Are Young and Old Workers Harmful for Firm Productivity?

Thierry Lallemand and Francois Rycx

No 3938, IZA Discussion Papers from Institute of Labor Economics (IZA)

Abstract: This paper investigates the effects of the workforce age structure on the productivity of large Belgian firms. More precisely, it examines different scenarios of changes in the proportion of young (16-29 years), middle-aged (30-49 years) and old (more than 49 years) workers and their expected effects on firm productivity. Using detailed matched employer-employee data, we find that a higher share of young (old) workers within firms is favourable (harmful) for firm value added per capita. Results also show that age structure effects on productivity are stronger in ICT than in non-ICT firms.

Keywords: firm performance; demographic changes; workforce age structure (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J21 J31 L25 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 34 pages
Date: 2009-01
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (31)

Published - published in: De Economist, 2009, 157 (3), 273-292

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Related works:
Working Paper: Are young and old workers harmful for firm productivity? (2009)
Working Paper: Are Young and Old WorkersS Harmful for Firm Productivity ? (2009)
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