[General] The driver is in large part demography

caronmi said:

As Japan's army of retirees grows and its work force shrinks, the ranks of free-spending consumers have been thinning. Among those still employed, workers approaching retirement are more likely to save than to spend. "The driver is in large part demography. It has to do with a shrinking working population. It also has to do with the country's historical high saving."

Could you help me with the bold part? I don't know what their meanings are. Thank you.

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freezeframe said:

It's a terribly phrased sentence. It means that the reason behind the shrinking ranks of free-spending consumers is demographic -- large segment of the population is retired or is near retirement.

country's historical high savings = historically (judging from the past) Japanese save more than than they spend; there's a culture of saving.

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caronmi said:

But why the author used "driver" instead of "drive"? Can "driver" be replaced by "drive"?

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caronmi said:

Thanks! Seems you’re here all the time. Don’t you ever go and get some sleep?:shock:

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freezeframe said:

That's a problem?

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