Scores of countries have fallen and are falling into the middle-income trap as they strive to develop. And, because of income inequality, aging populations, and a lack of growth impetus, some may never escape.

Of the world’s 199 countries and semi-sovereign economies, 88 are stuck in the middle-income trap: 20 are in Europe, 18 in North America, 16 in Asia, 15 in Africa, 11 in South America, and 8 in Oceania.

Chen Wang of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics and Jiajun Lan of the Wang Yanan Institute for Studies in Economics at Xiamen University describe the challenges middle-income countries face.

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Read the working paper

https://www.adb.org/publications/inequality-aging-and-middle-income-trap

About the authors

Chen Wang is an assistant professor at the School of Urban and Regional Science, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics.

Jiajun Lan is a PhD candidate at the Wang Yanan Institute for Studies in Economics, Xiamen University, People’s Republic of China.

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