IoD Guernsey 2022 mid-term: Guernsey’s demographic dilemma

The Guernsey IoD’s 2022 Mid-Term will explore the island’s ‘demographic dilemma’: a shrinking proportion of young people including a ‘missing decade’ of 20- to 30-year-olds, and the growing proportion of older, post-retirement citizens which is leading to a rising dependency ratio.

The event will welcome Dr Matthew Agarwala (pictured) back to Guernsey. Dr Agarwala is an economist at the Bennett Institute for Public Policy, Cambridge University, and was the keynote speaker at the IoD’s Annual Convention.

He is one of the founders of the Wealth Economy Project which seeks to transform economic measurement to better reflect sustainability, inequality and human wellbeing. He recently contributed to the Environmental Audit Committee’s hearing on how to align the UK’s economic goals with sustainability in the House of Commons.

Following Matthew’s keynote speech, he will join a panel of local experts as part of a Q&A session. The panel will tackle the topic from different perspectives, considering the island’s current population position, what is possible, what is achievable and how we might move towards resolving the Bailiwick’s demographic challenges.

Panel guests include:

• Matthew Agarwala, Economist, Bennett Institute for Public Policy, Cambridge
• Deputy Mark Helyar, a member of the States of Guernsey’s Policy & Resources Committee
• Elaine Gray, Partner at Carey Olsen
• Chris Brock, former States of Guernsey Deputy and Principal Consultant for Critical Economics

Wendy Dorey, Chair of the IoD in Guernsey, said: “The island faces a number of significant demographic challenges – from declining birth rates, a shrinking working age population to and a increasing dependency ratio. This challenge is complex and multi-faceted and needs to be tackled in an integrated manner. We hope that, by bringing together a blend of different expertise and perspectives, we can provide inspiration and momentum to turn the tide on this issue.

“I’m delighted to welcome Matthew back to the island. His keynote speech at least year’s Annual Convention was thought-provoking, relevant and well-received by all attendees. I’m looking forward to exploring how we can turn the Bailiwick’s demographic challenges into opportunities for the Bailiwick to thrive – both socially and economically.”

The event is being supported by a principal event sponsor, Carey Olsen. The IoD’s annual digital sponsor is JT, and the breakfast sponsor is Intertrust.