+ All Categories
Home > Documents > Population-Control-Policies and their Implications for · PDF file ·...

Population-Control-Policies and their Implications for · PDF file ·...

Date post: 19-Mar-2018
Category:
Upload: lequynh
View: 217 times
Download: 3 times
Share this document with a friend
44
Population-Control-Policies and their Implications for Economic Growth in China Bachelor’s Thesis supervised by the Department of Economics at the University of Zurich Prof. Dr. Fabrizio Zilibotti to obtain the degree of Bachelor of Arts in Economics Author: Noemi Schramm Course of Studies: Economics Student ID: 08-710-964 Address: udstrasse 10 8570 Weinfelden E-Mail: [email protected] Closing date: August 17, 2011
Transcript

Population-Control-Policies and theirImplications for Economic Growth in

China

Bachelor’s Thesissupervised by the

Department of Economics at the University of Zurich

Prof. Dr. Fabrizio Zilibotti

to obtain the degree ofBachelor of Arts in Economics

Author: Noemi Schramm

Course of Studies: Economics

Student ID: 08-710-964

Address: Sudstrasse 10

8570 Weinfelden

E-Mail: [email protected]

Closing date: August 17, 2011

Abstract

This bachelor thesis is giving an overview on previously performed

research how family-planning-policies in China (explicitly the so-called

One-Child-Policy) have affected economic growth since 1979 and tries

to give possible predictions and forecasts on how it could affect eco-

nomic growth until 2050 through critical model analysis. The Solow

model gives theoretical answers but also yields analytical results through

calculations subject to different population development scenarios (low,

middle, high growth rates). The dependency ratio as a measurement of

population age structure is analyzed and implemented into the Solow

model to help understand the influence of family-planning-policies.

It is shown that the One-Child-Policy affected heavily the last 32 years

of China’s economic development and will continue to affect its future,

but according to the calculations in this paper, the impact changes

from a positive one to a negative one.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Professor Fabrizio Zilibotti for his supervision and

for giving me the opportunity to write my thesis at his chair. Especially I

would like to thank Yikai Wang for his very valuable and profound support

and guidance for this thesis and I would like to thank Monika Egli, Andreas

Braun and Rachel Waldvogel for helping me no matter which problems and

obstacles I encountered.

2

Contents

1 Introduction 5

2 Population-Control-Policies and their Effects on Economic

Growth in China from 1979 to 2005 8

2.1 One-Child-Policy in China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

2.2 How the One-Child-Policy changed China . . . . . . . . . . . 11

2.2.1 Decline of Fertility Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

2.2.2 Development of the Dependency Ratio . . . . . . . . . 14

2.2.3 Influence on Economic Growth . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16

3 Population-Control-Policy in the Solow Model 19

3.1 Theoretical Analysis of the Solow Model . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

3.1.1 Solow Model with Constant Capital Stock . . . . . . . 21

3.1.2 Solow Model with Dynamic Capital Stock . . . . . . . 25

3.2 Combining Data and Neo-Classical Growth Theory . . . . . . 26

4 Upcoming Challenges for China linked with the One-Child-

Policy 33

5 Conclusion 35

A Appendix 41

3

List of Figures

1 Population Growth, Crude Birth and Death Rates of China

1949 - 2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

2 Population and GDP per capita of China 1978 - 2005 . . . . . 11

3 Crude Birth Rate per 1000 Women 1978 - 2009 . . . . . . . . 13

4 Total Fertility Rate in % 1978 - 2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

5 Population Age Structure 1960 - 2009. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15

6 GDP annual growth rate 1978 - 2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

7 Female Labour Participation 1980 - 2009 . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

8 Total Dependency Ratio 1960 - 2050 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

9 Change of Working Population 2005 - 2050 . . . . . . . . . . . 28

10 Correlation of GDP Growth Rate and ∆ . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

11 Forecast of total GDP 2009 - 2050. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

12 Population Age Structure 2005 - 2050. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

List of Tables

1 Regression Results for the Savings Rate . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

2 Upper Middle Income Economies according to World Bank . . 41

3 Dependency Ratios for 28 Chinese Provinces 1978 - 1998 . . . 42

4 Demographic Contributors to GDP Growth 2006 - 2050 with

constant Capital Stock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

5 Forecasts according to Solow Model with dynamic Savings . . 43

6 Forecasts according to Solow Model with constant Savings . . 44

4

1 Introduction

China’s growing economy is a phenomenon which has already fascinated and

captivated various researchers and scientists. The surprisingly fast transi-

tion from a poorly developed country to an economy to be reckoned with has

raised the question about its background and reasons. Some of the reasons

for China’s development are the drastic political decisions and actions taken

during the last 32 years. China has undergone essential market liberaliza-

tion and opened its markets not only country-wide but also internationally.

Furthermore, China has implemented strong population-control-policies to

prevent a breakdown as predicted in the Malthusian model1.

The sanctions were not welcomed by everybody, especially human rights

activists claimed a rigorous intrusion in personal freedom rights. But China

was also given credit by development agencies for drastically improving liv-

ing standards. More and more researchers analyze the impact the family-

planning-policies had in China and discover profound empirical results (see

Li and Zhang (2007), Yu (2011), Crenshaw et al (1997) or Wei and Hao

(2010) for reference) showing that the decelerated population growth has

added to China’s uprising economy.

With today’s knowledge we can predict possible scenarios for population

growth in China until 2050 as done by Chen and Liu (2009). Using those

numbers and inserting them into growth models underlying the usual assump-

tions the “net” effect of population dynamics on future economic growth in

China can be shown. There has been recent research on the reasons for

economic growth in China (Song et al (2011), Ding and Knight (2008) or

Holz (2008)), but nobody tried to show the implications of one major con-

tributor to economic growth: labor supply itself and therefore working age

population size. This is inflicted with the population-control-policies heavily.

Those policies first raise the relative amount of working population (because

1The model according to Malthus predicts that because of scarcity of resources (espe-cially land) population growth at some point leads to more poverty and therefore hamperseconomic growth.

5

fewer babies are given birth to) but in the longterm the working population

shrinks relatively (because we have a higher amount of old people). The

strict family-planning-policies have been enruled 32 years ago and therefore

first implications of this transition were already enlighted in the past years.

The academic responses to China’s fast economic development vary a lot.

Some predict a new “super-power” (as for example Murray (1998)), some

announce the collapse of China (Chang (2000)). The effects of population

growth on economic development have already been analyzed extensively.

What is lacking in today’s research is the effect of population distribution

(refer the population age structure pyramid) on economic growth. An ageing

population has other effects on economic growth than a likewise growing pop-

ulation with more working people. The dependency ratio – the proportion of

not working (and therefore dependent) people to working people – is a good

measurement for this distribution. As Bloom and Canning (2003) stated, the

dependency ratio measures demographic dynamics more directly than crude

birth and death rates, because it also includes to some extent the effect made

by peoples changing behavior as it is able to reflect improvements in health

conditions of a population.

This thesis aims to give an overview on the topic and not only link pop-

ulation dynamics and economic growth in the past but also to give possi-

ble predictions and forecasts on the linkage of demographic dynamics and

China’s economic growth through showing a modified way to analyze the

Solow model.

This paper is structured as follows: In the first section, I give an overview

on the momentarily implemented population-control-policy in China and

shortly explain the technics of the One-Child-Policy. Following, I will discuss

existing literature on the past 32 years of population growth and its impli-

cations on economic development. During the whole thesis, focus is laid on

the dependency ratio because this ratio shows very clearly the influence the

population-control-policies have not only on total population growth but also

6

on the distribution of population.

In the second part, I will develop an extended Solow model combining

the dependency ratio and the classical Solow model and check analytically

what this tells us. As this is only a bachelor thesis I focus on a model with

simplifying assumptions. In a further study, it would be possible to loose

these assumptions. Finally, making numerical forecasts in the third part

yields a quantified prediction about the next 40 years of China’s economic

development focusing on the demographic parts of economic growth.

7

2 Population-Control-Policies and their Ef-

fects on Economic Growth in China from

1979 to 2005

Analyzing the existing neo-classical growth theories and models such as for

example the model introduced by Robert Solow (1956), we can argue, that

the demographic shock caused by the One-Child-Policy has in the short run

resulted in higher capital per worker and therefore also higher output per

worker. Barro and Sala-i-Martin (1995) show in their book that an increasing

population growth tends to lower captial stock per capita and therefore we

have a lower level of output per capita and vice versa. The One-Child-

Policy is not a one time demographic shock but a permanent change in the

population growth rate which makes the (n + δ) ∗ k linear slope less steep

than originally (because n ↓). This means that the effect of capital dilution

is reduced and the pace of economic growth is accelerated (Weil, 2009). This

increases savings and investment which ends up in a higher capitalstock per

capita and hence higher income per capita. As we see in the coming section,

this is also consistent with the estimations by various researchers.

