Bennett, N., Bloom, D., de la Vega, R., Hanna, T., Lavopa, A., & Prettner, K. (2026, March 23). The future of jobs in an era of demographic and technological transformation. United Nations Industrial Development Organization. 

United Nations Industrial Development Organization has released a new policy brief, The Future of Jobs in an Era of Demographic and Technological Transformation, co-authored by Pardee’s Taylor Hanna. The brief serves as a follow-up to UNIDO’s latest Industrial Development Report, which was supported by Hanna and Pardee Research Associate Bido Ibrahim. Drawing on projections from the International Futures model, the analysis explores how demographic change and automation will reshape global employment by 2050. It highlights stark regional differences, with developing economies facing growing job creation pressures and advanced economies confronting higher risks of automation-driven displacement. Under a moderate automation scenario, global demand for new jobs could grow to one billion—underscoring the need for forward-looking, context-specific policy responses.

United Nations Industrial Development Organization. (2026). Industrial Development Report 2026: The future of industrialization: Building future-ready industries for sustainable development. UNIDO. https://www.unido.org/publications/industrial-development-report-series

On November 26, 2025, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) launched its Industrial Development Report (IDR), "Industrial Development Report 2026: The future of industrialization: Building future-ready industries for sustainable development," at the Global Industry Summit in Riyadh. The Pardee Institute supported IDR 2026 by providing forecasts and scenario analysis to explore industrial development scenarios out to 2050 and assess how developing countries could leverage an Industrial Push to advance economic and human development. The following Pardee Institute experts supported the production of this edition of the report: Taylor Hanna, Abdelrahman Ibrahim, Collin J. Meisel, José Solórzano, Yutang Xiong, Solikha Makhmatova and Victoria Pepera.

Full Citation: Verhagen, W., Meziere, M. E., Bohl, D. K., Howe, B., & Moyer, J. (2010). Guinea-Bissau: Exploring Alternative Futures of Development - Report 2. Pardee Center for International Futures. https://korbel.du.edu/pardee/Guinea-Bissau/en

UNDP Guinea Bissau & Frederick S. Pardee Center for International Futures. Bissau, Guinea-Bissau and Denver, USA. Access translations:

French Version
Portuguese Version

Scott, Andrew C., José R. Solórzano, Jonathan D. Moyer, and Barry B. Hughes. 2017.

"Modeling Artificial Intelligence and Exploring its Impact." Frederick S. Pardee Center for International Futures, Josef Korbel School of Global and Public Affairs, University of Denver. Denver, CO.

Artificial intelligence, a general term for the science and development of machines capable of completing tasks that would normally require human intelligence, is an exciting field of research and technology with deep potential impacts across the realm of human activity. A quantitative forecast of AI, while challenging, is important in helping us better understand how artificial intelligence is unfolding and its potential implications at a national, regional, and global level.

Hughes, Barry B., David Bohl, Mohammod Irfan, Eli Margolese-Malin, and José R. Solórzano. 2017.

"ICT/Cyber Benefits and Costs: Reconciling Competing Perspectives on the Current and Future Balance." Technological Forecasting and Social Change 115: 117-130. doi:10.1016/j.techfore.2016.09.027

Bohl, David K., Barry B. Hughes, Mohammod T. Irfan, Eli S. Margolese-Malin, and José R. Solórzano. 2015.

“Cyber Benefits and Risks: Quantitatively Understanding and Forecasting the Balance.” Extended Project Report to Zurich Insurance Group and the Atlantic Council. Frederick S. Pardee Center for International Futures, Josef Korbel School of Global and Public Affairs, University of Denver. Denver, CO.

Hughes, Barry B., Randall Kuhn, Eli S. Margolese-Malin, Dale S. Rothman, and José R. Solórzano. 2015. “Opportunities and Challenges of a World with Negligible Senescence.” Technological Forecasting and Social Change 99: 77–91.

Moyer, Jonathan D, and Barry B. Hughes. 2012. “ICTs: Do they contribute to increased carbon emissions?” Technological Forecasting and Social Change 79 (5): 919–931.

Cave, Jonathan., Constantijn van Oranje-Nassau, Helen Rebecca Schindler, Ala’a. Shehabi, Philipp-Bastian Brutscher, Neil. Robinson. 2009.

“Trends in Connectivity Technologies and their Socio-Economic Impacts.” Final Report of the Policy Options for the Ubiquitous Internet Society Study. RAND Europe, Cambridge, UK.

Guerrieri, P., & Padoan, P.C. (2007). “Modelling ICT as a General Purpose Technology: Evaluation Models and Tools for Assessment of Innovation and Sustainable Development at the EU Level.” Collegium 35 (Spring Special Edition).