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Press Release

Co-Chair Ron Lee's Presentation on this report

The United States in in the midst of a major demographic shift.  In the next four decades, people aged 65 and over will make up an increasingly large percentage of the population: The ration of people agen 65+ to people aged 24-64 will rise by 80%. This shift is happening for two reasons: People are living longer, and many couples are choosing to have fewer children and to have those children somewhat later in life.  The resulting demographic shift will present the nation with economic challenges, both to absorb the cost and to leverage the benefits of an aging population.

This report presents the fundamental factors driving the aging of the U.S. population, as well as its societal implications and likely long-term macroeconomic effects in a global context.  The report finds that, while population aging does not pose an insurmountable challenge to the nation, it is imperative that sensible policies are implemented soon to allow companies and households to respond.  It offers four practical approaches for preparing resources to support future consumption of households and for adapting to the new economic landscape.

Recent coverage:

Study: 21st Century

Learning Demands Mix of

Abilities—Education Week,

July 10, 2012

Report: More than Facts and

Formulas—Inside Higher

Education, July 11, 2012

Teaching Kids to have

some Grit and Life Skills as

Important as Academics

says New Report—Youth Today,

July 12, 2012

Assessing 21st Century Skills: Summary of a Workshop (2011)

The routine jobs of yesterday are being replaced by technology and/or shipped off-shore.  In their place, job categories that require knowledge management, abstract reasoning, and personal services seem to be growing.  The modern workplace requires workers to have broad cognitive and affective skills.

Commissioned Papers

Exploring the Intersection of Science Education and 21st Century Skills: A Workshop Summary (2010)

This report addresses key questions about the overlap between 21st century skills— such as adaptability, complex communications skills, and the abilitiy to solve non-routine problems—and scientific content and knowledge; explores promising models or approaches for teaching these abilities; and reviews the evidence about the transferability of these skills to real workplace applications.

Research on Future Skill Demands: A Workshop Summary (2008)

Over the past five years, business and education groups have issued a series of reports indicating that the skill demands of work are rising, due to rapid technological change and increasing global competition. Researchers have begun to study changing workplace skill demands. Some economists have found that technological change is "skill-biased," increasing demand for highly skilled workers and contributing to the growing gap in wages between college-educated workers and those with less education.