The following subsections give an introduction into the population-control

policies up until today and discuss their effects on the fertility rate, the

dependency ratio and economic growth.

2.1 One-Child-Policy in China

The Chinese Government was inspired by the work of the Club of Rome in the

1970s about scarcity of resources (Greenhalgh 2003) and argumented with

the Malthusian breakdown (which says that given limited resources, never

ending population growth hampers economic growth) when a population-

control-policy, commonly known as “One-Child-Policy” (for simplicity rea-

sons hereafter called OCP) was introduced together with other drastic eco-

nomic and societal reforms in 1979 (Li and Zhang 2007). From 1971 to

1979, the so-called “later marriage, longer birth intervals and fewer births”

8

family-planning program was set into force as a response to rapid popula-

tion growth. This resulted in declining birth rates but for the ruling party

it was not enough and out of fear of re-increasing birth rates (because the

babyboomers born after the Great Leap Forward were getting into child-

bearing-age) they reinforced the population-control measures by introducing

the OCP (Yu 2011). One feared that the country could collapse as pre-

dicted in the Malthusian model. Indeed, the population growth rates and

the forecasted populace were alarmingly high. So the officials implemented

the family-planning-policy which allowed urban couples one child and rural

couples two children with exceptions (for example for minorities) (Yu 2011).

Earlier attempts in reducing the accelerating growth rate of the Chinese

population had substantial impacts as well. The post-1949s were the begin-

ning of a new era. Chinese government considered a big population as an

asset, following traditional Chinese values. But after the first consensus in

1953, government representatives were surprised by the already high number

of population (around 600 million (Yu 2011)). They started the first family-

planning program in 1956, which was interrupted shortly after by the Great

Leap Forward and the following famine. Figure 1 shows very clearly how

the population grew every year since 1949 except during the famine in the

years 1958 to 1960. Those years left a incisive mark in the history of China,

as it was the only time when the death rate was higher than the birth rate

(illustrated in Figure 1).

Birthrates jumped back at previous levels and even surpassed them, be-

ing responsible for a babyboomer generation in China born after the famine.

China soon started a second attempt in controlling population growth through

emphasizing late marriage in the 1960s (Yu 2011). This time, the Cultural

Revolution in 1967 ended the program but the revolution itself was respon-

sible for later marriage sending young people from urban areas to rural areas.

The third birth-control program (the already mentioned “later, longer,

fewer” policy) was implemented with the intention of a more overall ap-

9

Figure 1: Population Growth, Crude Birth and Death Rates of China 1949- 2009. Source: China Statistical Yearbook, various years.

proach. This campaign proved to be very successful and reduced birth rates

drastically according to Yu (2011). But in contrary to the birth rate, the

fertility rate was only slightly affected through all the programs and there-

fore the government implemented the OCP, trying to fundamentally decrease

fertility rates and therefore permanently change demographic trends. Addi-

tionally, the babyboomers born after the famine would have started having

children in 1979 and a new boost in population growth rates was expected.

The two peaks in Figure 1 of birth rates in 1983 and 1987 can be either ex-

plained by the delaying strategies of couples due to the ”later, longer, fewer”

policy or by the babyboomers which were at the peak of their reproductive

years in 1987 (Yu 2011).

The OCP was and is a tough population-control-policy, causing disso-

nances by human rights organizations (Greenhalgh 2003) and is still un-

popular and disputed among many policymakers. But it reached its goal

10

and prevented around 300 to 400 millions of births during the last decades

(Greenhalgh 2003) having a dramatic impact on China’s economic and soci-

etal development. Weil (2009) estimates that by 2000, there were 70 million

only-children as a result of the OCP. The policy was relaxed in 2000, allowing

more exceptions, but Chinese government still maintains the family-planning

program and also intends to do so according to the new five-year guideline

issued in March 2011.

2.2 How the One-Child-Policy changed China

According to data in the Penn World Table (2011), China’s population grew

from 960 million inhabitants in 1978 to 1.3 billion in 2009. In the same time,

the Gross Domestic Product per capita (GDPcapita) (Purchasing Power Par-

ity (PPP) converted, in international dollar at 2005 constant prices) grew

from $550 to $7000 as shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: Total population and GDP per capita of China 1978 - 2005. Source:

Penn World Table 2011.

Population-control-policies affect demographics and demographics affect

11

economic growth. In the following subsections, firstly the influence of the

OCP on the fertility rate, the birth rate and the changes in the population

age structure during the last 32 years are discussed and secondly the effects

of those implications on past economic growth. In the last couple of years

different researchers conducted empirical studies on the effects of the OCP.

This different studies are presented and discussed.

2.2.1 Decline of Fertility Rate

According to the 2010 census (National Bureau of Statistics of China), the

fertility rate in China is 1.4, however, the United Nations Population Divi-

sion estimates the fertility rate at around 1.8 (refer Figure 4) as people in

China tend to underreport the actual number of children because of fear of

repression. Anyway, both rates are clearly below the replacement level of 2.1

and below those of the other countries classified as “Upper Middle Income

Country” by the World Bank (for a list of all the countries with this classi-

fication refer appendix).

The decline in total fertility rate is normally sequential to a decline in

infant mortality (which according to Wei and Hao (2010) declined from 2%

in 1960 to 0.66% in 1990, which is a level comparable to developed countries)

because of improved health conditions. The OCP imposed an additional ex-

ogenously change to the total fertility rate by charging fines to couples not

following the policy.

In his textbook “Economic Growth”, Weil (2009) writes of a decline in

total fertility rate from 5.99 in 1965 to 1970 to 1.76 in 1995. Li and Zhang

(2007) argue that not only the policy influenced fertility rate but also the so-

called “feedback effect” through higher living standards which again affected

birth rate (refer Figure 3, also: Wei and Hao 2010). There is a significant

reverse causality through lower birth rates, later marriage and extended life

expectancy. In comparison with other countries, the feedback effects of in-

come changes on the birth rate in China is even more salient (Wei and Hao

12

Figure 3: Crude Birth Rate per 1000 Women 1978 - 2009. Source: World Develop-

ment Indicators 2009, World Bank.

Figure 4: Total Fertility Rate in % 1978 - 2009. Source: World Development Indicators

2009, World Bank.

13

2010). Another reason for lower fertility rates could be higher real wages for

women through economic development, as Galor and Weil (2009) show.

2.2.2 Development of the Dependency Ratio

Demographics cover the age distribution of a population and demographic

transitions means evolving from high fertility and mortality to low fertility

and mortality rates. One of the main influences of the OCP affected the age

distribution of people among the population as illustrated in Figure 5.

The OCP prevented aroung 300 million births since its introduction (Green-

halgh 2003). During the first years, the amount of dependent youngsters (per

definition aged 0-14 years) declined (as seen in Figure 5) and therefore the

youth dependency ratio2 fell as well, mainly due to the lower fertility rate

(Wei and Hao 2010) (as shown in the previous section 2.2.1 on page 12). This

had major implications on the total dependency ratio as Wei and Hao (2010)

have shown. The youth dependency ratio fell from 72.5% in 1965 to 30.2%

in 2005 and logically the total dependency ratio declined as well. However,

it did not decline at the same extent but by 38%3 due to the relatively stable

elderly dependency ratio (increased from 4.8% (1960) to 8% (2009). The rel-

ative amount of workers rised to as much as 71.7% in 2009. This had further

implications on economic growth which will be discussed in section 2.2.3 on

page 16.

Salditt et al (2008) speak of the demographic window4 which will last in

China according to him until 2015. The demographic window is an indica-

tor used when the economy enters a period with a total dependency ratio

around 40-60% according to the United Nations Population Division (2004)

2The youth dependency ratio equals total amount of youngsters over working popula-tion: people aged 0-14 years

people aged 15-64 years .3In their paper of 2007, Li and Zhang also have data about the mean youth dependency

ratio and old dependency ratio for 28 Chinese provinces for the period 1978 - 1998. Theirnumbers differ slightly from the ones of Wei and Hao, as can be seen in Table 3 in theappendix.

4The demographic window is a period where the relative amount of workers is high andtherefore it is a time of economic opportunities.

14

Figure 5: Population Age Structure 1960 - 2009. Source: United Nations Population

Divison 2009.

