2020 – European Union Essays

EU 2020 ESSAY – GROWING OLD GRACEFULLY. HOW TO EASE POPULATION AGEING IN EUROPE

“Europe stands on the cusp of a demographic revolution. Rising life expectancy and low fertility are radically transforming Europe’s demographic profile. Ageing populations pose profound political, economic and social challenges for Europe. Many commentators are deeply pessimistic about the consequences of population ageing for the social and economic fabric of Europe. But Alasdair Murray’s essay takes a more optimistic view. He argues that although pro-natal policies or increased immigration cannot be relied on to reverse Europe’s long-term population trends, demography is not destiny. There is much that governments can do, particularly to their labour markets, to counter the economic effects of ageing. At root, Europe faces more of a labour market problem than an intractable demographic crisis.”

Futures – Mapping the Global Future – 2020 Project

MAPPING THE GLOBAL FUTURE:
REPORT OF THE NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE COUNCIL’S 2020 PROJECT

“Mapping the Global Future is the third unclassified report prepared by the National Intelligence Council (NIC) in the past seven years that takes a long-term view of the future. The National Intelligence Council, as a center of strategic thinking and over-the-horizon analysis for the US Government, takes this as one of its key challenges.

As with the earlier NIC efforts—Global Trends 2010 and Global Trends 2015—the project’s primary goal is to provide US policymakers with a view of how the world developments could evolve, identifying opportunities and potentially negative developments that might warrant policy action. We also hope this paper stimulates a broader discussion of value to educational and policy institutions at home and abroad.

We consulted experts from around the world in a series of regional conferences to offer a truly global perspective. We organized conferences on five continents to solicit the views of foreign experts on the prospects for their regions over the next 15 years.”