1、The global populati on i s agi ng,dri ven by a combi nati on of i ncreased longevi ty nand decli ni ng ferti li ty.Thi s phenomenon i s most pronounced i n developed(DM)economi es,where the worki ng-age rati o(ages 15-64)has already decreased from 67%i n 2000 to 63%,and i s proj ected to fall to 57%

2、by 2075.I n emergi ng economi es,the 15-64 share i s close to a peak(66%)and i s expected to decli ne to 61%over the next 50 years.Thi s process of agi ng i s often depi cted as a demographi c ti me bomb,i mplyi ng ri si ng dependency rati os(i.e.,a fall i n total employment rates)and decli ni ng GD

3、P per capi ta.Whi le i t i s ri ght to focus on the economi c i mpli cati ons of a transi ti on of thi s ni mportance,economi sts should not lose si ght of the fact that i ncreasi ng li fe expectancy i s a fundamentally posi ti ve development.I n addi ti on to li vi ng longer,people are also li vi n

4、g healthi er li ves,i n the sense that the functi onal capaci ty of older i ndi vi duals i s i mprovi ng over ti me.Accordi ng to a recent comprehensi ve study,a person who was 70 i n 2022 had the same cogni ti ve abi li ty as a 53-year-old i n 2000.I n a very tangi ble sense,70 i s the new 53.I t i

5、 s also far from clear that the economi c drawbacks of populati on agi ng are as ni ntractable as they are commonly depi cted.Although ri si ng publi c sector pensi on costs remai n a concern for some economi es,the most effecti ve means of counteracti ng the i mpact of agi ng on dependency rati os

6、i s to extend worki ng li ves.Fortunately,thi s trend i s already i n moti on:whi le medi an expected li fe expectancy i n developed economi es has i ncreased by 5%si nce 2000(from 78 to 82 years),the medi an effecti ve worki ng li fe has ri sen by 12%(from 34 to 38 years)and the share of the total