The Asian Dream is waking up to reality

Much depends on meeting the expectations of the middle class as growth momentum slows.

- Karishma Vaswani

How quickly is Asia's middle class growing? Not as fast as it needs to keep pace with aspirations.

Policymakers need to focus on boosting livelihoods - but also on improving the quality of lives for citizens to achieve the "Asian Dream". Until that happens, it will be more myth than reality.

There is no concrete definition of what such a dream with Asian characteristics means, but inspiration could come from the American Dream, a term coined by writer James Truslow Adams in 1931, when he wrote that it "is that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement".

Asia is nowhere near those lofty ambitions yet. Fifty years ago, most of the region was wretchedly poor, agrarian and misruled.

The improvements in most countries have since been breathtaking, as industrialisation, education and better governance led to higher quality of life and living standards.

The last decade has been particularly strong.

Between 2015 and 2021, the region accounted for 57 per cent of global gross domestic product (GDP) growth, and in 2021 contributed almost half of world GDP (at purchasing power parity), more than any other region. But momentum is now stagnating.