(mainly due to a lower youth dependency ratio) (Salditt et al 2008, Wei and

Hao 2010). If supported by a good legal framework and policies fostering

economic environment the demographic window can lead to a demographic

dividend5 (Bloom and Williamson 1998). In their report of 2004, the United

Nations Population Divisions predicts the demographic window for China

opened in 1990 and lasts until 2025, however, our own research (with data

from Chen and Liu (2009)) predicts the demographic dividend to last until

2033 taking as treshold value a total dependency ratio of 50%. Together with

the economic reforms undertaken since 1978, China has been able to profit

a lot from the demographic dividend. GDP growth rates took off with the

opening of the demographic window in 1990 (refer Figure 6).

The discussed papers have the underlying assumption that people work

during the age of 15-64 and do not work while they are younger than 15

or older than 65. Those assumptions are useful abstractions and are also

used by Chen and Liu (2009) in their paper while forcasting population size,

therefore these age classifications are maintained in this thesis. With these

classifications, we calculated the dependency ratio for China from 1960 to

5The demographic dividend is the part of economic growth attributable to a low de-pendency ratio through a rising share of working adults.

15

2050 as illustrated in Figure 8 on page 24.

2.2.3 Influence on Economic Growth

Mankiw et al (1992) showed the general significant negative correlation be-

tween population size and output of a country in their article. Concerning

China, Li and Zhang (2007) show in their paper that a decline of the birth

rate by 11000

increases the economic growth rate by an estimated 0.9% a

year. They also conclude that the steady-state GDPcapita would be raised by

14.3%. Through an estimation employing the generalized method of moments

(GMM) they find that the economic growth rates of the Chinese provinces

decrease with increasing birth rates and vice versa. The two authors there-

fore reason along with the Malthus model stating that too high birth rates

can hamper economic growth and probably have done so in China before

implementing population-control-policies.

Wei and Hao (2010) state in their paper that China had a significantly

higher GDP per capita growth rate during 1978 to 2008 than the United

States, Europe, Japan and India. In Figure 6 data from the World Bank

also shows that China not only had higher growth rates than the worldwide

average growth rate but also than other middle income countries. For sure,

it was not only the demographic development that contributed to those high

growth rates but also other factors such as institutional reform, rapid accu-

mulation of capital, general elimination of inefficiencies or the enhancement

of total factor productivity (Wei and Hao 2010, Holz 2006). Other factors

are the reallocation of resources (Song et al 2011), market liberalization and

the adoption of an open-door policy (Yu 2011).

Researchers have estimated the influence of the population age structure

on previous growth rates. Cai and Wang (2005, 2006) find that an increase

of the total dependency ratio of 1% lowers the GDP per capita growth rate

by 0.115%. Wei and Hao (2010) estimate a 0.065% increase in economic

growth per 1% decrease in total dependency ratio. The correlation is clearly

16

Figure 6: GDP annual growth rate 1978 - 2009. Source: World Bank, World Develop-

ment Indicators 2009.

negative, their results show this at the 5% significance level. In their paper

the two authors also show that the youth dependency ratio has a significant

negative impact on economic growth while the old dependency ratio is neg-

atively correlated, but the estimations are insignificant.

A very interesting approach is shown by Yu (2011). He adds the averted

average 13 million births a year to the dependency ratio and calculates

China’s GDP per capita growth rate with the different numbers, compar-

ing it afterwards with actual growth rates. He shows that for example in

1995, the real GDP per capita would have been 13.2% lower without the

OCP. Combining different research theories, he concludes that the high ratio

of working to non-working population led to higher savings, higher savings

led to a higher level of investment and the large capital stock led to threshold

externalities as shown as existing in developing countries. This all together

ended in an economic take-off effect. The estimated threshold value of the

ratio of working population and non-working population is 1.81. Given that

17

1.81 workers support one dependent non-worker6, saving rates and invest-

ments were high enough for the economic take-off to occur. He calculated

that the start of the economic take-off effect was around 1984 to 1985. With-

out the OCP, the treshold value would have been reached in 1996, hence the

OCP accelerated economic growth for about twelve years.

Another argument for the explosion of growth rates could be the rising

participation of women at labor market (refer Figure 7). Chen and Hao

(2010) argue that due to the OCP more women were released to the labor

market which added to the working age population. This is also supported

by research conducted by Bloom et al (2009) which argues that decreas-

ing fertility rates enhance female labor participation. But data shows that

the female participation rate at the labour market reached its peak in 1990

and decreased since then. This contradicts Chen and Hao’s argument and

could possibly be explained by a renunciation of traditional communist equal

opportunity policy which was another reason for the high female labor par-

ticipation rate. But this still needs more research for clear clarification.

According to a cross-country panel data analysis made by Ding and

Knight (2008), the low population growth rate has contributed significantly

to economic development in China. The two authors take the Solow model

and add human capital and structural change to the classical model before

estimating results.

To conclude, many studies (among others: Cai and Wang 2006, Yu 2011,

Wang and Mason 2008) have concluded that the demographic transitions

during the last decades are responsible for one-sixth to two-fifths of China’s

GDP per capita growth since 1978.

6This corresponds to a dependency ratio of 0.55. Concerning the start of the economictake-off effect refer Figure 8 on page 24.

18

Figure 7: Female Labour Participation 1980 - 2009. Source: World Development

Indicators 2009, World Bank.

3 Population-Control-Policy in the Solow Model

This thesis is not covering population-control-policies in overlapping-generations

(OLG) growth models because calculations are difficult to make using a sim-

plified two-period OLG model. China has implemented the OCP only 32

years ago, which would be only one period. Hence, we focus on the neo-

classical growth model as presented by Robert Solow (1966) and modify the

standard model to integrate population dynamics. We use the data estimated

and provided by Chen and Liu (2009). They made forecasts for population

growth rates for China from 2005 to 2050 applying three different scenar-

ios: low, middle and high projected growth rates. For further reference and

explanations on the underlying assumptions of the projections, we refer to

their paper.

3.1 Theoretical Analysis of the Solow Model

We use the Solow model with its standard assumptions as described in the

textbook of David Weil (2009). As part of the technical analysis we add the

19

dependency ratio to the model and use differentiation to see what happens

with income per capita if the dependency ratio or the amount of dependent

people change. This helps us to predict and understand possible changes in

economic growth in the future.

For simplicity reasons we assume zero international migration. This is

realistic, because data shows that relative migration is near zero in China

and therefore this assumption is widely used in various published papers.

We also presume:

• Y ... total income, GDP

• y ... income per capita y = YL

= GDPcapita

• A ... technical progress

• K ... capital stock

• α ... share of capital in the production function, α ∈ (0, 1)

• s ... savings rate

• L ... total population

• W ... working population, people aged 15-64

• D ... dependent population, people aged under 15 and above 65

• ∆ ... dependency ratio (proportion of dependent people per worker)

= DW

• gY ... growth rate of total income = Yt+1−YtYt

• gA ... growth rate of technical progress = At+1−At

At

• gK ... growth rate of capital stock = Kt+1−Kt

Kt

• gW ... growth rate of working population = Wt+1−Wt

Wt

20

We do not show every step of the normal Solow model here. For refer-

ence and introduction we recommend to read David Weil’s book ”Economic

Growth” (2009) or Barro and Sala-i-Martin’s book with the same title (1995).

One of the main assumptions of the Solow model is that the whole population

L is working. We adjust that in our framework and use only the working

population combining this with the dependency ratio. This yields to slightly

different results and allows us to integrate the population age structure in

the model. In the first part, we hold capital stock constant, in the second

part we integrate a dynamic capital stock into the model.

3.1.1 Solow Model with Constant Capital Stock

Given the definition for GDP per capita, we add the ratio of workers among

total population and combine this with GDP per worker as follows:

GDPcapita = GDPworker ∗W

L(1)

The term WL

can be transformed as follows:

W

L=

(L

W

)−1

=

(W +D

W

)−1

= (1 + ∆)−1 =

(1

1 + ∆

). (2)

Combining equations (1) and (2) we get

GDPcapita = GDPworker ∗ (1 + ∆)−1, (3)

knowing that ∆ = DW

. Here we see mathematically what happens when the

dependency ratio ∆ increases (which means that either D ↑ or W ↓ or both)

or decreases: GDP per capita is negatively interrelated with ∆. If the de-

pendent proportion of people in a population rises, GDP per capita falls.

The definition of GDP per capita as known from the Solow model is

y = YL

= GDPcapita. We now analyze a standard Cobb-Douglas produc-

tion function, taking into consideration that only part of the population is

working. This yields:

21

Y = A ∗Kα ∗W 1−α,with α ∈ (0, 1). (4)

We divide with L to get GDP per capita and for later use we rearrange

W 1−α.

Y

L= AKα W

1

L⇐⇒ Y

L= AKα 1

W

L. (5)

Here we use again equation (2) and insert it into (5) which yields

Y

L= AKα 1

(1

1 + ∆

). (6)

We analyze GDP per capita, because what is interesting in our research

is how population dynamics influence economic growth and GDP per capita

yields the most salient results in terms of how it affects the economy cleared

of population bias. We now differentiate this equation with respect to ∆ to

check analytically, what happens with a change of the dependency ratio in

the Solow model.

