Recession and the Aging Population

Particularly interesting article on Futurelab today on the effects of the recession being minuscule compared with population aging.

The International Monetary Fund estimates that the G 20 nations will, as a result of the recession, have increased their national debts by an average equivalent to nearly 25% of gross domestic product between 2007 and 2014. That is a lot of money.

BUT, to 2050, the cost of the economic crisis will be no more less than 5% of the financial impact created by the ageing of their populations. As the IMF says, “in spite of the large fiscal costs of the crisis, the major threat to long-term fiscal solvency is still represented, at least in advanced countries, by unfavourable demographic trends”.

More information is available in today’s FT. Looks like this recession isn’t the last of our world financial concerns. Hopefully the development of emerging technologies like AI and lunar mining help generate new industries and wealth. :)