Could the United States be the next global economic driver?

China is losing its status as the driver of the global economy, mainly due to acute population ageing and structurally weak domestic demand. T his then raises the question for many as to which region in the world will replace China as the global economic driver. India and Africa have the necessary size and demographics, but suffer from structural problems (low education level, infrastructure shortfalls) that make it very difficult for them to play this role of global economic driver. Southeast Asian countries have the necessary dynamism, but they are too small to play this role. This leaves the possibility of the United States, where demographics remain favourable, productivity gains are picking up and the innovation effort is considerable, once again playing this role.