Demographics

China will scale its 2023 population peak

2 May 2019

A new study suggests the country may top out at 1.4 bln people in four years, earlier than expected. That’s disheartening for Mattel, Lego and companies in education. But it reflects a richer, better-schooled nation, while older workers are retiring later too, softening the blow.

Babytree’s Hong Kong IPO robs the cradle

24 August 2018

The Alibaba-backed Chinese parenting site wants to raise up to $1 bln. Targeting tiger mothers might seem timely, given Beijing’s fertility push. Yet the chat-and-shopping combination is unprofitable after 11 years, and its desired value exceeds the wildest demographic optimism.

U.S. colleges may need to start on M&A course

25 July 2017

After tripling in real terms since the early 1970s, tuition costs are now rising only a hair faster than CPI. Cost cuts won't offset flagging enrollment, the result of a stronger job market and demographic shifts. Merging could help, especially for small private schools.

Theresa May has a way out of UK pension pickle

28 April 2017

The prime minister is dithering over whether to keep guaranteeing above-inflation hikes to pensioners. The triple-lock is nonsensical, inequitable and unfit for an era of Brexit and stagnant wages. May has the political capital to adopt a fairer single-lock, tied to earnings.

Dubai could create its own demographic dividend

26 September 2016

The emirate has weathered low oil prices, but an unbalanced workforce means it is missing an economic opportunity. Only one in 23 active workers is a local, official data suggests. If Dubai can't turn citizens into workers, it might as well turn skilled workers into citizens.

Hadas: Central banks play with monetary absurdity

23 September 2016

Monetary authorities have taken recourse in increasingly empty promises. The Bank of Japan's Haruhiko Kuroda has taken this verbal drama to a new and ultimately dangerous level. Central banks could rely on deeds, not words, if their tools and targets were more realistic.

Post-Brexit generation war can still be avoided

24 June 2016

Older Britons voted to leave the EU, while younger ones wanted to stay. It’s a flashpoint in a wider global story of inter-generational strife. Unless some of the wealth is diverted their way, a brain drain of justifiably cheesed-off millennials will hit economic growth.

Spanish politicians leave demographic bomb ticking

31 May 2016

While economic activity has picked up, the Spanish population is ageing faster than the EU average. Consensus and long-term planning are needed to tackle the burden this will place on the welfare system and growth prospects. The current polarisation in politics stands in the way.