Examining the impact of the elderly population on economic growth in the context of silver economy

Population aging is one of the most important demographic transformations facing today's societies. This process affects the social structure and economic growth dynamics of societies, leading policy makers to develop new strategies to increase the economic contribution of aging populations. In particular, the concept of "silver economy" aims to achieve sustainable economic growth by encouraging the active participation of older individuals in production and consumption processes. In this study, the concepts of population aging and silver economy are examined theoretically, and the effects of population growth rate, elderly dependency ratio, labor force participation rate and gross capital formation variables, which are closely related to population aging in the literature, on GDP per capita are empirically examined by taking E7 developing countries as a sample. According to the results of the study using panel data analysis methods, the elderly dependency ratio has a significant and negative effect on the GDP per capita. A 1% increase in the elderly dependency ratio decreases the GDP per capita by -0.593%. Similarly, the population growth rate has a negative impact on the GDP per capita ratio and a 1% increase in the population growth rate decreases the GDP per capita ratio by -3.527%. Gross capital formation rate, on the other hand, has a positive effect on GDP per capita. A 1% increase in the gross capital formation rate increases the GDP per capita by 0.313%. The labor force participation rate, on the other hand, does not have a significant effect on GDP. As a result, the increase in the elderly dependency ratio has a negative effect on GDP per capita. Accordingly, it is of critical importance for the future of societies to give importance to structural reforms that will adapt to the aging population structure for economic development and economic development.