Silverstein Talks to NPR About China’s Economy Adapting to Serve the Aging Population

November 19, 2024

NPR

Merril Silverstein

Sociology Department

Aging Studies Institute

Aging

China

Economic Policy

NPR

Merril Silverstein

In China, companies and services are adapting to serve what demographers call the silver economy—hundreds of millions of people over the age of 60.

For the first time in modern China, 60-plus people comprise more than a fifth of its population, putting it on track to be a super-age society by the next decade, according to the World Bank.

Merril Silverstein, Marjorie Cantor Endowed Professor in Aging, says, “Better health, you know, is a function of greater economic well-being, for one thing.” He is studying how infrastructure development is increasingly geared towards an older society in China and has observed market improvements in China as people's purchasing power shot up.

“Those in more developed villages have less aging anxiety about whether their needs will be met, whether they'll be, you know, happy or not as they get older,” says Silverstein.

Listen to the full interview via NPR's website.