Working age population and regional economic growth in China

This thesis examines the effects of changes in the working-age population on the regional economic growth of China, using provincial-level panel data from 1996 to 2015. The empirical model is based on the Solow’s economic growth model, where the key determinants of economic growth are capital intensity per labour, savings rate, and population growth. The model is estimated using the fixed-effects estimator with Mundlak-device and the Arellano-Bond method to overcome the endogeneity of labour and population. The share of working age population growth and employment growth both have significant and positive effects on the economic growth. The empirical evidence supports the hypothesis that demographic factors are one of the key factors that could explain the differences in regional economic growth.