Tough Times Ahead: A Look at Long-Term Challenges Already Being Felt

Generally, we tend to focus our forecasting efforts on the current year and the next few years. But as we are on the cusp of a period of major upheaval—which is already happening to some extent—we should look a little further down the road. This Economic Viewpoint sums up our current thinking about the next few decades. Making precise forecasts isn't easy, because uncertainty increases the further ahead we look. But it lays the groundwork for future trends and major developments that could characterize the next few decades in economic terms.