Age and Propensity to Abuse Welfare Benefits

Abstract

In this paper, we examine the relationship between chronological age and the propensity to abuse welfare benefits. Previous research on sickness absence suggests that younger workers are much more likely to abuse it than older workers. The question is whether this relationship is specific to sickness absence or whether it is a general pattern that also applies to other benefits. The aim of the research was to find out whether there are significant differences in this respect between different age groups (young, mature and old persons). The data for the statistical analysis came from a representative CAWI survey conducted among a sample of 1,512 adult residents of Poland, in which respondents were asked to what extent they would justify various irregularities in the use of welfare benefits. A series of non-parametric analyses of variance (Kruskal-Wallis test) were used to identify differences between the groups. The results confirm that older people differ significantly from younger people in their acceptance of abuse. The higher the age category, the lower the consent for irregularities. The results provide a picture of moral permissiveness across age groups, but do not allow us to determine how attitudes to abuse change over the life cycle. This is because it is not known whether the diagnosed intergroup differences are due to an age effect or rather a generation effect.