Page 34 - 2022 Abstract Book RUICHSS_2022_11_17 after conference

University of Ruhuna ISSN: 2706-0063
Matara, Sri Lanka

Relationship between the Economic Growth and Older Adult
Population in Asia; Wavelet Coherence Approach

Kethaka Galappaththi*, Ruwan Jayathilaka and Lochana Rajamanthri
SLIIT Business School, Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology.
kethaka.g@sliit.lk

The older adult population has been increasingly growing over the past few decades
in Asia. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to determine the relationship between
the older adult population and a primary macroeconomic variable, the GDP growth.
This study aims to determine the nature of the complex relationship between the two
variables from 1961 to 2020. A panel dataset for fifteen Asian countries from the
World Bank was used in this research. The economic growth was expressed through
the annual percentage change in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), whereas the older
adult population was defined through the population of those aged 65 years and above
as a proportion of the total population. The methodology utilized was the Wavelet
Coherence Approach since it provides causality at different periods over the past six
decades. The findings reveal that a positive relationship existed between the two
variables in the 1960s, with the older adult population contributing to economic
growth. On the other hand, between 2000 and 2010, the older adult population
continued to contribute, leading to economic growth but with a negative correlation.
It implies that in recent past growth of elderly population has been saturated while
the economy continuous to grow. The conclusions from the study will be helpful for
Asian, national and regional policy-making institutions to investigate the past
behaviour of the two variables and implement their policies accordingly.

Keywords: Economy, Elderly Population, Asia, Wavelet Coherence

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