Developing a silver economy has become a common choice for various countries to actively respond to population aging. By constructing a “subject-technology-institution” analytical framework, this paper conducts a comparative analysis of the development models of the silver economy in the US, the EU, and Japan. It finds that the US model features market participation and financial capital support for collaborative development; the EU model emphasizes technology-led intelligent development with a focus on elderly empowerment; and the Japanese model prioritizes service-oriented development dominated by family support and underpinned by long-term care insurance. In terms of the subject order, the US is guided by liberalism and emphasizes the functional advantages of market resource allocation; the EU is guided by humanism and emphasizes the exploration of the value potential of the elderly population; Japan is guided by filial piety ethics and emphasizes the restoration and reshaping of the family’s elderly care function. In terms of technological applications, the US focuses on demand mining and information sharing; the EU emphasizes emotional comfort and the improvement of elderly mobility; and Japan attaches importance to reducing the burden of care, thereby promoting the integration of home, community, and institutional services. In terms of institutional design, the US focuses on protecting rights and strengthening regulation; the EU focuses on industrial planning and elderly empowerment; and Japan focuses on social security and consumer support. All of these countries and regions attach great importance to multi-party collaboration, leveraging policies, laws, standards, and norms to promote innovation, integration, transformation, and upgrading of the silver economy. Drawing on the practical experience of developed countries with advanced aging populations in developing the silver economy, China can promote the high-quality development of its silver economy in the following ways. First, China can play the government’s meta-governance role, establish and improve mechanisms for policy coordination, information sharing, and industrial linkage, and build a governance community for silver economy development. Second, China can implement an innovation-driven development strategy to enhance the core competitiveness of products and services for the silver generation. Third, China can strengthen policy design and institutional norms, and boost the upgrading of the silver economy’s industrial and value chains through the construction of brands for the silver generation.