∂(YL

)

∂∆= A

(K

W

)α∗(− 1

(1 + ∆)2

)which is < 0. (7)

The first two terms A and(KW

)αare positive, the last term − 1

(1+∆)2is

negative. We showed analytically that in the standard Solow model the de-

pendency ratio and hence the population age structure and GDP per capita

are negatively correlated. Multiplying equation (6) with L and differentiating

yields as well a negative result, hence total GDP is also negatively correlated

with the dependency ratio.

An interesting point to know is the effect of a change of the dependent pop-

ulation on economic output because China is expecting major changes in

the amount of the dependent population in the coming years (especially

22

ongoing ageing). Taking the derivatives of equation (4) is easy and yields∂Y∂D

= A(1− α)(

KL−D

)α ∗ (−1) < 0, stating that total GDP and the amount

of dependent persons is negatively correlated. Analyzing GDP per capita is

not as easy but yields very interesting results:

∂(YL

)

∂D= AKα(1−α)(L−D)−α

(1

W +D

)−AKα(L−D)1−α 1

(W +D)2. (8)

The analysis if this term is positive or negative is not simple. The first

part of the differentiation is negative, the second one positive. Therefore, it

depends whether the first or the second part is bigger. This yields:

AKαW−α 1

W +D[(1− α)− W

W +D] Q 0 ? (9)

Because all the first terms are positive, we simply have to check whether

(1− α)− W

W +DQ 0 ? (10)

W + D equals the total population L and therefore we can state the

following:

1. if WL> (1− α), then

∂(YL

)

∂D< 0.

2. if WL< (1− α), then

∂(YL

)

∂D> 0.

3. if WL

= (1− α), then∂(Y

L)

∂D= 0.

In China, α is estimated around 0.35 to 0.5, depending on the researcher

(refer Minghai et al 2010, Song et al 2011, Liang 2006). This implicates that

as long as the proportion of working people among total population is be-

low 0.5 to 0.65, a change in the dependent population is negatively correlated

with output per capita. We know that WL

can be rewritten according to equa-

tion (2) as WL

= 1∆+1

. Solving the equations with α = 0.5 yields the following:

23

1. if ∆ > 1, then∂(Y

L)

∂D> 0.

2. if ∆ < 1, then∂(Y

L)

∂D< 0.

3. if ∆ = 1, then∂(Y

L)

∂D= 0.

This means that as long as the dependency ratio is lower than 1 (which

states that there are more workers than dependent people), the dependent

population and GDP per capita are negatively correlated. Figure 8 shows

that the dependency ratio always was and will be lower than the treshold

value according to our data and therefore an increase in the dependent popu-

lation yields to an decrease in output per capita. Knowing that, we presume

in the calculations part that total GDP is affected negatively because of an

increasing dependency ratio.

Figure 8: Total Dependency Ratio 1960 - 2050 (∗ is a forecast). Source: World

Bank and Chen and Liu, 2009.

This thesis aims at showing the net effect of population dynamics on

economic growth and hereby explicitly total GDP growth, therefore we now

analyze growth rates. Taking logarithm of equation (4) and differentiating

with respect to time yields the following equation:

24

gY = gA + αgK + (1− α)gW (11)

We also know that we can express either one of the three growth rates

gW , g1+∆, gL by two of them as for example gW = gL + g1+∆ (taking log-

arithm of equation (2) and differentiating with respect to time). We see

that economic growth is composed by the growth rate of working population

(slightly smoothed by α) and this again is influenced by the change of the de-

pendency ratio and the total population growth. With this equation, we are

able to calculate the demographic parts of the growth rate of GDP per year

in the coming section 3.2. Holding capital stock and technological progress

at a constant level, we see the net contribution of demographic dynamics on

economic growth.

3.1.2 Solow Model with Dynamic Capital Stock

Let us now relax the assumption of a constant capital stock and assume

capital stock as follows:

Kt+1 = stYt = stAKαt W

1−αt assuming that st = s

(Wt

Lt

)︸ ︷︷ ︸

+

(12)

Consequently, s is increasing if the proportion of workers among popula-

tion (WL

) is increasing. What we do now is to calculate growth rate of capital

stock gK and insert it into our growth equation.

gK =Kt+1 −Kt

Kt

=sAKα

t W1−αt −Kt

Kt

= sA

(Kt

Wt

)α−1

− 1 (13)

gY = gA + α[sA

(Kt

Wt

)α−1

− 1] + (1− α)gW (14)

25

We can use this equation and calculate GDP growth rates and total GDP

until 2050 with our data. Running a regression with existing data on sav-

ings rates and proportion of working population helps us to calculate the

corresponding savings rates until 2050.

3.2 Combining Data and Neo-Classical Growth The-

ory

In the following chapter, growth accounting with focus on population dy-

namics is executed. The GDP growth rate is decomposed according to the

precedent chapter into growth of capital stock and working population. If

not otherwise specified, we use data provided by Chen and Liu (2009). The

two authors made an overall approach in projecting population until 2050

applying three different scenarios (low, middle, high growth rates). For the

calculations presented here, we used the middle scenario.

The following calculations underly certain assumpations:

1. The current political situation does not change dramatically. (This

would have possible inflictions on population size).

2. The education is equally distributed among population and are not

qualified in the calculations. Focus is laid on population growth and

dependency ratio.

3. There exists an economy-wide aggregate production function (Cobb-

Douglas production function) with constant returns to scale and con-

stant output elasticities and the Inada7 conditions hold.

7The six conditions are:

(a) the value of the function at 0 is 0,

(b) the function is continuously differentiable,

(c) the function is strictly increasing in x,

(d) the derivative of the function is decreasing (thus the function is concave),

(e) the limit of the derivative towards 0 is positive infinity,

(f) the limit of the derivative towards positive infinity is 0.

26

4. To show the net effect of the OCP on economic growth, the other

parameters are kept constant (such as A (technical progress).

5. The actual pension age in China is 55 for women and 60 for men. We

maintain the assumptions of a working age between 15 and 65, firstly

out of convenience and because data is separated like this and secondly

because China will need to make adjustments here in the coming years,

so we expect the retirement age to increase.

Consistent with Song et al (2011), we set α (the share of capital) to 0.5.

Others (Liang 2006) use 0.4 as value, but we take the most actual research

paper and their assumptions. Additionally, it has been discussed that since

1990 capital’s share of national income has been increasing while labor’s

share of income has been decreasing (Liang 2006). Since we are forecasting

into the future, α equaling 0.5 is more likely. We start by calculating the

growth rate of working population and from there we use equation (11) with

constant capital stock which yields the demographic contributors of growth

rates of GDP from 2006 to 2050.

Knowing about the positive correlation of gW and gY , Figure 9 clearly

shows that population first has a positive influence on total GDP growth.

Beginning in 2027, population dynamics and especially the ongoing ageing

of the society have a negative impact on economic growth. This also sup-

ports the statement of Chen and Liu (2009) speaking of a dependency ratio

below 0.5 and accordingly stating that the demographic window closes in

2033 (middle population growth). Table 4 on page 42 summarizes the data

for the middle population growth scenario.

We incorporate gK as described in section 3.1.2. For our calculations,

we first need to run a regression on the savings rate and the proportion of

working people. The result of the regression is used in our further calculations

to project s into future. Unfortunately, only 39 data sets are available, but

since the results are highly significant and normally distributed, we use the

27

Figure 9: Change of working population 2005 - 2050, five year growth rates.Source: own calculations with data based on Chen and Liu, 2009.

coefficients despite the rather small sample. The linear function graphs the

relationship fairly according to R2. We checked as well an exponential and

polynominal relationship, but the numbers for R2 differ only slightly and

therefore we apply a linear regression. The summary of the regression with

data from the World Bank can be seen in Table 1. We use the numbers and

express s as follows:

s

(W

L

)= −0.38 + 1.19

W

L(15)

Hence, we can calculate the savings rate for the years 2010 to 2050 (we

have data until 2009) using the population age structure data provided by

Chen and Liu. The data is summarized in the appendix (refer Table 5).

