January 2021
04Jan

China faces its biggest transformation to date

An ageing population, overreliance on investment and the shifting geopolitical landscape are key challenges as the Asian giant shifts gears, says David Dollar. China’s well-known story of spectacular growth, at around 10 per cent annually for 40 years, is coming to an end because of both domestic and global factors. In analysing China’s prospects for the next several decades, three particular challenges are striking: The shift from a labour-surplus to a labour-scarce society; the shift from investment to innovation as the...

January 4, 2021
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December 2020

18Dec

Study: Over 142 million people aged 60 years are unable to meet their basic daily needs

At least 14% of all people aged 60 years and over ̶ more than 142 million people ̶ are currently unable to meet all their basic daily needs according to the Baseline report for the Decade of Healthy Ageing, released by the World Health Organization today. Read also UN organizations launch new initiative to improve the lives of older people The Baseline report brings together data available for measuring healthy ageing, defined by WHO as "the...

December 18, 2020
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16Dec

UN organizations launch new initiative to improve the lives of older people

The United Nations General Assembly today declared 2021-2030 the Decade of Healthy Ageing. "Today's announcement of the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing sends a clear signal that it is only by working as one, within the United Nations system and with governments, civil society and the private sector, that we will be able to not only add years to life, but also life to years," said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization, in response to...

December 16, 2020
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11Dec

Latin America’s Lost Decades The Toll of Inequality in the Age of COVID-19

By Luis Alberto Moreno During the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, in March 2020, Guayaquil, Ecuador’s business capital of some three million people, was in trouble. By a twist of fate, more than 20,000 Ecuadorians had just returned home from their seasonal vacations. Many had come from Italy and Spain, two coronavirus hot spots, with the earliest and most deadly outbreaks of COVID-19. President Lenín Moreno understood that the threat was serious but opted, at first, not to close...

December 11, 2020
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10Dec

Aging China Must Work Longer and Invest Smarter

China is getting older. That means the Chinese people will have to work longer. But deeper reforms will also be necessary to ensure income growth doesn’t stagnate. Read also Asset management CEO arrested in Taiwan pension fund scandal The world’s most populous country has begun aging rapidly over the past decade, but the pace is going to pick up even more as tens of millions reach retirement age. The working population—people between the ages of 15 and 59—will drop by...

December 10, 2020
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08Dec

A silver lining for aging Asia

Many Asian economies will age more rapidly over the next several decades, including Hong Kong, Japan, mainland China, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. Asia’s working-age population peaked in 2015 and will gradually decline at an accelerating rate in the coming decades. By 2050, the elderly population in these countries on average is expected to increase to 27% from 7% in 1995. Reduced labor supply creates a drag on growth, but this can be mitigated by higher labor participation,...

December 8, 2020
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03Dec

Why economics needs to wake up to ageing populations

Economics generally pays surprisingly little attention to demography, even though the ageing and shrinking of the population in so many parts of the world is a striking and new phenomenon in human history. Take Italy. Last year the country recorded the smallest annual number of births since the Risorgimento of the mid-19th century and nearly a third of its population is over 60. There has been an absolute decline in the number of people in Italy since 2015, even...

December 3, 2020
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November 2020

23Nov

China to introduce new policies to tackle ageing population

China is planning to include new measures to encourage more births and address issues associated with its rapidly ageing population and shrinking workforce as part of its new 2021-2025 “five-year plan”, according to state media. Read also Malaysia is ageing, raise retirement age to 65 gradually, says World Bank Citing experts, the official China Daily newspaper said on Monday that the Chinese government will offer extensive financial and policy support to encourage couples to have more children. Read also Australia’s...

November 23, 2020
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17Nov

Building Better Retirement Systems in the Wake of the Global Pandemic

By Olivia S. Mitchell In the wake of the global pandemic known as COVID-19, retirees, along with those hoping to retire someday, have been shocked into a new awareness of the need for better risk management tools to handle longevity and aging. This paper offers an assessment of the status quo prior to the spread of the coronavirus, evaluates how retirement systems are faring in the wake of the shock. Next we examine insurance and financial market products that may...

November 17, 2020
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06Nov

How the pandemic is changing what retirement means to consumers: Survey

COVID-19 is having a fundamental impact on retirement, according to a study by Principal. One in five respondents said the effects of the pandemic were “changing the definition of retirement,” including 23% of people who were already retired. COVID-19 is having a fundamental impact on retirement, according to a study by Principal. One in five respondents said the effects of the pandemic were “changing the definition of retirement,” including 23% of people who were already retired. The study highlights...

November 6, 2020
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