Demographic change as a major economic challenge in France and the UK

MEA director Axel Börsch-Supan was invited by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) to present the long term structural economic challenges on demographic change. He presented the recommendations of the French “Commission of Experts for Major Future Economic Challenges” to President Macron on “Demographic change: aging, health and immigration” which was recently published. The working group was led by Börsch-Supan and further consisted of Claudia Diehl, Professor of Sociology at the University of Konstanz, and Carol Propper, Professor of Economics at the Imperial College London.

The group identified three problem areas of the French pension system: population aging, as in most European countries; the pension system itself, since it is highly complex and is perceived as unfair; and the old-age labour market, which until now largely fails to keep people over 60 employed. The Commission proposed a holistic reform which implements a unified, transparent and redistributive pension system that allows for individual flexibility and adaption to working conditions, supported by changes to the healthcare system and a better integration of immigrants.

The video of the event from Sept 22nd 2021 by the UK Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) is available online:

Video of the presentation by Axel Börsch-Supan: Démographie, Santé, Integration

All recommendations of the working group of the French “Commission of Experts for Major Future Economic Challenges” are presented in the >> summary (pdf) (p 85 ff)

>> Please find here the whole report (pdf)

About the Commission:

The 26-member commission was made up of renowned economists from France, Europe and the USA. The Commission reported to President Macron on three main topics: climate change, inequality and demographic change. Its aim was to make recommendations to address these three major challenges. >> Read more about the Commission