Do Older Workers Lower IT-Enabled Productivity? Firm-Level Evidence from Germany

Arbeitspapier

The paper provides empirical evidence for the question whether firms' ITenabled labour productivity is affected by the age structure of the workforce. We apply a production function approach with heterogenous labour to firmlevel data from German manufacturing and services industries. We find that workers older than 49 are not significantly less productive than prime age workers, whereas workers younger than 30 are significantly less productive than prime age workers. Older workers using a computer are significantly more productive than older non-computer users. The positive and significant relationship between labour productivity and IT intensity is not affected by the proportion of older workers.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: ZEW Discussion Papers ; No. 08-129

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes ; Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity ; Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-labor Market Discrimination
• Subject: labour productivity ; information technology ; older workers ; Ältere Arbeitskräfte ; Computergestütztes Verfahren ; Informationstechnik ; Produktivität ; Unternehmensentwicklung ; Deutschland

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Bertschek, Irene ; Meyer, Jenny
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung (ZEW)
• (where): Mannheim
• (when): 2008

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/27612
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:45 AM CET