The trends of globalisation and of demography are now beginning to reverse. Populism and protectionism have become powerful political influences in the context of economies where real wages have stagnated over the last 30 years. Meanwhile, the demographic sweet spot, leading to a massive increase in the workforce and fall in dependency ratios, is on the verge of reversing sharply, as has already happened in Japan. This will have the effect of raising real wages in most western economies, and that is likely to lead businessmen to invest more per unit of labour in order to raise productivity and
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