Abstract
This paper investigates whether introducing high technologies affect the impact of population aging on productivity. We examine the interactions between age-skill labor groups and high-tech capital represented by ICT and industrial robots in 12 OECD countries from 2008 to 2020 through country-industry fixed effects. From sector-level data analysis, we find that ICT adoption reduces the productivity contribution of mid-aged workers, while robot adoption enhances the contribution of high-skilled workers. When considering ICT and robot adoption, simultaneous adoption benefits lowerproductivity worker groups, thus narrowing the productivity gap between different ageskill groups. Moreover, using two-digit level manufacturing data, we observe that the combined effect of high-skilled mid-aged workers on productivity remains negative, with a larger magnitude than that observed in sector-level analysis. We suggest governments and firms consider this group’s adaptability when introducing high technologies and provide appropriate training programs to support them.
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Economic and Demographic Perspectives on Aging
KEYWORDS
Population aging, Productivity, ICT capital, Industrial robots
