Does artificial intelligence matter for the population aging-inclusive growth nexus? International evidence

Abstract

Population aging is increasingly becoming a major challenge to global sustainable development, and the rapid development of artificial intelligence is expected to produce dividends to cushion the negative impact of population aging. This study uses cross-country panel data from 2003 to 2021 to examine the impact of population aging on inclusive growth and explore the role of artificial intelligence. Empirical results show that population aging has a significant negative impact on global inclusive growth, and demographic changes exacerbate the crisis of sustainable development. Specifically, population aging exacerbates the employment difficulties of groups with downgrading skills, inhibits the technological innovation, and inhibits the acquisition of educational skills, thereby indirectly inhibiting inclusive growth. Although artificial intelligence is the threshold variable for population aging to affect inclusive growth, the effect does not change significantly above and below the threshold. Finite mix models can better capture the buffering effects of artificial intelligence, and as artificial intelligence applications increase, population aging has less negative impact on inclusive growth. These findings contribute to the optimization of public policies for population development and artificial intelligence applications.