Ministry of Finance, Finland; Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, Finland; Global Coalition on Aging; Bank of Finland and Finance Finland:
Experts at Silver Economy Forum discuss the impact of demographic change on the economy

The second day of the Silver Economy Forum emphasised the impact of demographic changes on macroeconomic trends and economic policies.

Manoj Pradhan, Chief Economist at the macroeconomic research firm Talking Heads, accentuated the fundamental effects of ageing on our economies and societies.

“Demography will reverse some of the strongest economic trends we have seen over the last thirty years - some for the better, some for the worse and others are still unknown. The periods of solid growth mixed with persistently low or falling inflation and interest rates we have gotten used to may be increasingly rare going forward. What the future holds may be uncertain, but we can be sure it will look nothing like the past. The world needs to wake up to this challenge at the earliest”, said Pradhan.

“Demographic trends are reshaping the labor forces across many countries and leading economists and policymakers to rethink key macroeconomic parameters. Monetary policymakers, in particular, have had to reassess their views about the economy’s longer-run growth potential, the natural rate of unemployment, and the natural rate of interest”, stated Esther George, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

President George sees important shifts in the age and skill composition of the labor force as a result of an aging society as well as technological advancements that are shifting opportunities away from middle-skill occupations toward high- and low-skill occupations.

“The Silver Economy Forum shows that we need more dialogue between all the different stakeholders of ageing-related issues, including both public and private entities. I believe that the discussion here helps to pave the way in this regard”, concluded Martti Hetemäki, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, Finland.

"With public-private collaboration, we can give people more options to transform private wealth into purchasing power and at the same time alleviate fiscal pressures", says Piia-Noora Kauppi, Managing Director at Finance Finland.

What is the Silver Economy Forum?

The Silver Economy Forum is a unique joint endeavour of policy-makers, governments and businesses. It brings together more than 600 politicians, public officials, experts, researchers and business leaders. This is the first global high-level economic and policy forum on ageing with special focus on digitalisation and the deployment of new technologies. The Forum is co-organised by the Finnish Government, the Bank of Finland, Finance Finland and the Global Coalition on Aging (GCOA). The event is part of the official programme of Finland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union.

Inquiries:

Sarita Friman, Secretary General of the event, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health, tel. +358 295 163 349, [email protected]
Martti Salmi, Senior Adviser, Ministry of Finance, tel. +358 295 530 194, [email protected]
Elisa Newby, Head of Communications, Bank of Finland, tel. +358 9 1832632

wwww.thesilvereconomyforum.com