Episode description

Recent protests in France oppose plans to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.

The demonstrations stem from a government plan so people would work -and pay into the pension system - for longer. There’s also concern about what that change might mean for those who are many decades away from pension age. France isn’t the only country facing economic efficiency challenges as populations age and leave the labour market. As more people leave Europe’s labour market, will young workers have to pay for the old?

The Inquiry hears also about the productivity challenges facing Spain and Germany.

Anne Elizabeth Moutet is a French columnist for the Daily Telegraph newspaper Bart Van Ark , Professor of productivity studies at the University of Manchester Prof Marcel Jansen, an economist from the Autonomous University of Madrid Stefano Scarpetta is Director for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs at the OECD

Presenter Charmaine Cozier

(Protesters at the rally against Macron's pension reform, Paris, France. Credit: Telmo Pinto/Getty Images)