Ezekiel Spiro
Professor Coughlan
1/12/23
ECN-102-03
Economy in Transition
Across the globe, each economy is directly influenced by the age demographic of the
citizens. As the global population increases, so does the average age of the population. Simply
in economics as a population ages more goods are consumed as well as fewer goods are
produced. Countries that reach the ideal balance of population size and average age typically
hold optimal conditions for economic growth; however countries of the opposite conditions are
more vulnerable to economic obstacles.
However, there is also a balance between overpopulation and finding the optimal age
sweet spot. For example, citizens of China are living longer than they ever have, yet at the
same time the world’s largest country's population is growing larger than any other individual
country. China set limits on the amount of children families can birth, which aims to control the
country's overpopulation crisis, however, this directly affects the country's average age. For
instance, the average Chinese woman in 1970 birthed over 6 children in her lifetime. Recently,
that figure has dropped to below 2. This has caused a massive raise in the age of the country’s
population. Overpopulation presents the problem of insufficient resources, overcrowding of
cities, and pollution; however, a society beyond the sweet spot of the average age could risk
falling below the ideal supply chain.
However, the health of the economy is not the only factor we need to consider when
balancing the average age and the population size. We also need to consider if these variables
are optimal for other factors such as environmental sustainability. For example, if the global
economy is too strained trying to accommodate the raising of the youth or funding the retired
generations, then it will neglect these other issues.