The Economist (April 15)
“Despite an influx of 1.2m refugees over the past two years, Germany’s population faces near-irreversible decline. According to predictions from the UN in 2015, two in five Germans will be over 60 by 2050 and Europe’s oldest country will have shrunk to 75m from 82m.”
The Economist (March 9)
“The spread of exotic grains is evidence that globalisation works.” You may mock quinoa and other hip foods, but they are welcome sign “of rising prosperity and expanding choice. The spread of better farming techniques has raised yields, helping humanity feed itself despite a rising population.” In contrast, “plans to erect trade barriers and possibly start a trade war” deserve derision. They “would make the world poorer and hungrier.”
Tags: Exotic grains, Expanding choice, Farming, Globalization, Humanity, Population, Prosperity, Quinoa, Trade barriers, Trade war, Yields
The Guardian (July 29)
“It is a race to take charge of the world’s largest city—a metropolis with a population more than half the size of the United Kingdom and with a GDP greater than all but 10 countries.” But the Tokyo Governor’s race is probing new lows with “mud slinging and misogyny,” as well as “events that some say highlights the worst of Japan’s male-dominated politics.”
Tags: GDP, Governor, Japan, Male dominated, Metropolis, Mud slinging, Politics, Population, Tokyo, UK
Bloomberg (July 25)
“With a young population, an expanding middle class and one of Southeast Asia’s fastest-growing economies, Vietnam is an alluring market for Aeon, Takashimaya Co. and Seven & i Holdings Co. The reason: China is slowing and growth is flat-lining at home.”
Tags: Aeon, China, Economies, Fastest-growing, Growth, Japan, Market, Middle class, Population, Seven & i, Southeast Asia, Takashimaya, Vietnam, Young
New York Times (April 19)
“Civilization’s understanding of Earth has expanded enormously in recent decades, making humanity safer and more prosperous.” But a new “dark age is a growing possibility” as our ability to predict future weather patterns is disrupted by climate change. Without the ability to accurately forecast long-term phenomena, “we will face huge challenges feeding a growing population and prospering within our planet’s finite resources.”
Tags: Challenges, Civilization, Climate change, Dark age, Disrupted, Earth, Forecast, Humanity, Patterns, Population, Predict, Prosperous, Resources, Weather
Wall Street Journal (June 3)
“Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s push to restart productivity growth and unlock value in Japanese companies is toppling the shibboleths of Japan Inc.” His corporate governance reforms seem to mark “a turning point. Japan’s corporate chieftains must realize that as Japan’s population ages, it will draw down savings. That means companies need to attract foreign capital and go abroad to seek new markets. Both require global best practices of corporate governance.”
Tags: Abe, Foreign capital, Global best practices, Governance, Growth, Japan, Markets, Population, Productivity
Financial Times (May 26)
Global cities now “drive the world’s economy. The 600 biggest cities account for more than 60 per cent of global gross domestic product. The top 20 are home to one-third of all large corporations, and almost half of their combined revenues. Tokyo leads the pack — in population size, economic punch and number of corporate headquarters — ahead of New York, London and Paris.”
Tags: Cities, Corporations, Economics, Economy, GDP, London, New York, Paris, Population, Revenues, Tokyo
New York Times (February 11)
“It is inevitable that India will eventually grow faster than China for the simple mathematical reason that it is easier to make a small economy bigger than it is to increase the size of a larger one.” On top of that, “China’s population is aging and its labor force is shrinking whereas about half of Indians are 25 or younger and its work force will be expanding for many years to come.”
Tags: Aging, China, Economy, Expanding, India, Labor force, Population, Shrinking
New York Times (January 12)
“Hands down, 2014 was the best year for the labor market since the Great Recession hit in late 2007.” Nevertheless, the “recent progress does not so much point a way forward as highlight weaknesses that need to be corrected and risks that need to be avoided in order not to backslide.” Job growth has yet to catch up with population growth, and continues to be concentrated in the lowest paying areas.
Tags: 2014, Backslide, Great Recession, Job growth, Labor market, Pay, Population, U.S.
Reuters (November 18)
“Japan’s attempts, through Abenomics, to beat back against the tide of demographics may be proving futile.” Though the country may be able to keep printing money, Japan “can’t print people.” Cheap funding won’t stimulate corporate investment unless companies “see both a strong outlook for profits and for market growth,” something that remains unlikely amidst an aging, shrinking population.
Tags: Abenomics, Aging, Corporate investment, Demographic, Funding, Japan, Market growth, Outlook, Population, Profits
