Abstract
In this chapter we discuss the relationship between changes in a country’s age structure and its economic growth and productivity. We summarize the recent literature on the impact of a country’s age structure on economic growth and relate the results to our own empirical findings. Our results indicate a positive impact of the age group 50–64 on economic growth. Moreover, a high proportion of people in the age group 15–29 facilitate technology absorption. The use of matched employer–employee data sets allows us to estimate age-productivity profiles at the firm level. Considering all firms in the data set reveals a negative productivity effect of the share of older workers (50+). Considering only large firms reveals no impact of the age structure in the mining and manufacturing industries and a negative impact of the share of younger workers for the non-manufacturing sector.
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Fent, T., Mahlberg, B., Prskawetz, A. (2008). Demographic Change and Economic Growth. In: Kohlbacher, F., Herstatt, C. (eds) The Silver Market Phenomenon. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-75331-5_1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-75331-5_1
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