ABSTRACT
This paper explores the implications of social and economic changes in the ‘Global South’ of
the World. In particular, we examine case studies of Japan and China and the impact of populational
aging on their economic policies and social practices. Key examples of uneven distributions of, or
access to, opportunities have the potential to give rise to further social or economic tensions. Whilst
the scholarly base is expanding, more is to be done to ascertain the characterization of inequalities.
Indeed, if these substantive issues are to be addressed comprehensively, the key then is to move
beyond a Western academic paradigm, and to purposefully involve critical scholarship from
intellectuals from the Global South. Doing so will add a vitality of experience in discussing how
economic growth is, or may not be coupled with, inequality.
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