Demographics and public finances

Watch the full 25-minute video at http://www.goldmoney.com/muenz-turk-interview. Prof. Dr. Rainer Münz, Head of Research at Erste Bank, and James Turk, Director of the GoldMoney Foundation, talk about the impact changing demographics has on public finances, and in particular, on pension systems. The aging of a society has many different effects. On the one hand, expenditures for education and childcare tend to decrease, while the costs of pensions, healthcare and daycare are increasing. Münz notes that the pension age is not dependent on biological circumstances, but on a legal system which defines it according to economic issues. Since changes in the retirement age often lag demographic developments, and since there is popular resistance against increases, it makes sense to add an automated demographic adjustment to pension laws. In addition to this there has to be a functioning labour market for elderly people as well as better training.

This video was recorded on September 30 at the GO AHEAD! Business Summit ’11 in Vienna.