GBI: what are the implications of an ageing population for Business?

Résumé du document

At the beginning of the 21st century, governments, societies and the business activities of most developed countries will have to face the challenge that an ageing population presents. This trend is easily predictable thanks to a lot of demographic patterns, and must be seen as an opportunity for many organizations rather than a burden. This phenomenon raises questions about the effect it will have on the labor and financial markets, and whether it will necessitate the creation of another pension scheme.

Extraits

[...] So as it is a predictable trend, an ageing population is more a synonym of challenge or opportunities rather than burden. Bibliography Bongaarts John, (2004), Population Aging and the Rising Cost of Public Pension accessed 3/12/06 Brooks,Weatherson,Wilkinson, (2006), The International Business Environment, FT Prentice Hall Carone Giuseppe, Costello Declan Can Europe afford to grow old?, Finance and development, Vol.43, no.3 Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development, Age and Employment, [...]

[...] One of the effects of an ageing population is obviously on the labour market. One of the issues which first comes to mind is the change in the labour market pattern. Indeed according to the EPC and European Comission (2005), the employment rate of older workers (ages 55 to 64) is projected to increase substantially, from 40 percent in 2004 to 58 percent in 2050, reversing the trend toward earlier retirement and reflecting the positive effects of recent pension reforms. [...]

[...] Governments will have to set up a social structure in order to take care of the growing number of poor elderly people who do not have a decent income and who cannot afford to pay for a retirement house. Due to an ageing population the different countries have recourse to immigration as a solution which has consequences on the business. Indeed it means new workforce filling the gap of skills shortage and a way to stop the population decline. Migration of people is a phenomenon which exists since the nineteenth century with a movement from Western Europe (mainly Irish) to the USA and Canada in order to improve their living standard. [...]

[...] The death rate is defined as the number of death per thousand of the population. The latter tends to be through the year lower and more stable than the birth rate. This is thanks to better medical knowledge, health care, food (people on a basic diet are prone to be vulnerable to diseases), housing, clothing, better working conditions, education and so on. This is true for the developed countries because the developing ones face civil war or HIV for instance. [...]

[...] So the problem is how governments will pay for the pensions and health care? In France for instance, the pensions are not funded and the government's budget is in the red. The solutions are to increase taxes and the age of retirement and give incentives for personal saving. The reckoning of pensions has changed in France, it is now based on the incomes of all the working life instead of the best 20 years, it is a way to reduce amount that the state will have to pay. [...]