Population aging, silver dividend, and economic growth

While there are growing concerns about population aging, some studies explore the possibility that population aging can give rise to a silver dividend that contributes to economic growth (ADB 2019). While the demographic dividend refers to the increase of the working –age population, the silver dividend points to increase longevity and longer working life as potential sources of growth in an aging society. Extending Lee and Shin (2021) to include developing countries, the study examine the potential for a silver dividend by investigating the channels through which population aging affects economic growth. It finds that lower total factor productivity growth is the main mechanism through which population aging harms economic growth. Labor shortage caused by population aging is mostly offset by higher labor force participation rates of males, females, and older workers. In particular, the labor force participation rate of the older people increases the most.