The multiple dimensions of productive capacity are difficult to measure with scientific rigour. The recommendations presented in the conference papers can be grouped into three approaches. The first of these examines the age or lifetime distribution of taxes and transfers. Given the jurisdictional arrangements, this result is to be expected. However, older Canadians appear to benefit more from transfers.
Inequality is due more to differences within generations than between generations.
The second approach to estimating intergenerational equity which has won some legitimacy is generational accounting. It uses a simulation technique to examine the impact of government fiscal policy on current and future generations. Papers examined the sustainability of such policies as well as the long run impacts of reducing transfers. In general, the simulations show that the impact and the number of generations affected depend on the speed of cuts due to debt reduction and on the tax mix during the years of transition. The third approach examines intergenerational transmission of welfare through the family and the family's access to income, health, and education.