Issue Claim that automation will offset the shrinking workforce

Summary

The Megatrends 2040 report states that the decline in the workforce caused by ageing is expected to be offset by intensive automation driven by new technologies. This claim sits alongside the observation that the silver economy assumes people will stay healthy longer and retire later. Elsewhere the report also warns that ageing countries such as China, Japan, South Korea and Europe may face limits on growth unless they expand automation and adopt flexible immigration policies. Yet OECD studies cited in the same section warn that an ageing workforce will restrain economic performance and strain public finances. The offsetting role of automation is therefore presented as an estimate rather than a certainty.