Of course, either of these instruments can be used to take risk if the holder opts to hold the uncovered exposure, avoiding the cost of acquiring the underlying assets. Moreover, a bank can change its position quickly--limiting a loss, diversifying or hedging a risk, or closing out a position. Derivatives, of course, do more than allow the taking or hedging of risk.
The demographics story is often told as one about the labour force: as the boomer generation retires and exits from the workforce, labour’s contribution to the potential growth of the economy declines. This is already under way. In 2011, the growth rate of the population of working-age Canadians crossed below that of the overall population, reversing an almost 50-year trend.