How will the developed world respond to these economic challenges?

There is also a risk that the demographic and economic challenges facing the developed world in the face of rising competition from developing economies may yield increasingly protectionist economic responses. This could be achieved in stealth by applying artificially complex standards and compliance requirements (for example in the field of telecommunications) which make it difficult for developing world companies to compete with domestic companies in the developing world.

In response it was contended that such protectionist approaches could be significantly damaging to developed world economies in the long term – and that realisation of this would be likely to involve those countries opening up immigration and increasing the use of entrepreneurial visas.