Excellent thought provoking article with an alternative view of population ageing statistics.



While these projections certainly do look better than the doomsday scenarios that are often presented, the primary question remains one of skills supply and demand. We are all aware that technology has forever changed labor markets with some skill sets essentially becoming obsolete at an ever increasing rate. To simply say people are "working" does not address the question of productivity. Further, it is also clear that medical advances have redefined what it means to be 65 today versus twenty five or fifty years ago. However, it is hard to argue that while technology may increase life expectancy the need for medical care is still closely correlated with the age of an individual. The combination of these factors leaves open the question of skill shortages in the developed world and the sustainability of relatively large (especially in Europe) social programs.