View a webcast of this Economic Forum using Windows Media Player.

Transcript of the proceedings.

Economic Forums are free of charge and open to the public; no registration is needed. For further information, please contact Public Affairs Division at: PublicAffairs@imf.org.

Across the world, a number of current and emerging problems--such as aging populations—pose fiscal challenges for industrial and developing countries alike. Governments will be forced to make difficult choices between competing goals. What are the long-run risks faced by governments? How does the private sector take account of such risks as well as "inevitable surprises"? What are some of the techniques used by governments to assess long-run risks? Does the U.S. in particular face significant problems in coming decades? The following panelists will attempt to answer these questions:

Peter Heller (Moderator)
Deputy Director
Fiscal Affairs Department
IMF

John Hamre
President & CEO
Center for Strategic & International Studies

Maya MacGuineas
Fellow
New America Foundation

Frank Eich
Economic Advisor
HM Treasury, London, U.K.

Peter Schwartz
Chairman
Global Business Network