11.30 am

Aperitifs

12.00 pm

Luncheon
by Invitation of the CITY OF MUNICH

Atrium

Welcome Address

Hep MONATZEDER
Deputy Mayor, City of Munich

Welcome Address

1.30 pm

Opening of the Conference

Welcome

Jürgen CHROBOG
Chairman of the Board of Directors,
BMW Stiftung Herbert Quandt, Munich

Hans-Werner SINN
Professor of Economics and Public Finance,
University of Munich;
President, Ifo Institute for Economic Research, Munich

Keynote Addresses

Vladimír ŠPIDLA
Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and
Equal Opportunities, European Commission, Brussels

3.00 pm

Panel 1

Grey New World
Europe on the Road to Gerontocracy

Before this decade is out, for the first time in the history of humanity the proportion of people aged 60 or over will surpass the proportion of under-fives. The problem is particularly acute in the developed world. In Japan there are now over 25,000 centenarians; by mid-century, they will exceed 1 million. Over half of the United States's 70-million baby-boomers will eventually surpass their 85th birthday. In Europe, birth rates have been below replacement for a quarter of a century. At the same time, the working-age population is becoming a minority. What are the economic implications of such a massive shift? What does this imply for the nature of politics?

Chairman

Georges de MÉNIL
Professor of Economics, École des Hautes Études
en Sciences Sociales, Paris

Introduction

Arji Lans BOVENBERG
Scientific Director, Network for Studies on Pensions,
Ageing and Retirement (Netspar), Tilburg University

Speakers

Norbert REITHOFER
Chariman of the Board of Management, BMW AG, Munich

Klaus KLEINFELD
President and Chief Executive Officer, Siemens AG, Munich

Reiner KLINGHOLZ
Director, Berlin Institute for Population and Global Development, Berlin

Discussion

6.00 pm

End of Session

7.30 pm

Dinner

Dinner by Invitation of the Bavarian Minister-President
Represented by

Kurt FALTLHAUSER
State Minister of Finance, Free State of Bavaria

Munich Residence

9.00 am

Panel 2

Top-Heavy Load
Trouble Ahead for Social Security Systems

The so-called double-ageing phenomenon — steadily decreasing birth rates coupled with ever increasing life spans — has turned the developed world’s age pyramids into age mushrooms. Low birth rates mean fewer people paying for ever larger legions of old folk for an ever increasing number of years. Much has been said about the effect of this on pensions, but the effects on health care are equally precarious. What is the situation in Europe? What is being undertaken to stave off a meltdown? What can we learn from the experience of other countries?

Chairman

Martin WOLF
Associate Editor and Chief Economics Commentator,
Financial Times, London

Introduction

Peter A. DIAMOND
Professor of Economics, Department of Economics,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, Massachusetts

Speakers

Edward PALMER
Professor of Social Insurance Economics,
Department of Economics, Uppsala University

Hans Rudolf SCHUPPISSER
Deputy Director, Swiss Employers' Association, Zurich

Craig FULLER Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, The Fuller Company, Alexandria, Virginia and Executive Vice-President, APCO Worldwide, Washington, DC

Paul SCHNABEL
General Director, Social and Cultural Planning Office of the Netherlands, The Hague

Discussion

11.00 am

Panel 3

Go Forth and Multiply
Europe's Childless Societies

Somewhere along the road, Europeans stopped investing in their future — in terms of bringing forth children — in order to better concentrate on enjoying the present. This attitude is increasingly unsustainable. The future, on present fertility trends, looks grim. What can be done to revert the situation? What can we learn from those countries that buck the trend? What are the tradeoffs between state intervention and free choice?

Chairman

Robert THOMSON
Editor-in-Chief,
The Times, London

Introduction

Alessandro CIGNO
Professor of Economics, Faculty of Political Science,
University of Florence

Speakers

Regine STACHELHAUS
Managing Director, Hewlett-Packard GmbH, Böblingen;
Vice President, Imaging und Printing Group (IPG)

François HÉRAN
Director, National Institute of Demographic Studies (INED), Paris

Kurt BIEDENKOPF
Former Minister-President, Free State of Saxony;
Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Hertie School of Governance, Dresden

David WILLETTS
Member of Parliament, Shadow Secretary of State for Education and Skills, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Discussion

1.00 pm

Concluding Remarks

Hans-Werner SINN
Professor of Economics and Public Finance,
University of Munich;
President, Ifo Institute for Economic Research, Munich

Jürgen CHROBOG
Chairman of the Board of Directors,
BMW Stiftung Herbert Quandt, Munich

1.15 pm

Luncheon
Roof Garden

2.30 pm

End of Conference