Population Aging, Life Expectancy and Economic Growth

In this paper, the impact of population aging on economic growth is estimated regarding the population growth factor and life expectancy index. For this purpose, the methods of differentiation, averaging and virtual variables have been utilized through the compilation of the data gathered from 146 countries during 1990-2013 aimed at controlling the unobservable factors. The results demonstrate that the negative impact of population aging on economic growth appears in countries wherein the life expectancy index is above 70 whereas in countries with a life expectancy of less than 70 years the impact of population aging on economic growth is not negative. Furthermore, the results of this research show that the population growth rate has a positive effect on economic growth only when the population above 65 years old accounts for at least 18% and a maximum of 21% of the total population. In countries wherein the population over 65 exceeds the above-mentioned percentage, the positive effect of population growth on economic growth is undermined.