We apply a stochastic frontier production model to data from 53 countries during 1991-2003 to estimate total factor productivity growth, and decompose it into technical efficiency change and technical progress. Our empirical results indicate that world productivity growth was led by fast-growing...

Asia as a whole is experiencing a rapid demographic transition toward older populations, though different countries are at different stages of this region-wide trend. We document Asia's aging population, describe the region's old-age support systems, and highlight the regional socioeconomic...

The demographic dividend that contributed substantially to economic growth in developing Asia in the past is dissipating. Population aging affects growth through savings, capital accumulation, labor force participation, and total factor productivity. We examined the impact of aging on those four...

A sound and efficient financial system is an indispensable ingredient of economic growth. It consists primarily of banks and capital markets, which channel savings into investments and other productive activities that contribute to economic growth and augment the economy's productive capacity....

The central objective of our paper is to empirically examine the relationship between financial development and income inequality. Theoretically, there are grounds for both a positive and negative relationship between the two variables. Our main finding is that financial development contributes...

Recent key challenges highlight the need to revisit Asia's financial development. These include the region's growth slowdown since the global crisis, compounded by a less benign external environment; internal structural challenges, such as population aging; and the maturing of much of the region...