Can AI be Asia’s next growth engine?

SEOUL – Two decades after globalization fueled a global economic boom, growth has shifted onto a more subdued path, where it is likely to remain for the foreseeable future. Beyond the immediate shock of fragmenting trade and investment ties – a result of rising geopolitical tensions, particularly between the United States and China – lie structural headwinds, including population aging, stagnant productivity, and the growing costs of inequality and natural disaster. These challenges strike at the heart of Asia’s growth model. Not only is fragmentation causing Asia’s export-oriented growth engine to sputter; rapid population aging is tightening the labor supply and compounding fiscal pressures across the region. The share of people aged 65 and above in Asia will nearly double by mid-century, from 9.8 percent in 2023 to 18.6 percent by 2050. Japan and South Korea are already “super-aged” societies, with more than 20 percent of the population aged 65 or older, and China’s population has begun to decline. India and some Southeast Asian economies still enjoy a demographic dWeiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times Weiter zum vollständigen Artikel bei Korea Times