrecognized flows: housing assistance, financing of studies, anticipated donations.

French parents devote on average 8% of their income to supporting their adult children until age 30. These private transfers complement public action and reinforce downward solidarity. Grandparents also participate through donations and assistance with real estate acquisition.

This mechanism contradicts the depiction of a society where young people exclusively finance their elders. Reality shows bidirectional flows with a net balance favorable to new generations.

The limits of a purely accounting approach

The economics of life stages brings welcome rigor to generational debate. It objectifies issues often buried in political emotion. But this accounting approach has blind spots.

D’Albis measures financial flows without fully integrating negative externalities. The ecological cost of past choices, public debt, labor market degradation do not translate directly into his transfer accounts.

The economist acknowledges these limitations without fully resolving them. His pioneering work opens a promising methodological path that will require enrichment to grasp the full complexity of intergenerational issues.

A new discipline to move beyond sterile oppositions

“The Economics of Life Stages” establishes a scientific discipline that was missing from French debate. By objectifying economic relations between generations, d’Albis offers a rigorous analytical framework for moving beyond caricatural oppositions.

This approach transforms understanding of demographic issues. It reveals the sophistication of French solidarity mechanisms and significantly nuances discourse on generational warfare. Data replaces impressions.

The impact of this work will extend beyond academic circles. It equips public decision-makers with unprecedented measurement tools and reframes a political debate often disrupted by approximations. Accounting rigor becomes an antidote to demagogic manipulations.

Sources: 1. Paris School of Economics - Hippolyte d’Albis Profile 2. French site of National Transfer Accounts 3. UN NTA Manual 4. INSEE - Education Spending 2023 5. Study on parental support for young people 6. Odile Jacob Editions - The Economics of Life Stages