Replication Data for Government spending preferences over the life-cycle: A comprehensive overview

Do seniors have different government spending preferences than younger people? The literature on this topic has been limited so far to a few policies or to short periods of time, which makes it difficult to provide a comprehensive answer to this question. Using data from Canadian surveys conducted between 1987 and 2019 and covering fifteen policies, I find that seniors are more favourable to the status quo when it comes to government spending. Results also show that support for education spending decreases extensively over the life-cycle, while support for environment spending decreases until middle-age, then stabilizes. In contrast, support for transportation spending is more widespread in older age, while support for elderly services takes an inverted U-shape over the life-cycle. These findings broaden our understanding of the influence of age on government spending preferences and allow us to stipulate about the consequences of a growing senior electorate on government budgets.