IPS Public Lecture at the National University of Singapore

Invited by the Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) Wolfgang Lutz is going to give a public lecture at the National University of Singapore (NUS) entitled "Low fertility, human capital development and economic growth in an international context". The lecture will take place on February 19 at the RELC International Hotel Auditorium. The expected audience of about 200 interested persons will comprise academics, policy makers and people from the private sector as well as civil society.

Abstract:
Over the past decades, birth rates have not only been declining steeply in many industrialized countries but also in an increasing number of developing countries. Among East Asian populations (including Singapore) fertility has even declined to lower levels than in Europe.
In the lecture we will first discuss this global pattern of fertility decline, the reasons behind it and its likely future outlook. Thereafter, we will bring it into the context of new work on modeling human capital formation as described by the changing composition of populations by age and level of educational attainment. Finally, the findings will be linked to economic age-dependency and economic growth more generally. This will allow us then to address some most fundamental questions such as: What is the economically desirable level of fertility? Can better educated young people through higher productivity compensate for their smaller number? What can be the role of international labor migration in this? These questions will be addressed in an international context but also with a specific view on Singapore.

Details

Date: 19 February, 2013

Location: RELC International Hotel Auditorium

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Last edited: 06 February 2013