Technology and Aging Workforce: Maximize the Gains from Longevity and Long Working Life

Some Asian economies are aging at unprecedented speed. While there are other economies that remain young, no Asian economies will be safe from risk of growing old before becoming rich. In addition to this, technological advances such as robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) will no doubt play a role in reshaping the future of work.

Paul Houston

Paul Houston has been a Senior HR Specialist at the Asian Development Bank (ADB) since October 2021 where he operates as a strategic HR Business Partner to senior management and providing Talent Acquisition services for the Bank. His role focuses on providing client orientated solutions, improving HR policies and processes and engaging with external talent to promote the ADB as an employer of choice.

Naohiro Ogawa

Naohiro Ogawa is a Professor of Population Economics at the Nihon University College of Economics and Director of the Nihon University Population Research Institute. He has written extensively on population and development in Japan and other Asian countries. More specifically, his research has focused on issues such as socioeconomic impacts of low fertility and rapid ageing, modelling demographic and social security–related variables, as well as policies related to fertility, employment, marriage, child care, retirement and care for the elderly.

Demographic Change and Labor Quality in the Republic of Korea

The authors conducted research to analyze the Republic of Korea’s human resource development from 1986 to 2016, measure changes in labor resources, and project labor quality and quantity growth up to 2040. They found that the labor quantity growth rate declined from the late 1980s to 2016, but the labor quality growth rate was sustained, and is expected to be sustained until 2035. Employing more elderly and female workers could help push labor quantity growth. ​

Demographics and Technological Change: Two Megatrends Shaping the Labor Market in Asia

Asia is experiencing rapid ageing and technological change, which can affect productivity growth, human capital, and technological change. In this keynote presentation, the author identifies the specific technologies that can help ease ageing pressures, such as long term care, healthcare, and digital identification technologies, as well as the various policy and research issues that need to be addressed in order to better manage these challenges.​