SHAPING THE FUTURE HOW CHANGING DEMOGRAPHICS CAN POWER HUMAN DEVELOPMENT

Development Report argues, decent work is
essential for youth to get a productive start in
their lives, to make the best use of a large workforce
and to help meet the needs of the elderly.
There are multiple avenues to link economic
objectives with the generation of enough decent
jobs. These might include fostering employment-intensive
sectors, particularly, in the short
term, those best equipped to absorb the current
workforce. Private sector development is critical,
and in many countries rests on greater ease of
doing business and sound property rights regimes,
with special emphasis on small and medium
enterprises that typically deliver most employment.
An inclusive and deeper financial sector,
which effectively mobilizes savings, channels
them into productive investment, and fosters
entrepreneurship, innovation and productivity
is another priority.
Unleash the potential and power of women. The
region’s record on gender equality is still poor,
despite advances in some countries. Among
world regions, the highest pay gaps are in South
Asia, where women earned a full third less than
men from 2008 to 2014. 2 This is a loss in terms
of meeting internationally agreed human rights
standards. It is also a serious impediment to
making the most of demographic transition
and advancing human development. Gender
equality should be understood as an immediate
policy priority of central importance not just
for women, but for societies and economies
as a whole, since women are key to increasing
labour force participation and employment rates
as well as productivity.
Countries need to review the variety of
barriers to women, even in highly developed
countries. These may include laws that require
women to retire at earlier ages than men, despite
longer lifespans. 3 They might involve social
norms and practices that tolerate gender-based
violence, even if it is against the law.
Most countries in the region still have far
to go in integrating women fully into political
and economic decision-making. The continuing
gap reduces the likelihood that policies and
plans will fully support women to realize their
rights, cultivate capabilities and make powerful
contributions to development. All countries need
to work to achieve the target in the Sustainable
Development Goals on ensuring women’s full
participation and equal opportunities for leadership
in all levels of economic, political and
public decision-making. 4
Deepen regional integration. Considerable
diversity in demographic patterns across Asia-Pacific
countries is a rationale for improved regional
integration. Current forms of cooperation focus
mainly on trade among countries. But taking
demographic considerations on board recognizes
that many relevant issues cross national borders.
Demographic differences among sub-regions
could be harnessed to enhance financial and
labour integration, and increase prospects for all
countries in the region to capture demographic
dividends.
One priority issue might be migration, since
countries at different stages of transition have
different workforce profiles. Ageing societies
may struggle to find workers, while those in the
earliest stages of transition may face a surplus.
Cooperation might prove beneficial in easing
imbalances and developing organized strategies
for migration that are beneficial to migrants as
well as sending and receiving countries. Freer
movement for work would include more flexible
visa regimes and should entail strong protections
for migrants’ safety and rights.
Another priority might be financial integration.
East Asian countries, where high savings
have been made possible in part by favourable
demographic in the last few decades, are looking
for opportunities to invest. South Asian countries,
with a large share of working-age people, might
need to attract increased capital inflows because
of their relatively large labour pools and potential
for productivity growth. Cross-border cooperation
will be crucial as well in filling deficits
in infrastructure. Among cities, it could help
define and coordinate comparative advantages
in order to reduce unsustainable competition for
resources and foreign direct investment, among
other concerns.
Since all countries will pass through demographic
transition, there may also be scope to
cooperate in learning from each other, across
countries at the same as well as different stages.
As transition proceeds quickly, while policy and
institutional structures to manage it typically
evolve more slowly, countries in the region need
Demographic
differences among
subregions could be
harnessed to enhance
financial and labour
integration
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