Are We Ready For The "Brave Old World"?

Beata Javorcik, Chief Economist of the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD) is the lead author of the EBRD’s landmark new report, “Brave Old World,” which lays out one of the defining long-term challenges of our time: the demographic reversal. Populations are aging, fertility rates are falling, and fiscal systems, whether in high-income economies or the global south, are coming under strain.

This week on The Call in our final episode of the year, Jay Sapsford asks Beata how governments can manage this transition, what an economy built on a shrinking workforce means for growth, how developed and emerging markets should prepare differently, and whether expectations for technology to fill the widening gap are realistic. As Javorcik notes in the report, “Meeting this challenge will require courage.”

The Call is a series of live video conversations featuring expert guests from the U.S. Chamber's Global Intelligence Desk. Live access to The Call is a benefit to the Chamber’s members; however, we are pleased to provide recordings of the calls for wider viewing thereafter. Information on membership is available here.