Programme

The post pandemic recovery is likely to feature stark divergence in economic prospects and social inequality, both across and within countries. The accelerated push towards automation will further disrupt labour markets, worsening the social divide.

How should the public and private sectors rethink their roles and responsibilities in driving more positive outcomes for the economy, environment and society? What does a sustainable future for capital look like?

COVID-19 has accelerated change across the healthcare ecosystem. The dire need for more equitable access to quality and affordable healthcare and surge in appetite for digital health, AI and automation, are transforming service delivery systems, cost structures and supply chains.

Given the lessons learned from the pandemic and underlying demand pressures, what types of innovation and investment are needed to improve health equity and outcomes, slow rate of cost growth and make healthcare systems more sustainable?

The unprecedented policy response to the pandemic helped limit the overall decline in jobs and incomes. We now confront its consequences, as global public debt has reached record levels, and prolonged easy monetary conditions have raised the prospects of higher, more persistent inflation.

Large advanced economies are rethinking the balance between growth and inflation, use of industrial policy and a sustainable level of debt, while smaller emerging markets are facing more volatile capital flows and less-anchored inflation expectations. These divergences have been exaggerated by geopolitical tensions that reduced global cooperation and left public goods under-provided.

What are the implications of these global shifts and how should policy be used to sustain growth and increase resilience in a post-COVID world?

Increasing investor and consumer activism, evolving climate regulation, and rapid technological progress are paving the way for the global transition towards a low carbon economy. Net-zero commitments by governments and businesses have risen across Europe, Asia and the US, but getting to these bold targets require ambitious actions. The decarbonisation movement will disrupt industries, business models and even the capital markets.

At the same time, significant investment opportunities to enable and even accelerate this transition will emerge. How will the markets, industries and companies transform themselves and what role can private capital play in this journey towards a low carbon, sustainable future?