The contraction in China’s population has triggered renewed discussion of what the government could do to counter the demographic drag. One popular suggestion is to lift China’s statutory retirement ages, which are very low. But raising them would keep relatively few older people in work since most workers today keep working once they have passed retirement age. Only a quarter of men drop out of the workforce at that point. Indeed, despite how low the formal retirement thresholds are, the share of people aged over 65 in paid work is higher in China than it is in other major developed and emerging economies.
Become a client to read more
This is premium content that requires an active Capital Economics subscription to view.
Already have an account?
You may already have access to this premium content as part of a paid subscription.
Sign in to read the content in full or get details of how you can access it
Register for free
Sign up for a free account to:
- Unlock additional content
- Register for Capital Economics events
- Receive email updates and economist-curated newsletters
- Request a free trial of our services