Reality check.

The global population is aging. This important demographic development could have huge long-term effects on economies around the world.

Hedgeye Demography analyst Neil Howe and Richard Jackson, president of the Global Aging Institute, discussed this demographic paradigm shift during a recent presentation. They discuss the two powerful forces behind global population aging: rising longevity and falling fertility.

“Intuitively, you think of rising life expectancy as the first force, and that is indeed an important driver,” Jackson explains in the clip above.

“Life expectancy has risen by 10 to 12 years in most developed countries. But quantitatively the big driver, long-term, is falling fertility rates and declining birth rates.”

Watch the full clip above for more.

Aging Global Population May Have Huge Economic Implications - demography unplugged