Mind the (narrowing) gender gap: Implications of labour market changes for EU pension sustainability

Rocío Fernández-Bastidas and Jonathan Pycroft

Economic Modelling, 2025, vol. 151, issue C

Abstract: Gender disparities in the labour market in terms of employment rates and wages are widespread in EU countries. Historically, these gender gaps have been narrowing, significantly influencing the macroeconomy. This study employs a dynamic general equilibrium model populated by overlapping generations of men and women to evaluate the economic consequences of these trends continuing over the coming decades. We conduct a cross-country analysis focused on the fiscal sustainability of public pension systems. Our findings suggest that a continued reduction in gender gaps in the labour market could significantly mitigate the fiscal impact of population ageing. Quantitatively, the effects are comparable to reforms that increase the retirement age.

Keywords: Life cycle models; Intergenerational income distribution; Fiscal policy; Public pensions; Demographic trends; Economics of gender (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D15 E24 H31 H55 J11 J16 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0264999325001804
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecmode:v:151:y:2025:i:c:s0264999325001804

DOI: 10.1016/j.econmod.2025.107185

Access Statistics for this article

Economic Modelling is currently edited by S. Hall and P. Pauly

More articles in Economic Modelling from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().