Using equation (13) and holding A constant (or normalized to 1) we can

use the data we retrieved from the World Bank and calculate capital stock

2009. The coming procedure for our calculations can be summarized as

follows:

28

Call:

lm(formula = s ∼ WL

)

Residuals:

Min 1Q Median 3Q Max

-0.047119 -0.022194 0.001478 0.017017 0.063959

Coefficients:

Estimate Std. Error t value Pr(>| t |)(Intercept) -0.38011 0.05718 -6.647 7.41e-08 ***WL

1.18909 0.08893 13.371 6.02e-16 ***

Signif. codes: 0 (***) 0.001 (**) 0.01 (*) 0.05 (.) 0.1 ( ) 1

Residual standard error: 0.02858 on 38 degrees of freedom

Multiple R-squared: 0.8247, Adjusted R-squared: 0.8201

F-statistic: 178.8 on 1 and 38 DF, p-value: 6.022e-16

Table 1: Regression Results for the Savings Rates. Source: own calculations based on

data from the World Bank.

1. Calculate capital stock Kt using equation (12).

2. Calculate gY with growth equation (14).

3. Calculate total GDP, Yt+1.

4. Start again by calculating capital stock Kt+1.

This yields to our forecasts of economic growth for China until 2050 (PPP

converted, international Dollars, in 2005 constant prices or percent (growth

rates)). The whole data set is available in Table 5 in the appendix. Us-

ing a dynamic savings rate yields negative GDP growth rates because the

shrinking working population has a multiple effect in our model. We con-

duct another forecast leaving the savings rate a a constant level of 0.5. This

could also reflect reality as an uncertain pension system could be responsi-

ble for high savings rates no matter if the working population is decreasing.

Those forecasts are displayed in Table 6 and we further analyze those second

29

calculations.

As the whole thesis is about incorporating the dependency ratio into eco-

nomic growth, we now run a non linear regression on the relation of ∆ and gY

as plotted in Figure 10. The significant results are displayed in the Figure.

The regression yields a quadratic function as result, which states that ap-

plying the Solow model, ∆ has a bigger impact on gY than overall expected.

One possible explanation for the polynominal regression could be that ∆ has

multiple effects in our model. But we need more data sets to verify those

results; this could be part of another research project.

Figure 10: Correlation of GDP Growth Rate and ∆ with Regression Results.Source: own calculations based on data from Chen and Liu, 2009.

Concluding this section we can state that China is still able to profit

from the demographic dynamics at least until 2016 and also some years after.

The result of our forecasts are graphed in Figure 11. We know that this is

excluding other factors which additionally enhance China’s economic growth.

30

What we can state from our model analysis is, that an ageing China will

have decelerating growth rates and the problems of the population-control-

policies (fast and ongoing ageing) will hamper economic growth starting with

the closing of the demographic window. Here we support the statement of

Salditt et al (2008) of the closing of the demographic window in 2015 and

therefore the end of the demographic dividend.

Figure 11: Forecast of total GDP 2009 - 2050. Source: own calculations based on data

from Chen and Liu, 2009.

In China, problems concerning the fast ageing population occur. The

share of elderly people among population is increasing dramatically from 7%

to nearly a quarter of total population, as Figure 12 with data from Chen

and Liu (2009) shows. As the report of Salditt et al (2008) states, until

2006 only 50% of the urban population were part of the pension system and

among the rural employees, the number is even lower. If China does not

suceed in implementing a sustainable and equitable pension system, people

are forced to save a high amount of their income and they are dependent on

their family. The phenonemon called 4-2-1 will happen where one child has

31

to provide for two parents and four grandparents because all were subject

to the OCP (Salditt et al 2008). The changes in the working population are

shown in Figure 9. Furthermore, the peak of the ratio of workers per de-

pendent person is reached (Figure 8 shows the inverted discussed graph) and

this ratio is declining to half of what it is now until 2050. This has further

implications on the “economic burden” each worker has to carry.

Figure 12: Population Age Structure 2005 - 2050. Source: Chen and Liu, 2009.

32

4 Upcoming Challenges for China linked with

the One-Child-Policy

A topic which has not been considered in this thesis is the sex ratio of the

newborn as a consequence of the OCP. In 2005, the ratio of girls versus boys

of newborns (aged 0 to 4) has been 100 to 122 (Salditt et al 2008). The ”miss-

ing girls” will be of relevance in the coming future as China is becoming a

society with not enough women which could impose political unrest among

unsatisfied young men. This also has implications on the reproduction rate

as only girls can give birth again.

While opening up the country, migration becomes another important

topic. On one hand, Chinese workers are migrating to other countries (as

for example to the rich Arabian peninsula) and on the other hand there is

a big amount of inner-country migration. Since the beginning of the 1990s,

an increasing amount of workers are recorded as not living in the place of

work. This affects first of all the estimations made by researchers because

the migrant workers normally send back remittances which could raise the

savings rate and therefore end up in a bias in the estimations. Secondly, the

workers could make the impression of a lower dependency ratio in certain ar-

eas. These migrant workers are a mass of around 115 million people (Salditt

2006, Jackson 2011) which do not have a real perspective for life. Combining

this with fewer women available for marriage, the tension because of unsat-

isfied needs is growing.

With the transition of China to an upper income economy, work becomes

more expensive. The possibility of fast boosts of GDP through moving ru-

ral people to urban areas and let them work in badly paid jobs will not

be possible anymore in the same amount. The undereducated workers will

be jobless and this yields to a burden for the economy. As already Schultz

(1961) wrote, investment in human capital and economic growth are directly

linked. The transition from large families to smaller families brings one sig-

nificant change: the enhancement of investment in human capital (Becker

33

et al 1990). Becker et al (1990) describe two steady-states: one with large

families and small investment in human capital and one with small families

and rising investment in human capital. They state the idea that a country

can switch its steady-state given certain policies and adequate living stan-

dard. The OCP artificially accelerated the speed of this transition through

exogenously influencing the family size. This forced China to switch from

one steady-state to the other.

Subsidizing and supporting puplic education system can be used to ad-

vance higher investment in human capital (Fanti and Gori 2011, Zhang 1997).

Since private returns to education at the moment are possibly below its

marginal value, as Holz (2008) states, China has to invest in the education

system to further promote the investments in human capital. To give edu-

cation more weight may help maintain economic growth. Or as Holz (2008)

has remarked:

”If talent is randomly distributed among the world population

and if China’s education system is able to identify the brightest

students, then China has a larger pool of talent to draw from

than any other country in the world.”

To use those resources more efficiently means more innovation are possi-

ble and therefore a higher level of productivity and economic growth occur.

In their new five-year-guidelines, China writes about creating an innovation

promoting environment. But compared to other developing countries such as

Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, the level of education makes the growth

difference according to Ding and Knight (2008). China is on a better track

than the other countries in terms of education. The two authors also found

that compared with industrial countries, the growth rate of human capital

is responsible for the growth difference. So investment in human capital is

one major part of growth accounting in China compared to other countries’

growth rate.

34

5 Conclusion

Family-planning-policies have implications on economic growth and economic

growth has implications on population growth. Even the World Bank calls

for population-control-policies in order to promote economic development.

An interesting ethical (and in this thesis unanswered) question is, if it is

allowed and desirable to limit human rights (sexual and reproductive rights)

to promote decent life and economic development.

Bearing in mind that not only the economy grew during the last decades,

but also the inequality as can be seen in the rise of the Gini coefficient as

a measure for the distribution of income from 0.341 in 1988 8 to 0.415 in

2005 according to the World Bank 9. In their technical report for the United

Nations University, Renwei and Li (2007) even talk about a Gini coefficient

of the distribution of wealth of 0.55 in 2001.

China decided 32 years ago to implement a rigorous family-planning-

policy and they will still be affected by this decision during the coming years.

The OCP is irreversible and has long-lasting implications: the policy first en-

hanced economic growth through a lower dependency ratio, which even led

to the opening of a demographic window and hence China was able to profit

of the demographic dividend. But the accelerated ageing of the population

yields an increasing old dependency ratio. According to our forecasts apply-

ing the Solow model, China has to expect a negative impact on economic

growth because of demographic dynamics. Interesting here is that the im-

pact and the demographic contributors are rather small in numbers, but still

it is able to hamper economic growth in the future.

However, in the future adjustments to the convention on how to use and

8Prior data on overall Gini coefficient in China is not available, this is data from theNational Bureau of Statistics of China. However, the World Bank estimated the Ginicoefficient in 1978 around 0.3 (Renwei et al 1999).

9This is also consistent with calculations made by the United Nations DevelopmentProgram which measured a Gini coefficient of 0.415 during 2000-2010.

35

calculate the dependency ratio is needed since people not only in China but

all over the world start working later and retirement age varies also. This has

significant implications on the population age structure and the used models

in science. The calculations made here are to be understand as a net effect.

A lot of other factors, which are main contributors to economic growth in

China, have not been considered. But as from the population perspective we

can state that China will no longer profit from a rising working population.

They are encountered with the same problems as developed economies: an

ageing society. It will be interesting to witness how China is handling this

problem.

