Political and business leaders in emerging economies frequently boast that their countries' young, fast-growing populations are a boon for investment and output. But while it is true that the declining size of the workforce in developed societies is imposing ever larger financial and social burdens, does it follow that more youthful societies will prosper?
- Adair Turner points out that the world young people inhabit is increasingly one in which the jobs they need are being lost to automation.
- Changyong Rhee worries that Asia's rapidly aging societies are at risk of growing old before becoming rich.
- Bill Emmott argues that any country committed to transferring billions of dollars to citizens for decades-long retirement periods risks bankruptcy or, at best, stagnation.
