Along with global output growth,Asia as a region has slowed in the pastdecade.While the 2008/09 global financial crisis and the subsequent rise in tradeprotectionism have played major roles in subtracting from economic activity,a broader,structural factor is at play.Many of Asia's dynamic,fast growingeconomies of the past decades are slowing as they have begun to age,with theshare of the economically inactive population rising as a share of those in thelabor force.For economies like Singapore,South Korea,or Japan,this is takingplace at a time when they have already reached the high-income cohort,affordingthem with the wherewithal to deal with the associated headwinds.But for thelikes of China and Thailand,the onset of aging has coincided with reaching onlymiddle-income status.For a variety of reasons,aging before getting rich can beparticularly challenging.