China has already undergone major changes and addressed challenges

with drastic answers — the OCP is one example. So China might be able to

undertake drastic actions again. Next year the government is changing, this

might be followed by other policy decisions. Whether an ageing China can

be a rising China will be decided by the actions made by the government and

their ability to adapt to the new situation. The positive impact of the OCP

is coming to an end, it might be time to adjust China’s population-control-

policies.

36

References

[1] Alan Heston, R. S., and Aten, B. Penn World Table Version 7.0.

Tech. rep., Center for International Comparisons of Production, Income

and Prices at the University of Pennsylvania, May 2011.

[2] Barro, R., and Sala-i Martin, X. Economic Growth. McGraw-Hill,

New York, 1995.

[3] Becker, G. S., Murphy, K. N., and Tamura, R. Human Capital,

Fertility, and Economic Growth. The Journal of Political Economy 98,

5 (October 1990), 12–37.

[4] Bloom, D., and Williamson, J. Demographic Transitions and Eco-

nomic Miracles in Emerging Asia. World Bank Economic Review 12, 3

(1998), 419–455.

[5] Bloom, D. E., and Canning, D. Cumulative Causality, Economic

Growth and the Demographic Transition. In Population Does Matter:

Demography, Growth and Poverty in the Developing World., N. Birdsall,

A. C. Kelley, and S. W. Sinding, Eds. Oxford University Press, New

York, 2003.

[6] Bloom, D. E., Canning, D., Fink, G., and Finlay, J. E. Fertil-

ity, Female Labor Force Participation and the Demographic Dividend.

Journal of Economic Growth 14, 2 (June 2009), 79–101.

[7] Cai, F., and Wang, D. The China Boom and Its Discontents. Asia

Pacific Press, Canberra, 2005, ch. China’s Demographic Transition: Im-

plications for Growth.

[8] Cai, F., and Wang, D. Demographic Transition and Economic

Growth in China. Tech. rep., International Conference on the Dragon

and Elephant: China and India’s Economic Reform. Shanghai, China.,

2006.

37

[9] Chang, G. G. The Coming Collapse of China. New York: Random

House, 2001.

[10] Chen, W., and Liu, J. Future Population Trends in China 2005-2050.

General Paper G-191, Center of Policy Studies and the Impact Project,

September 2009.

[11] Chinese Communist Party. The Twelfth Five-Year Guideline, 2011–

2015. Tech. rep., Chinese Government, March 2011.

[12] Crenshaw, E. M., Ameen, A. Z., and Christenson, M. Popu-

lation Dynamics and Economic Development: Age-Specific Population

Growth Rates and Economic Growth in Developing Countries, 1965 to

1990. American Sociological Review 62, 6 (December 1997), 974–984.

[13] Ding, S., and Knight, J. Can the Augmented Solow Model Ex-

plain China’s Economic Growth? A Cross-Country Panel Data Analy-

sis. Tech. Rep. 380, University of Oxford, Departement of Economics,

February 2008.

[14] Fanti, L., and Gori, L. Child Policy Ineffectiveness in an Overlap-

ping Generations Small Open Economy with Human Capital Accumula-

tion and Public Education. Economic Modelling 28, 1-2 (January-March

2011), 404–409.

[15] Galor, O., and Weil, D. The Gender Gap, Fertility and Growth.

American Economic Review 86 (1996), 374–387.

[16] Greenhalgh, S. Science, Modernity and the Making of China’s One-

Child Policy. Population and Development Review 29, 2 (June 2003),

163–196.

[17] Holz, C. A. Why China’s Growth Is Sustainable. Far Eastern Eco-

nomic Review 169, 3 (April 2006), 41–46.

[18] Holz, C. A. China’s Economic Growth 1978-2025: What We Know

Today about China’s Economic Growth Tomorrow. World Development

36, 10 (October 2008), 1665–1691.

38

[19] Jackson, R. Can an Aging China be a Rising China? The China

Business Review 38, 2 (April-June 2011).

[20] Li, H., and Zhang, J. Do High Birth Rates Hamper Economic

Growth? The Review of Economics and Statistics 89, 1 (February 2007),

110–117.

[21] Liang, H. China’s investment strength is sustainable. Tech. rep., CEIC

and Goldman Sachs, October 2006.

[22] Mankiw, N. G., Romer, D., and Weil, D. N. A Contribution

to the Empirics of Economic Growth. Quarterly Journal of Economics

107, 2 (1992), 3–42.

[23] Minghai, Z., Wen, X., and Xianguo, Y. Unbalanced Economic

Growth and Uneven National Income Distribution: Evidence from

China. Tech. rep., Institute for Research on Labor and Employment

University of California Los Angeles, June 2010.

[24] Murray, G. China: The Next Superpower. Dilemmas in Change and

Continuity. Richmond, Surrex: China Library (Curzon Press), 1998.

[25] National Bureau of Statistic China. China Statistical Yearbook.

Tech. rep., NBS China, various years.

[26] Renwei, Z., and Li, S. Changes in the Distribution of Wealth in

China, 1995-2002. Research Paper 3, United Nations University - World

Institute for Development Economics Research, January 2007.

[27] Renwei, Z., Shi, L., and Riskin, C. Re-study of Income Distribu-

tion Among Residents in China. China Financial and Economic Press

(1999).

[28] Salditt, F., Whiteford, P., and Adema, W. Pension Reform

in China. International Social Security Review 61, 3 (July-September

2008), 47–71.

39

[29] Schultz, T. W. Investment in Human Capital. The American Eco-

nomic Review 51, 1 (March 1961), 1–17.

[30] Solow, R. M. A Contribution to the Theory of Economic Growth.

Quarterly Journal of Economics 70, 1 (February 1956), 65–94.

[31] Song, Z., Storesletten, K., and Zilibotti, F. Growing Like

China. American Economic Review 101 (February 2011), 202–241.

[32] United Nations Population Division. World Population in 2300.

Tech. rep., United Nations, New York, 2004.

[33] Wang, F., and Mason, A. China’s Great Economic Transforma-

tion. Cambridge University Press, 2008, ch. The Demographic Factor in

China’s Transition, pp. 136–166.

[34] Weil, D. N. Economic Growth, 2nd ed. Pearson Education, 2009.

[35] World Bank. World Bank Development Indicators. Tech. rep., World

Bank, 2009.

[36] Yu, Z. Demographic Dynamics and Economic Take-Off. The Chinese

Economy 44, 1 (January-February 2011), 72–90.

[37] Zhang, J. Fertility, Growth and Public Investments in Children. The

Canadian Journal of Economics 30, 4a (November 1997), 835–843.

40

A Appendix

The World Bank classified each country to a certain group, China is part of

the “Upper Middle Income” economies (GDP per capita is $3,976 to $12,275).

All countries in this group are listed in Table 2.

Upper-middle-income economies

Albania Ecuador Namibia

Algeria Gabon Palau

American Samoa Grenada Panama

Antigua and Barbuda Iran, Islamic Rep. Peru

Argentina Jamaica Romania

Azerbaijan Jordan Russian Federation

Belarus Kazakhstan Serbia

Bosnia and Herzegovina Latvia Seychelles

Botswana Lebanon South Africa

Brazil Libya St. Kitts and Nevis

Bulgaria Lithuania St. Lucia

Chile Macedonia, FYR St. Vincent and the Grenadines

China Malaysia Suriname

Colombia Maldives Thailand

Costa Rica Mauritius Tunisia

Cuba Mayotte Turkey

Dominica Mexico Uruguay

Dominican Republic Montenegro Venezuela, RB

Table 2: Upper Middle Income Economies according to World Bank. Source:

World Bank.

41

Ratios N Mean Standard Deviation Min Max

Youth Dependency Ratio 112 0.320 0.064 0.179 0.429

Old Dependency Ratio 112 0.049 0.015 0.022 0.114

Table 3: Dependency Ratios for 28 Chinese Provinces 1978 - 1998. Source: Wei

and Hao, 2010.

