Google’s Chief Economist, Hal Varian at Productivity in the Age of Fewer, Older Workers Spring Meetings seminar (IMF photo)
The labor force 30 years from now will look very different as working-age populations in advanced economies start to shrink. While some today worry they’ll lose their jobs to robots, economists like Google’s Hal Varian, wonder if technology will boost productivity enough to compensate for the shifting demographics. Varian, and Harvard’s David Canning, discussed the topic during an IMF World-Bank Spring Meetings seminar earlier this month.
International Monetary Fund
Bruce Edwards produces the IMF podcast program. He's an award-winning audio producer and journalist who's covered armed conflicts, social unrest, and natural disasters from all corners of the world. He believes economists have an important role in solving the world's problems and aspires to showcase their research in every IMF podcast.
Journalist
Rhoda Metcalfe is an independent journalist and audio producer. Her reporting on the armed conflict in Colombia in the late 90s, as well as her work in Egypt, Turkey and South Africa has won several awards. She now produces podcasts and radio features from Washington DC and is a regular contributor to the IMF Podcast program.