Economic Growth and Population Transition inChina and India 1990-2018

Chaurasia, Aalok Ranjan (2020): Economic Growth and Population Transition inChina and India 1990-2018.

Abstract

This paper analyses the trend in economic growth and population transition in China and India during 1990-2018 through a comparative perspective. The analysis follows a decomposition framework which argues that economic growth has a pure demographic component and a pure economic component and it is the latter which actually contributes to improving the standard of living. Using the data available through the World Bank, United Nations Population Division and International Labour Organization, the paper reveals that most of the economic growth in China during 1990-2018 has contributed to improving the standard of living. By contrast, a substantial proportion of economic growth in India has been the result of the demographic factors that contribute little to improve the quality of life of the people. The paper concludes that China needs to explore possibilities of productive utilisation of the old people to sustain economic growth whereas India requires reinvigorating the economic system and accelerating population transition to improve the quality of life of its people.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: Economic growth, population transition, China, India, standard of living
• Subjects: J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J1 - Demographic Economics > J11 - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts

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