Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/67602
Year of Publication: 
2011
Series/Report no.: 
ECON WPS No. 03/2011
Publisher: 
Vienna University of Technology, Institute of Mathematical Methods in Economics, Research Group Economics, Vienna
Abstract: 
The current demographic developments and their consequences for workforce ageing challenge the sustainability of intergenerational transfers and economic growth. A shrinking share of the young workforce will have to support a growing share of elderly, non-working people. Therefore, the productivity of the workforce is central to a sustainable economic future. In order to study the relation between the age structure of employees and labour productivity at the firm level, we use a new matched employer-employee panel data set for Austrian firms spanning the period 2002- 2005. These data allow us to account simultaneously for socio-demographic characteristics of the employees as well as firm heterogeneity to explain labour productivity. Our results clearly show that the age-productivity as well as age-wage profile have a strong industry-specific component. In the service sector, an ageing workforce does not necessarily imply a negative productivity effect. Moreover, we cannot find any evidence for an overpayment of elderly employees.
Subjects: 
age-productivity profile
age-wage profile
employer-employee data
sector affiliation
JEL: 
J14
J24
J82
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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