The world is in the midst of an unprecedented demographic shift that is upending age structures and the geography of human population. Life expectancy continues to climb across most of the world while fertility rates are falling—especially in richer countries. The result is an aging population in upper-middle- and high-income economies, accompanied by steady growth in the working age population in the world’s poorer countries. In a CGD note and accompanying blog series, Charles Kenny examines what this global workforce imbalance could mean for both poorer and richer economies, and how countries can avert the economic consequences by embracing global worker mobility.
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