Age structure of the workforce and firm performance

Grund, Christian; Westergaard‐Nielsen, Niels

doi:10.1108/01437720810888553

Cited by 123 publications

(116 citation statements)

References 33 publications

(40 reference statements)

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“…Empirical evidence of the success of age-mixed teams can be found in the analysis of Grund and Westergard-Nielsen (2008). In a different context they find an inverse u-shaped relation between the average age of the employees and its standard deviation and firm productivity.…”

Section: Background Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

The Adoption of New Technologies and the Age Structure of the Workforce

Meyer

2008

SSRN Journal

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Die Dis cus si on Pape rs die nen einer mög lichst schnel len Ver brei tung von neue ren For schungs arbei ten des ZEW. Die Bei trä ge lie gen in allei ni ger Ver ant wor tung der Auto ren und stel len nicht not wen di ger wei se die Mei nung des ZEW dar.Dis cus si on Papers are inten ded to make results of ZEW research prompt ly avai la ble to other eco no mists in order to encou ra ge dis cus si on and sug gesti ons for revi si ons. The aut hors are sole ly respon si ble for the con tents which do not neces sa ri ly repre sent the opi ni on of the ZEW.Download this ZEW Discussion Paper from our ftp server:ftp://ftp.zew.de/pub/zew-docs/dp/dp08045.pdf Non-technical SummaryGiven the demographic development, which is characterized by an increasing life expectancy and a simultaneous decrease in birthrates, the age structure of the working population has been changing. The employment rate of individuals between 55 and 64 years has increased, particularly during the last five years, whereas the employment rate of individuals between 15 and 24 years has decreased in the same time period.In an economy where knowledge is one of the important production factors and information processing is based on information and communication technologies (ICT), an efficient relationship between human capital and ICT usage is crucial for the successful performance and competitiveness of firms. As several studies show that older workers are less likely and less qualified to use ICT compared to younger employees, the question whether firms of the ICT-intensive service sectors with a high share of older workers are less likely to adopt new technologies arises. The results of this paper show that firms with a higher share of younger employees are more likely to adopt new technologies, and that the older the workforce is, the less likely is the adoption of new technologies.Furthermore, there seem to be complementarities between the human capital of younger and older workers. Younger workers are more comfortable with the use of ICT and may learn more quickly. Older employees are more experienced and have a better knowledge of the intra-firm structure and the operating process. Thus, a heterogenous rather than a homogenous age structure of the workforce may be a supportive factor for the adoption of new technologies. The results of this paper however reveal that the distribution of the age of the workforce has no significant impact on the probability of adopting new technologies.Previous studies find a complementary relationship between the use of ICT and modern human resource practices. Furthermore, the use of innovative workplace practices may provide a better environment for the adoption of new technologies. On the other hand, there is some empirical evidence that innovative workplace practices are negatively related to the employment of older workers. Since innovative workplace practices seem to have adverse relationships with ICT and new technologies on the on the one hand and the employment of older workers on the other hand this paper...

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Section: Background Discussionmentioning

confidence: 90%

The Adoption of New Technologies and the Age Structure of the Workforce

Meyer

2008

SSRN Journal

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“…This can increase individual workers' productivity, and by spill-over effects it might also effect productivity of all employees. Another reason for this effect might be that younger workers are more motivated than older ones (Grund and Westergård-Nielsen 2009). …”

Section: Part-time Employment and Firms' Productivitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are several possible explanations. A human capital argument could be that younger workers have more up-to-date knowledge (Grund and Westergård-Nielsen 2009). This can increase individual workers' productivity, and by spill-over effects it might also effect productivity of all employees.…”

Section: Part-time Employment and Firms' Productivitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Is Part-Time Employment Beneficial for Firm Productivity?

Künn-Nelen¹,

Grip²,

Fouarge³

2013

ILR Review

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In this paper, we analyze whether firms' share of part-time employment affects productivity in service sector firms. We find that firms with a large part-time employment share are more productive than firms with a large full-time employment share. Additional analyses show that part-time employment enables firms to have a more efficient allocation of labor. First, firms with part-time workers can bridge the gap between operating hours and a fulltime working week. Second, part-time employment makes it possible to cushion peak hours by enabling firms to deploy more workers during peak hours than during opening hours with relatively low customer demand. Our findings suggest that part-time employment is beneficial for service-sector firms that face fluctuations in customer demand during opening hours. JEL-Codes: J24, L23, L25

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“…Grund andWestergaard-Nielsen, 2005, Ilmakunnas andIlmakunnas, 2008). However, it appears that this approach puts a heavy load on the underlying parametric assumptions and the age-productivity profile.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Age and Productivity - Evidence from Linked Employer Employee Data

Goebel

Zwick

2009

SSRN Journal

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Die Dis cus si on Pape rs die nen einer mög lichst schnel len Ver brei tung von neue ren For schungs arbei ten des ZEW. Die Bei trä ge lie gen in allei ni ger Ver ant wor tung der Auto ren und stel len nicht not wen di ger wei se die Mei nung des ZEW dar.Dis cus si on Papers are inten ded to make results of ZEW research prompt ly avai la ble to other eco no mists in order to encou ra ge dis cus si on and sug gesti ons for revi si ons. The aut hors are sole ly respon si ble for the con tents which do not neces sa ri ly repre sent the opi ni on of the ZEW.Download this ZEW Discussion Paper from our ftp server:ftp://ftp.zew.de/pub/zew-docs/dp/dp09020.pdf Nontechnical SummaryIn most Western, industrialised countries the workforce is ageing rapidly. Medical research on the relationship between individual performance and age suggests that an ageing workforce could have severe negative consequences on the economic performance of the affected countries. In order to assess the possible consequences of an ageing workforce, this paper measures the impact of changes in the age structure of establishments on productivity using representative linked employeremployee panel data. We take into account that the levels as well as the changes in the age structure of establishments and their production are likely to be determined simultaneously. We apply appropriate statistical methods and test their validity rigorously. In addition, we include several crucial establishment and workforce characteristics that are correlated with productivity and age shares. To summarise, our estimates suggest that some of the previeous studies underestimates the impact of older age groups on productivity. Most of the existing studies suggest a decline in productivity beyond the age of 40. However, we find that establishment productivity increases with the share of employees until the age group 50-55 years and decreases only slightly afterwards. In addition, the inclusion of additional establishment and employee characteristics has a remarkable impact on the shape of the age productivity pattern. Based on our results, we do not find an indication that the ageing workforce will necessarily lead to a decline of the welfare of the industrialised economies because on average the age productivity profile is essentially flat. Finally, our estimates suggest that there is considerable variation in the age productivity profile amongst the establishments in the economy. This is a sign of big differences in the impact of age on the productivity amongst the establishments. Das Wichtigste in Kürze Age and Productivity -Evidence from LinkedEmployer Employee Data AbstractIn most Western, industrialised countries the workforce is ageing rapidly. In order to assess the possible consequences of an ageing workforce, this paper measures the impact of changes in the age structure of establishments on productivity using representative linked employer-employee panel data. We take into account that the levels as well as the changes in the age structure of establishments an...

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Age structure of the workforce and firm performance

Cited by 123 publications

References 33 publications

The Adoption of New Technologies and the Age Structure of the Workforce

The Adoption of New Technologies and the Age Structure of the Workforce

Is Part-Time Employment Beneficial for Firm Productivity?

Age and Productivity - Evidence from Linked Employer Employee Data

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