Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://hdl.handle.net/10419/203244 
Year of Publication: 
2019
Series/Report no.: 
Thünen-Series of Applied Economic Theory - Working Paper No. 163
Publisher: 
Universität Rostock, Institut für Volkswirtschaftslehre, Rostock
Abstract: 
This paper investigates the interplay between aging of a society and its carbon dioxide emissions. The existing literature based on US data predicts lower overall emissions due to the lower emission intensity of consumption of a growing old-age share of the population. This conjecture is reexamined by a multivariate approach. The underlying hypothesis is that the individual levels of emissions do not only depend on age but also on income and employment status, which are correlated with age. Thus, bivariate analyses, neglecting other relevant variables, might overstate the decline in emissions for older cohorts. The paper shows that this hypothesis is correct. A bivariate approach overestimates the decline of emissions caused by population aging. Policy decisions favoring a longer work life may reverse the dampening effect of aging on emissions.
JEL: 
J11
Q54
Document Type: 
Working Paper

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