Calculating the cost: the consequences of excessive optimism in projections of economic growth

David Kingman argues that current assessments for spending on the aged as a percentage of GDP are flawed, and unfair to future generations. The cost of future liabilities is often expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), i.e. how much of the country’s economic output they are projected to be worth. However, this… Read more »

Inflation and its intergenerational impact

Angus Hanton looks at the pros and cons of rising inflation, and its effects on interest rates Inflation is now running at about 5% pa, with interest rates standing at below 1%. The result is that, when you take account of inflation, real interest rates are negative, so that savers are seeing their savings reduced… Read more »

Intergenerational issues in Japan

  David Kingman describes the fallout from a swelling elderly population Japan is the world’s fastest ageing country, making it a good case-study for the type of intergenerational issues that could emerge in Britain as our own population gets older.