…is the somewhat controversial and eye-catching headline in the most recent column in Copenhagen Post by Director Member Engagement and Communication David Munis Zepernick.
The positive point of departure is the fact that Denmark is currently the most competitive economy in the EU according to the 2025 IMD World Competitiveness Ranking.
The key point is that in the long run Denmark we are facing significant structural barriers to growth that are likely to erode our current ranking as the most competitive country. In a country with limited natural resources, innovation – and consequently sustainable growth – is created by people, either born and raised here or “imported”. Due to a combination of unsustainable low birth rates and tough immigration policies we risk running out of people the people needed to sustain growth. Consequently, as a society we need to figure out both how to boost birth rates AND how to make ourselves attractive to the kind of immigrants that are in general both net contributors to the economy and easily integrated into the social fabric of society.
But who should be invited to come and incentivized to stay and how do we positively incentivize young people to boost birth rates assuming they will not do so just “for king and country”?
(Obviously, these politically uneasy discussions are relevant for almost all Nordic and European countries and quite a few Asian countries as well)