On Monday 25 November over 150 gathered for the SPE Annual Dinner, once again held in the magnificent Nash Room at the Institute of Directors Pall Mall. This year’s guest speaker was Gabriel Makhlouf, ECB Governing Council member and Governor of the Central Bank of England.

  The SPE’s Chair, George Buckley, started the formal speeches by thanking Oxford Economics on behalf of the Society for generously sponsoring the dinner, and updated guests on the latest Society news and growth and thanked his fellow council members, and non-council members for the valuable support they offer. George also thanked all our sponsors including KPMG for its kind sponsorship of the Rybczynski Prize before handing over to SPE President, Sir Dave Ramsden, to introduce Governor Makhlouf.

During his enlightening talk, Mr Makhlouf said European Central Bank interests will fall, but the speed and pace would depend on data. He also highlighted how the tangle of ageing populations with weak productivity growth raises questions about the long-term growth outlook.

“On demographics, change is coming, but we should also look beyond current thinking on dependency ratios that generally assume ‘retirement’ at 65. Increased longevity as a result of healthier lifestyles presents opportunities for our citizens to have longer working lives, should they so choose.  Policies to incentivise working longer, alongside promotion of life-long learning, need to be part of our thinking”.

For a full copy of his speech, click here.

We hope those who attended enjoyed the evening, and our thanks goes once again to Oxford Economics for so generously sponsoring this event.