Rapid Aging To Slow Growth in Developing Asia
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Many developing Asian countries like Thailand are aging rapidly before becoming rich. This will make it harder for them to invest in growth.
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Countries that fail to fully capitalize on a demographic dividend of having more working-age people miss their chance to grow rapidly.
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India has grown fast but not as fast as Thailand did during its boom years. It needs economic reforms to take full advantage of its demographic dividend.
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Developing countries need to start planning earlier for an aging population, through pension reform, financial markets development, and increased female labor participation.
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Developing countries should take a pragmatic approach to immigration as a way to extend their demographic dividend, like Thailand using Burmese immigrants.