Demographic Changes and Economic Growth: Empirical Evidence from Asia

Asia has witnessed robust economic growth since the 1960s and the so-called “East Asian economic miracle”. Even till today when the world’s largest economies are suffering from debt and banking crises, emerging markets in Asia have managed to maintain rapid growth. In the meantime, significant demographic changes are taking place in Asian countries. Using an economic growth model, this article further examines the effects of demographic changes on economic growth in thirteen Asian countries during the period from 1965 to 2009. The results indicate negative effects of growth in the total population and the young population on economic growth while showing positive effects of growth in the working-age population and the working-age population ratio. These findings confirm that rapid economic growth in Asia can be attributed to the favorable demographic changes that took place there.