A Demographic Time Bomb?
Recently, members of the Year 11 Colloquium attended a lecture by Economics teacher Mr Boulton on the broad issue of demographics and the pressures this places on resources. Utilising some of his own research, he explored the issue of the relationship between changing population, demands on public services and the sources of revenue used to fund these services. He charted the changing balance between these factors, how governments track them and what statistical methods are used to try and gauge the effectiveness of different strategies. He asked the students to think about the viability and acceptability of various options such as a longer working life or the reduction of some benefits. The talk clearly highlighted the issues at stake, the difficult moral and political decisions involved and the use of statistics!