Year gW g1+∆ gL gY Year gW g1+∆ gL gY

2006 1.17 -0.63 0.54 0.5857 2028 -0.91 0.92 0.00 -0.4536

2007 1.05 -0.44 0.61 0.5263 2029 -0.51 0.58 0.07 -0.2543

2008 0.83 -0.23 0.60 0.4103 2030 -0.61 0.62 0.00 -0.3067

2009 0.72 -0.12 0.60 0.3616 2031 -0.62 0.62 0.00 -0.3086

2010 0.82 -0.15 0.67 0.4103 2032 -0.52 0.52 0.00 -0.2588

2011 0.51 0.16 0.67 0.2543 2033 -0.94 0.88 -0.07 -0.4683

2012 0.40 0.26 0.66 0.2024 2034 -0.84 0.85 0.00 -0.4202

2013 0.40 0.25 0.66 0.2016 2035 -1.17 1.18 0.00 -0.5826

2014 0.20 0.45 0.65 0.1004 2036 -0.96 0.90 -0.07 -0.4823

2015 0.20 0.38 0.58 0.1002 2037 -0.97 0.91 -0.07 -0.4870

2016 0.00 0.57 0.57 0.0000 2038 -0.87 0.81 -0.07 -0.4372

2017 -0.20 0.70 0.50 -0.1000 2039 -0.77 0.71 -0.07 -0.3859

2018 -0.20 0.63 0.43 -0.1002 2040 -0.78 0.64 -0.14 -0.3889

2019 -0.30 0.66 0.35 -0.1506 2041 -0.67 0.54 -0.14 -0.3359

2020 -0.30 0.66 0.35 -0.1511 2042 -0.45 0.24 -0.21 -0.2255

2021 -0.20 0.55 0.35 -0.1010 2043 -0.57 0.36 -0.21 -0.2831

2022 -0.30 0.52 0.21 -0.1518 2044 -0.57 0.36 -0.21 -0.2847

2023 -0.10 0.38 0.28 -0.0508 2045 -0.57 0.29 -0.28 -0.2893

2024 0.30 -0.17 0.14 0.1524 2046 -0.58 0.23 -0.35 -0.2880

2025 0.20 -0.06 0.14 0.1013 2047 -1.04 0.70 -0.35 -0.5214

2026 0.51 -0.36 0.14 0.2528 2048 -0.59 0.16 -0.43 -0.2927

2027 -0.20 0.27 0.07 -0.1006 2049 -0.71 0.28 -0.43 -0.3534

2050 -0.59 0.17 -0.43 -0.2966

Table 4: Demographic Contributors in % to GDP Growth 2006 - 2050 withconstant Capital Stock, middle scenario. Source: own calculations, data retrieved from

Chen and Liu (2009).

42

Year

Sav

ings

Rat

eG

DP

Cap

ital

Sto

ckW

ork

ing

Pop

ula

tion

g Kg W

g Y∆

2010

48.7

08’

688’

348’

912’

522

4’29

9’2

28’0

06’9

38

983’0

00’0

00

-1.5

80.8

2-0.38

0.3

713

2011

48.5

68’

655’

353’

281’

464

4’23

1’2

98’0

44’0

07

988’0

00’0

00

-0.6

60.5

1-0.08

0.3

735

2012

48.3

48’

648’

805’

891’

040

4’20

3’3

74’0

95’3

21

992’0

00’0

00

-0.5

30.4

0-0.06

0.3

770

2013

48.1

28’

643’

270’

571’

202

4’18

0’9

75’9

85’8

76

996’0

00’0

00

-0.5

20.4

0-0.06

0.3

805

2014

47.7

38’

638’

338’

225’

840

4’15

9’3

45’4

02’8

87

998’0

00’0

00

-0.8

60.2

0-0.33

0.3

868

2015

47.4

18’

609’

716’

559’

868

4’12

3’4

30’7

35’1

28

1’0

00’0

00’0

00

-1.0

00.2

0-0.40

0.3

920

2016

46.9

28’

575’

142’

281’

741

4’08

2’0

50’1

96’0

24

1’0

00’0

00’0

00

-1.4

30.0

0-0.71

0.4

000

2017

46.3

38’

513’

959’

087’

494

4’02

3’7

99’7

64’2

84

998’0

00’0

00

-1.9

7-0

.20

-1.08

0.4

098

2018

45.8

18’

421’

785’

517’

280

3’94

4’7

22’6

81’5

62

996’0

00’0

00

-2.2

1-0

.20

-1.20

0.4

187

2019

45.2

68’

320’

430’

624’

740

3’85

7’6

79’6

76’7

22

993’0

00’0

00

-2.3

8-0

.30

-1.34

0.4

280

2020

44.7

28’

208’

739’

753’

945

3’76

5’7

30’6

11’4

30

990’0

00’0

00

-2.5

3-0

.30

-1.41

0.4

374

2021

44.2

68’

092’

637’

920’

464

3’67

0’5

84’8

22’1

34

988’0

00’0

00

-2.4

2-0

.20

-1.31

0.4

453

2022

43.8

47’

986’

536’

112’

441

3’58

1’7

50’7

66’2

61

985’0

00’0

00

-2.2

5-0

.30

-1.28

0.4

528

2023

43.5

37’

884’

501’

408’

782

3’50

1’1

06’7

81’7

47

984’0

00’0

00

-1.9

8-0

.10

-1.04

0.4

583

2024

43.6

67’

802’

521’

968’

536

3’43

1’8

55’3

90’1

95

987’0

00’0

00

-0.7

30.3

0-0.21

0.4

559

2025

43.7

17’

785’

805’

498’

199

3’40

6’6

87’2

96’9

81

989’0

00’0

00

-0.1

00.2

00.05

0.4

550

2026

44.0

17’

789’

958’

045’

713

3’40

3’4

18’0

84’8

63

994’0

00’0

00

0.7

40.5

10.62

0.4

497

2027

43.7

97’

838’

397’

709’

170

3’42

8’5

38’1

21’0

13

992’0

00’0

00

0.1

1-0

.20

-0.04

0.4

536

2028

43.0

57’

835’

008’

452’

324

3’43

2’4

71’6

46’3

11

983’0

00’0

00

-1.7

4-0

.91

-1.32

0.4

669

2029

42.5

87’

731’

408’

468’

819

3’37

2’8

39’9

21’3

51

978’0

00’0

00

-2.4

0-0

.51

-1.45

0.4

755

2030

42.0

97’

619’

143’

092’

170

3’29

2’0

43’8

52’4

00

972’0

00’0

00

-2.6

0-0

.61

-1.60

0.4

846

2031

41.5

97’

496’

860’

930’

625

3’20

6’5

70’2

27’0

69

966’0

00’0

00

-2.7

6-0

.62

-1.69

0.4

938

2032

41.1

87’

370’

232’

752’

050

3’11

8’0

40’6

26’6

02

961’0

00’0

00

-2.6

6-0

.52

-1.59

0.5

016

2033

40.4

97’

253’

024’

353’

788

3’03

5’0

07’5

02’6

81

952’0

00’0

00

-3.2

3-0

.94

-2.08

0.5

147

2034

39.8

37’

101’

829’

213’

966

2’93

6’8

96’7

33’8

67

944’0

00’0

00

-3.6

8-0

.84

-2.26

0.5

275

2035

38.9

36’

941’

322’

963’

640

2’82

8’8

24’7

44’9

36

933’0

00’0

00

-4.4

9-1

.17

-2.83

0.5

456

2036

38.2

46’

745’

192’

984’

709

2’70

1’9

28’4

96’2

55

924’0

00’0

00

-4.5

5-0

.96

-2.76

0.5

595

2037

37.5

56’

559’

332’

486’

027

2’57

9’0

91’4

74’7

33

915’0

00’0

00

-4.5

1-0

.97

-2.74

0.5

738

2038

36.9

46’

379’

445’

249’

316

2’46

2’7

51’2

60’1

36

907’0

00’0

00

-4.3

2-0

.87

-2.60

0.5

865

2039

36.4

16’

213’

797’

453’

851

2’35

6’3

88’5

92’4

94

900’0

00’0

00

-3.9

9-0

.77

-2.38

0.5

978

2040

35.9

36’

065’

992’

762’

081

2’26

2’4

73’9

87’3

41

893’0

00’0

00

-3.6

5-0

.78

-2.22

0.6

081

2041

35.5

45’

931’

551’

549’

937

2’17

9’7

84’1

26’8

48

887’0

00’0

00

-3.2

9-0

.67

-1.98

0.6

167

2042

35.3

65’

814’

064’

790’

802

2’10

8’0

79’5

84’0

36

883’0

00’0

00

-2.4

7-0

.45

-1.46

0.6

206

2043

35.1

05’

729’

089’

339’

309

2’05

5’9

64’8

78’3

15

878’0

00’0

00

-2.1

9-0

.57

-1.38

0.6

264

2044

34.8

45’

650’

072’

340’

520

2’01

0’8

94’0

69’5

10

873’0

00’0

00

-2.1

2-0

.57

-1.34

0.6

323

2045

34.6

25’

574’

120’

587’

596

1’96

8’2

82’2

76’6

29

868’0

00’0

00

-1.9

5-0

.57

-1.26

0.6

371

2046

34.4

65’

503’

854’

040’

530

1’92

9’9

31’6

15’2

64

863’0

00’0

00

-1.7

3-0

.58

-1.15

0.6

408

2047

33.9

65’

440’

487’

805’

