Impact of Population Aging on Economic Growth in Different Regions of China

Sajjad A. K. Niazi, Government of Punjab and GRIPS, Japan
Yuan Zhang, National Bureau of Statistics of China

This paper investigates the impact of population aging on economic growth in different regions of China. Owing to strict implementation of one-child policy since late 1970s, China is now facing the aged but not affluent era, which is also characterized by great regional disparity among the provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions. This study uses panel data which spans from 1990 to 2009. The findings show that aging has an unclear effect on growth rate of GDP per capita among the regions in China, which is inconsistent with some previous literature because aging process has often been regarded as a burden to society and contributing less than younger people to economic growth. The effects of physical and human capital accumulation on economic growth during the aging process are not clear either. A possible explanation may come from the comprehensive study of social and economic development of China.