Intergenerational ambivalence: new perspectives on intergenerational relationships in the German welfare state

This paper deals with ambivalence in the working generation's attitudes towards the elder generation in the German welfare state. Whereas most researchers focus on either norms or self-interest in intergenerational relationships, ambivalence is widely neglected. Ambivalence denotes a simultaneous positive and negative evaluation of the elder generation. The theoretical framework is developed by combining two common perspectives on intergenerational relationships in the welfare state. The first is age-based self-interest that is often discussed in the context of ageing societies with scarce welfare state resources. The second perspective concerns the norms that individuals internalise when growing up both in society and in the family. Drawing on survey data from the Population Policy Acceptance Study in Germany, the empirical analysis first presents evidence of intergenerational ambivalence and, second, investigates whether the structural contradictions that confront individuals in certain situations cause ambivalent attitudes towards the elder generation. The findings show that the higher the structural contradictions of being young and holding strong societal norms towards the elder generation the higher the ambivalent attitude towards this group in the context of the welfare state

The Moral Economy of Intergenerational Redistribution in an Ageing Society: A Qualitative Analysis of Young Adults' Beliefs in the United States

In the USA, the largest generation, the Baby Boomers, is currently retiring and increasingly drawing from Old Age Social Security. In this context, young generations are said to be disadvantaged: they have to support a growing number of pensioners while expecting much lower pensions themselves. Drawing on 14 original semi-structured interviews with young US citizens aged 20-36, this study analyzes the moral economy of intergenerational redistribution - defined as normative beliefs and justifications of a just distribution of contributions and benefits between generations. The qualitative content analysis resorts to the four constituent institutional principles of intergenerational redistribution: deservingness (being qualified to receive support), reciprocity (mutual support between generations), equity (relation between in- and outputs for one generation) and equality (corresponding conditions for different generations). The first main finding is that the young hold multiple normative beliefs in favour of intergenerational redistribution. The second main finding is that different normative beliefs and justifications can compensate for feelings of injustice attributable to the consequences of an ageing society. The qualitative findings' contributions to the field of study that is dominated by quantitative studies are concluded. Implications for public support for intergenerational redistribution in the ageing society of the USA and other countries are discussed

Can We Improve the Measurement of Attitudes Towards the Welfare State? A Constructive Critique of Survey Instruments with Evidence from Focus Groups

There is a large and growing literature on welfare state attitudes, most of which is built on random-sample population surveys with standardised closed-question items. This article criticises the existing survey instruments, especially those that are used within the International Social Survey Programme, in a novel approach with focus group data from Germany. The article demonstrates: firstly, these instruments underestimate the inconsistency (the degree to which attitudes logically contradict each other), the uncertainty (the degree to which individuals are unsure about what to think), the ambivalence (the simultaneous occurrence of positive and negative reactions) and non-attitudes towards welfare state activities that common people have. Secondly, the meaning of these items to respondents seems to vary to such an extent that inference based on such measures is questionable. Finally, the article concludes by suggesting some survey instruments that alleviate these measurement problems

Expression of the Anti-amyloidogenic Secretase ADAM10 Is Suppressed by Its 5′-Untranslated Region*

Proteolytic processing of the amyloid precursor protein by α-secretase prevents formation of the amyloid β-peptide (Aβ), which is the main constituent of amyloid plaques in brains of Alzheimer disease (AD) patients. α-Secretase activity is decreased in AD, and overexpression of the α-secretase ADAM10 (a disintegrin and metalloprotease 10) in an AD animal model prevents amyloid pathology. ADAM10 has a 444-nucleotide-long, very GC-rich 5′-untranslated region (5′-UTR) with two upstream open reading frames. Because similar properties of 5′-UTRs are found in transcripts of many genes, which are regulated by translational control mechanisms, we asked whether ADAM10 expression is translationally controlled by its 5′-UTR. We demonstrate that the 5′-UTR of ADAM10 represses the rate of ADAM10 translation. In the absence of the 5′-UTR, we observed a significant increase of ADAM10 protein levels in HEK293 cells, whereas mRNA levels were not changed. Moreover, the 5′-UTR of ADAM10 inhibits translation of a luciferase reporter in an in vitro transcription/translation assay. Successive deletion of the first half of the ADAM10 5′-UTR revealed a striking increase in ADAM10 protein expression in HEK293 cells, suggesting that this part of the 5′-UTR contains inhibitory elements for translation. Moreover, we detect an enhanced α-secretase activity and consequently reduced Aβ levels in the conditioned medium of HEK293 cells expressing both amyloid precursor protein and a 5′-UTR-ADAM10 deletion construct lacking the first half of the 5′-UTR. Thus, we provide evidence that the 5′-UTR of ADAM10 may have an important role for post-transcriptional regulation of ADAM10 expression and consequently Aβ production

Attitudes Toward Intergenerational Redistribution in the Welfare State

Which motivations explain attitudes toward intergenerational redistribution? This study presents two perspectives. The first one is demographic aging where individuals' attitudes are influenced by short- and long-term self-interest. The second perspective is socialization into a certain institutional context where people internalize the reciprocity and the deservingness norms. Besides investigating the impact of these motivations, the empirical analysis assesses their relative importance for explaining attitudes toward intergenerational redistribution. The ordinary least-squares regression draws on data of the Attitudes Toward The Welfare State survey that was conducted in 2008 in Germany. The study investigates the working age group's attitude toward relative governmental spending for older people. The empirical analysis yields that people are motivated by long-term self-interest and hold the state responsible to protect them from the perceived future risk of old-age poverty. Also, norms of reciprocity and of deservingness are important to support intergenerational redistribution, whereas the latter seems to be the relatively most important motivation. We can take this as a sign of intergenerational cohesion that is relevant against the background of accelerating demographic aging and resulting pressure on institutions of intergenerational redistribution