| Abstract: | Canadian governments do not report how their spending breaks down by age. To help fill this void, we document a method to measure total annual social spending per capita for older and younger parts of the population. We estimate that governments combined in 2012 to spend between $33,321 and $40,152 per person age 65+, $13,635 and $14,800 per person age 45 to 64, and $10,406 and $11,614 per person under 45. Measuring the annual age distribution in social spending is necessary for evaluating Canadian commitments to intergenerational equity, and making policy adaptations to socioeconomic and demographic trends facing older and younger citizens. |
