Chronicle of a Decline Foretold : Has China Reached the Lewis Turning Point? /
China is on the eve of a demographic shift that will have profound consequences on its economic and social landscape. Within a few years the working age population will reach a historical peak, and then begin a precipitous decline. This fact, along with anecdotes of rapidly rising migrant wages and...
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| Format: | Tidsskrift |
| Sprog: | English |
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Washington, D.C. :
International Monetary Fund,
2013.
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| Serier: | IMF Working Papers; Working Paper ;
No. 2013/026 |
| Online adgang: | Full text available on IMF |
| Summary: | China is on the eve of a demographic shift that will have profound consequences on its economic and social landscape. Within a few years the working age population will reach a historical peak, and then begin a precipitous decline. This fact, along with anecdotes of rapidly rising migrant wages and episodic labor shortages, has raised questions about whether China is poised to cross the Lewis Turning Point, a point at which it would move from a vast supply of low-cost workers to a labor shortage economy. Crossing this threshold will have far-reaching implications for both China and the rest of the world. This paper empirically assesses when the transition to a labor shortage economy is likely to occur. Our central result is that on current trends, the Lewis Turning Point will emerge between 2020 and 2025. Alternative scenarios-with higher fertility, greater labor participation rates, financial reform or higher productivity-may peripherally delay or accelerate the onset of the turning point, but demographics will be the dominant force driving the depletion of surplus labor. |
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| Emne beskrivelse: | <strong>Off-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required <strong>On-Campus Access:</strong> No User ID or Password Required |
| Fysisk beskrivelse: | 1 online resource (21 pages) |
| Format: | Mode of access: Internet |
| ISSN: | 1018-5941 |
| Adgang: | Electronic access restricted to authorized BRAC University faculty, staff and students |