Dambisa Moyo

The defining challenge of our time is how do we create solid and sustained economic growth and continue to meaningfully put a dent in poverty cross the world. In essence, how do we restore robust growth in the Eurozone, the United States, and around the industrialized economies creaking under mounting debt, challenging demographics, and stagnating productivity; and how do we boost growth in the developing world – home to 90 percent of the worlds population and where, on average, 70 percent of the population is less than 25 years old – as a period of unprecedented economic expansion begins to slow in some places in regress in others. Dambisa Moyo will address the structural and tactical implications of global macroeconomic trends and why this time is different.

Global challenges and risks are mounting and it is increasingly important to understand the structural underlying evolving trends that will determine the long-term global fate of the economy. According to the Overseas Development Institute’s “Horizon Report 2025”, within the next decade more than 80 percent of the world’s poor will live in fragile, mainly low-income states. According to the 2015 “Freedom in the World” report from Freedom House, “Acceptance of democracy as the world’s dominant form of government and an international system built on democratic ideals is under greater threat than at any point in the last 25 years.” The misallocation of resources will exacerbate conflict – economic conflict, foreign exchange wars, military wars, resource scarcity clashes, social unrest and populist anarchy that is already fomenting across the world. The role of governments, nature of regulations, and the policy framework for discussion these issues will help determine the economic growth, security and stability of the future. Dambisa Moyo will discuss the meaning of these geopolitical trends in context of economic growth and development, as well as highlight how this impacts global markets and the shape of our future.

In October 2014, the International Monetary Fund warned that the world economy may never return to the pace of expansion seen before the 2008 financial crisis. Global trade has declined every year for the past decade and cross-border capital flows (a pillar of globalization) have not recovered since the financial crisis and are forecasted to decline. As challenges continue to emerge around weak global growth, resource scarcity, automation, disease, refugees, and terrorism, from an investment standpoint, opportunities will be in those countries and sectors that benefit from greater global volatility and declining globalization.

As the population in China advances economically, the Chinese government has made a strategic and concerted effort to secure natural resources that can be used in its domestic industries. These moves have consequences for the global community, in part because international conflicts over resources commonly turn violent. Increasingly, China wields market power and sets global commodity prices. Dambisa Moyo will explain the three-pronged strategy that forms China’s systematic and deliberate campaign for global resources in the context of decreasing demand and falling commodity prices. China’s aggressive approach places her in a unique position, particularly across the world’s emerging economies, and has far-reaching implications for economic growth and trade in the future.

At a time of rapid technological advancements and innovation, the risks and opportunities are immense, and the responses from corporations and public policy are crucial to economic growth. On the one hand, technological shifts hold promise to transform livelihoods by enhancing the efficiency and ease of information transfer, connectivity and communication. Yet there remain legitimate concerns on the net effects of technological advances – particularly in respect to whether and how automation will disrupt and erode (low skilled) jobs – the hallmark of emerging markets. For every gadget that enables us to process data and information faster and more cheaply, there is a burgeoning social and public policy challenge of rising unemployment that has dire consequences for growth and could engender significant costs for society by reducing employment. Technological advances present a rapidly growing social and public policy challenge for every country, across all sectors.

Millennials – the largest generation yet – are coming of age during a time of technological change, globalization, and economic shifts. The different priorities and expectations of this generation will reshape the economy and transform the way we do business and the impact across industries will increase substantially. From the introduction of a “sharing economy” to shifts in retail, transportation, health, and financial services, the global economy and political landscape will change drastically over the course of the next fifty years.

In recent years, businesses have been called upon to take a broader, more self-enlightened role in the global economy – beyond just making widgets and profits. Whether it’s through a triple-bottom line lens or corporate social responsibility initiatives, modern companies are expected to take on broader responsibility for the economic and social well-being of the communities in which they operate. Clients, host governments, customers and investors are increasingly demanding a broader rationale for companies to exist. As these practices and norms continue to emerge, it is crucial for companies to adequately examine and address some of the challenges for companies operating across political systems in a transnational business environment. Individuals need to be aware of the potential impact their decisions may have on corporations and clients in the future. The level of social responsibility for the business community will continue to become even more intertwined with the viability of a corporation as businesses face new regulatory frameworks, technological shifts, and growing competition.