Professor Andrew J Scott, leading authority on the economics of longevity and co-author of the global best-seller “The 100 Year Life: Living and Working in an Age of Longevity” (Bloomsbury, June 2016), says we are living longer and better lives than ever before. A professor of economics at London Business School, Scott shows us how individuals, business and society can unlock the benefits and opportunities that flow from this enormously important trend.
Drawing upon a broad and in-depth knowledge of aging and combining economics with the personal, Scott speaks with wit, wisdom and insight about the profound changes underway. Each generation is living around ten years or longer, than past ones. Children born today face a plausible chance of living to 100. That changes everything – not just for us as individuals as we plan to live longer lives, but for businesses who must adapt to an older demographic. This challenge is far more complex and nuanced than marketers and product designers tend to believe. Scott helps organizations recognize the issues and capitalize on the strengths of the emerging older demographic, gaining a crucial competitive advantage in years to come.
Scott brings a unique perspective to the theme of longevity as a global economist, professor, and government advisor by drawing on a range of disciplines. Contending that longevity is one of three significant global socio-economic trends along with artificial intelligence and sustainability, his robust insights reveal how longevity will impact every industry and organization. These range from how aging will change marketing – appealing to older consumers but not in a way that groups them homogenously – to how companies can retrain and upskill older workers rather than losing their institutional knowledge and wisdom to retirement. Scott also discusses the implications for the financial services industry, education and health care, offering concrete recommendations for how players in these areas can capitalize on the new biggest growth market of people over the age of 55. The aging of the world population will force organizations to change their preconceptions about “the elderly” and realize that this demographic is now the future area of customer growth and human resources.
Scott’s work is having a material impact across the world: “The 100 Year Life” has sold half a million copies and was the focus of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s commission “Design a 100 Year Life”. Scott established The Longevity Forum in Singapore – another place facing rapid aging – bringing together the extraordinary potential of scientific research around anti-aging with the behavioural and economic responses needed for longer lifespans. What started as a day of bringing together the brightest minds in this space from all spectrums of industry, has developed into London Longevity Week and a growing global agenda springing from a meeting of world experts sponsored by the Rockefeller Foundation. Scott’s eagerly awaited new book, “The New Long Life: A Framework for Flourishing in a Changing World” (May 2020), provides clarity on how technological change and longevity together, require us to live our lives differently and what we all need to do to seize the advantage.
Scott is currently fellow of All Souls, Oxford University, and the Centre for Economic Policy Research. Having previously held positions at Harvard University and the London School of Economics, he advises corporations and governments and served as Non-Executive Director for the U.K.’s Financial Services Authority 2009-2013. Scott is on the advisory board of the U.K.’s Office for Budget Responsibility; advisor to the Academy for Health and Lifespan Research; a member of the Cabinet Office Honours Committee (Science and Technology); the U.K. government’s Longevity Council and the WEF Council on Japan; and Chairman of Encore, U.K.