784

1’89

6’6

09’8

72’7

94

854’0

00’0

00

-2.5

9-1

.04

-1.82

0.6

522

2048

33.8

45’

341’

656’

480’

540

1’84

7’4

81’8

90’1

45

849’0

00’0

00

-2.1

5-0

.59

-1.37

0.6

549

2049

33.6

45’

268’

557’

255’

848

1’80

7’7

33’8

79’3

63

843’0

00’0

00

-1.9

6-0

.71

-1.33

0.6

595

2050

33.5

25’

198’

396’

930’

968

1’77

2’3

62’9

21’6

52

838’0

00’0

00

-1.6

8-0

.59

-1.14

0.6

623

Tab

le5:

For

ecas

ts(r

ates

in%

)ac

cord

ing

toSol

owM

odel

wit

hdynam

icSav

ings

.S

ou

rce:

Worl

dB

an

k(2

005

-2009),

ow

n

calc

ula

tion

s(2

010

-2050),

data

retr

ieved

from

Ch

enan

dL

iu(2

009)

43

Year

Sav

ings

Rat

eG

DP

Cap

ital

Sto

ckW

ork

ing

Pop

ula

tion

g Kg W

g Y∆

2010

50.0

08’

507’

543’

929’

361

4’12

7’6

65’3

92’3

56

983’0

00’0

00

3.0

60.8

21.94

0.3

713

2011

50.0

08’

672’

405’

997’

160

4’25

3’7

71’9

64’6

81

988’0

00’0

00

1.9

40.5

11.22

0.3

735

2012

50.0

08’

778’

490’

373’

976

4’33

6’2

02’9

98’5

80

992’0

00’0

00

1.2

20.4

00.81

0.3

770

2013

50.0

08’

849’

951’

619’

309

4’38

9’2

45’1

86’9

88

996’0

00’0

00

0.8

10.4

00.61

0.3

805

2014

50.0

08’

903’

815’

751’

277

4’42

4’9

75’8

09’6

55

998’0

00’0

00

0.6

10.2

00.40

0.3

868

2015

50.0

08’

939’

851’

309’

985

4’45

1’9

07’8

75’6

39

1’0

00’0

00’0

00

0.4

00.2

00.30

0.3

920

2016

50.0

08’

966’

899’

777’

812

4’46

9’9

25’6

54’9

93

1’0

00’0

00’0

00

0.3

00.0

00.15

0.4

000

2017

50.0

08’

980’

464’

930’

728

4’48

3’4

49’8

88’9

06

998’0

00’0

00

0.1

5-0

.20

-0.02

0.4

098

2018

50.0

08’

978’

277’

302’

958

4’49

0’2

32’4

65’3

64

996’0

00’0

00

-0.0

2-0

.20

-0.11

0.4

187

2019

50.0

08’

968’

187’

485’

681

4’48

9’1

38’6

51’4

79

993’0

00’0

00

-0.1

1-0

.30

-0.21

0.4

280

2020

50.0

08’

949’

641’

940’

074

4’48

4’0

93’7

42’8

41

990’0

00’0

00

-0.2

1-0

.30

-0.25

0.4

374

2021

50.0

08’

926’

869’

246’

089

4’47

4’8

20’9

70’0

37

988’0

00’0

00

-0.2

5-0

.20

-0.23

0.4

453

2022

50.0

08’

906’

494’

832’

434

4’46

3’4

34’6

23’0

44

985’0

00’0

00

-0.2

3-0

.30

-0.27

0.4

528

2023

50.0

08’

882’

808’

870’

251

4’45

3’2

47’4

16’2

17

984’0

00’0

00

-0.2

7-0

.10

-0.18

0.4

583

2024

50.0

08’

866’

488’

344’

388

4’44

1’4

04’4

35’1

26

987’0

00’0

00

-0.1

80.3

00.06

0.4

559

2025

50.0

08’

871’

859’

062’

767

4’43

3’2

44’1

72’1

94

989’0

00’0

00

0.0

60.2

00.13

0.4

550

2026

50.0

08’

883’

534’

760’

888

4’43

5’9

29’5

31’3

84

994’0

00’0

00

0.1

30.5

10.32

0.4

497

2027

50.0

08’

911’

836’

144’

043

4’44

1’7

67’3

80’4

44

992’0

00’0

00

0.3

2-0

.20

0.06

0.4

536

2028

50.0

08’

917’

066’

287’

317

4’45

5’9

18’0

72’0

21

983’0

00’0

00

0.0

6-0

.91

-0.42

0.4

669

2029

50.0

08’

879’

232’

492’

172

4’45

8’5

33’1

43’6

58

978’0

00’0

00

-0.4

2-0

.51

-0.47

0.4

755

2030

50.0

08’

837’

813’

881’

400

4’43

9’6

16’2

46’0

86

972’0

00’0

00

-0.4

7-0

.61

-0.54

0.4

846

2031

50.0

08’

790’

091’

319’

374

4’41

8’9

06’9

40’7

00

966’0

00’0

00

-0.5

4-0

.62

-0.58

0.4

938

2032

50.0

08’

739’

228’

973’

390

4’39

5’0

45’6

59’6

87

961’0

00’0

00

-0.5

8-0

.52

-0.55

0.5

016

2033

50.0

08’

691’

327’

901’

282

4’36

9’6

14’4

86’6

95

952’0

00’0

00

-0.5

5-0

.94

-0.74

0.5

147

2034

50.0

08’

626’

810’

436’

265

4’34

5’6

63’9

50’6

41

944’0

00’0

00

-0.7

4-0

.84

-0.79

0.5

275

2035

50.0

08’

558’

544’

064’

105

4’31

3’4

05’2

18’1

32

933’0

00’0

00

-0.7

9-1

.17

-0.98

0.5

456

2036

50.0

08’

474’

816’

584’

828

4’27

9’2

72’0

32’0

53

924’0

00’0

00

-0.9

8-0

.96

-0.97

0.5

595

2037

50.0

08’

392’

487’

073’

301

4’23

7’4

08’2

92’4

14

915’0

00’0

00

-0.9

7-0

.97

-0.97

0.5

738

2038

50.0

08’

310’

849’

714’

977

4’19

6’2

43’5

36’6

51

907’0

00’0

00

-0.9

7-0

.87

-0.92

0.5

865

2039

50.0

08’

234’

096’

513’

341

4’15

5’4

24’8

57’4

88

900’0

00’0

00

-0.9

2-0

.77

-0.85

0.5

978

2040

50.0

08’

164’

299’

979’

409

4’11

7’0

48’2

56’6

70

893’0

00’0

00

-0.8

5-0

.78

-0.81

0.6

081

2041

50.0

08’

097’

947’

473’

038

4’08

2’1

49’9

89’7

05

887’0

00’0

00

-0.8

1-0

.67

-0.74

0.6

167

2042

50.0

08’

037’

836’

097’

554

4’04

8’9

73’7

36’5

19

883’0

00’0

00

-0.7

4-0

.45

-0.60

0.6

206

2043

50.0

07’

989’

879’

870’

374

4’01

8’9

18’0

48’7

77

878’0

00’0

00

-0.6

0-0

.57

-0.58

0.6

264

2044

50.0

07’

943’

423’

413’

723

3’99

4’9

39’9

35’1

87

873’0

00’0

00

-0.5

8-0

.57

-0.58

0.6

323

2045

50.0

07’

897’

712’

295’

679

3’97

1’7

11’7

06’8

61

868’0

00’0

00

-0.5

8-0

.57

-0.57

0.6

371

2046

50.0

07’

852’

371’

673’

621

3’94

8’8

56’1

47’8

40

863’0

00’0

00

-0.5

7-0

.58

-0.58

0.6

408

2047

50.0

07’

807’

215’

234’

572

3’92

6’1

85’8

36’8

11

854’0

00’0

00

-0.5

8-1

.04

-0.81

0.6

522

2048

50.0

07’

744’

057’

158’

003

3’90

3’6

07’6

17’2

86

849’0

00’0

00

-0.8

1-0

.59

-0.70

0.6

549

2049

50.0

07’

690’

063’

628’

305

3’87

2’0

28’5

79’0

02

843’0

00’0

00

-0.7

0-0

.71

-0.70

0.6

595

2050

50.0

07’

636’

081’

722’

033

3’84

5’0

31’8

14’1

53

838’0

00’0

00

-0.7

0-0

.59

-0.65

0.6

623

Tab

le6:

For

ecas

ts(r

ates

in%

)ac

cord

ing

toSol

owM

odel

wit

hco

nst

ant

Sav

ings

.S

ou

rce:

Worl

dB

an

k(2

005

-2009),

ow

n

calc

ula

tion

s(2

010

-2050),

data

retr

ieved

from

Ch

enan

dL

iu(2

009)

44


Recommended