China's economy is still growing at a respectable rate - but how long can that last? Ed Butler reports from China on the problems caused by increasing amounts of debt. Ed hears from students taking on debt they don't understand and finds out about the extent of Shanghai's property bubble. He is joined back in the studio by a panel of experts on China to ask whether high levels of debt could sink the country's booming economy.

Contributors: Linda Yueh, Adjunct Professor of Economics at London Business School and Fellow in Economics at St Edmund Hall, Oxford University;

(Picture: People visit a shopping mall complex in Shenyang, Liaoning province, as the authorities seek to revive the recession-hit industrial region. Credit: AFP/Getty images)

Very soon, for the first time in modern history, five generations will be working side by side. Baby boomers, traditionalists, and Generations X, Y and Z. Is it a manager's dream - or a nightmare? Manuela Saragosa and guests ask why millennials are so hard to manage - and how do you keep older workers motivated throughout a career that could last for 50 years?

Contributors: Professor Andrew Scott, Deputy Dean at London Business School and co-author of The 100-Year Life

The development of Artificial Intelligence is being seen as one of the biggest threats to jobs this century. Yet it's a technology that can also help humanity hugely and is forecast to increase global economic growth. So should we be afraid of AI - or should we embrace a future where machines could become as intelligent as humans? In the Balance brings together some of the top thinkers in the debate to ask whether AI is our friend or our enemy.

Contributors: Nick Bostrom, founding Director of the Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford University

(Picture: A Google Earth map of Paris, France as the company unveils the revamped version of the application April, 2017 at a event at New York's Whitney Museum of Art. Credit: Getty Images)

What lessons should we learn from the damage hurricane Irma has inflicted on Florida and the Caribbean, the flooding hurricane Harvey wreaked on Texas and the floods that have devastated parts of South Asia? And how can politicians and aid agencies be persuaded to spend more money preparing for natural disasters, rather than clearing up after the event? Manuela Saragosa talks to one environmental planning expert in Houston, Texas, who says some parts of the city will become uninhabitable. And she hears from experts around the world on the best way to contain the economic damage of future natural disasters.

Contributors:

(Picture: People shop in a supermarket after Hurricane Irma swept through the area on September 13, 2017 in Naples, Florida. Credit: Getty Images)

Does passing down large amounts of money within families drive the gap between rich and poor even wider? It seems that some of the world's richest people, like Bill Gates, recognised this and have pledged to give away most, if not all, of their wealth to good causes rather than their children. Is inherited wealth a curse, both on a personal and macro-economic level? Should we tax it much more heavily, or even ban inheritance altogether? Manuela Saragosa is joined by a global panel of guests to unpick the issues on intergenerational fairness.

Contributors: Barbara Blouin, founder of The Inheritance Project, Karen Rowlingson Professor of Social Policy at the University of Birmingham, Edward Wolff, Professor of Economics at New York University and Jørgen Næsje, State Secretary in Norway's Finance Ministry.

(Picture: College Republicans Rally For Repeal Of Estate Tax. Washington DC June 2006. Credit: Getty Imgages)

How much pocket money, if any, should you give your children? What does it teach them about the world of finance?

Some parents give their children an unconditional allowance, with no strings attached, but could this be considered a form of child abuse? Does it make them financially irresponsible adults with a sense of entitlement?

And if you only give your children money in return for them washing the dishes or cleaning their room, do they ever understand the real meaning or usefulness of the work they are doing?

We assess the value of pocket money as a tool for introducing young minds to the world of money, and ask whether parents should be more open with children on money matters and even give them more power to make their own choices with the help of new technology.

Contributors

Professor Lewis Mandell, a financial economist specialising in financial literacy

(Picture: Piggy bank. Credit: iStock, Getty Images)

Can Hong Kong still call itself the gateway to China, or is it in danger of being dwarfed economically by its mainland neighbour?

On the twentieth anniversary of the British handover of power to Beijing, we hear about the mainland Chinese money buying up Hong Kong businesses, properties and land, and discuss the impact it's having on the territory’s economy and society.

As property prices rocket and people are left struggling to afford smaller and smaller flats, what future is there for Hong Kong’s young people?

Have decades of financial might made Hong Kong complacent, and where will future economic growth come from?

Contributors

Allan Zeman, chairman of Lan Kwai Fong Group

(Picture: A traditional junk boat sailing across Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong. Credit: Getty Images)

Has the shock decision to scrap almost all of India's cash been a success or a failure? Last November's withdrawal of 500 and 1,000 rupee notes caused chaos for millions of people and businesses, but now the dust has settled, is there any evidence it was effective in tackling corruption and curbing the black economy?

Have those hardest hit by the demonetisation now managed to recover? What impact, if any, has the move had on India's economy? And in a society where cash is king, are there any signs people have been pushed towards using bank cards or mobile payments?

Contributors

Jayati Ghosh, professor of economics at Jawaharlal Nehru University, in New Delhi

(Picture: A man holds old Indian notes at a protest against demonetisation in Bangalore. Credit: Kiran Manjunath, Getty Images)

Sharp falls in commodity prices have dealt serious blows to the prospects of workers, communities, and businesses in large parts of Africa over the last few years.

The World Bank said economic growth in sub-Saharan Africa slumped to its lowest level for more than two decades last year and earlier this month South Africa, the continent’s third largest economy, re-entered recession.

The picture is not uniformly bleak – the outlook is much more positive in East Africa – but the continent’s largest economies are suffering. Can they turn things around and end their reliance on oil and mining? What hope is there for those seeking relief from poverty, and what jobs might they do in the future?

Ed Butler is joined by a panel of guests: Kola Karim, CEO of Shoreline Group, a Nigerian energy and infrastructure company; professor Mthuli Ncube, head of Quantum Global Research Lab and former chief economist of the African Development Bank; and Lorenzo Fioramonti, professor of political economy at the University of Pretoria, in South Africa.

(Picture: Women fill wheelbarrows with coal in South Africa. Credit: Marco Longari, Getty Images)

Is the world of football about to see a powershift? China wants to be a global leader in football and President Xi has a masterplan to have fifty million Chinese citizens playing football by 2020. It's the big money transfer of players that catch the eye and this summer will see more star names tempted to make the move to China.

(Picture: A view of the main stadium at the Evergrande International Football School in Guangdong Province, China. Credit: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)