Money Professor

From Stockholm to Seoul to Santiago, policymakers are looking for to hoist private savings in stock and bond funds, tempt young immigrant workers, find cheaper methods to provide elder solicitude , and persuade companies to hire or retain older workers. On their own, none of these approaches is seen as a practical solution: Germany would have to more than double its annual intake of 185,000 foreigners to make up for fewer births, while immigration to Japan, now just 56,000 a year, would have to spring eleven fold. And slashing pensions enough to guarantee long-term solvency would mean political suicide. But a combination of sensible changes might make a big difference.

Evolving nations with young and growing populations, meanwhile , face other exits . India is on pace to catch up and pass China’s 1.4 billion population in three decades , for example. The trouble is, 40% of Indians drop out of school by age 10. Efforts to greatly enlarge education could determine whether India is a future economic superpower or if it will be burdened with the world’s biggest population of poor illiterates. In Iran, detonation of educated youth now joining the workforce could fuel a takeoff — or foment political strife if there are no jobs.

Why the sudden attention to a demographic vogue that has been obvious for decades ? In part, it’s because the future is already dawning in many nations. In South Korea and Japan, which have strong cultural aversions to immigration , small factories , construction companies, and health clinics are relying more on “temporary” workers from the Philippines, Bangladesh, and Vietnam. In reality they are becoming permanent second-class citizens. In China’s northern industrial belt, state industries are struggling over how to lay off unneeded middle-age workers when there is no social safety net to support them.

Across Europe, meanwhile , baby boomers such as Jenny Fran