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The Effects of Population Structure on Employment and Productivity

Author

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  • Hervé Boulhol

    (OECD)

Abstract

The composition of the working-age population can influence aggregate employment and average productivity because both employment rates and productivity levels vary across population groups. This paper assesses the quantitative importance of the working-age population broken down by age, gender and education in explaining differences in employment and productivity levels across countries. Differences in population structure are found to contribute importantly to variations in both labour utilisation and productivity performances. Combining these effects in a mechanical way, differences in the composition of the working-age population account for around a third of the gap in GDP per capita for Europe (EU15) vis-à-vis the United States, mainly due to differences in educational attainment. Les effets de la structure de la population sur l'emploi et la productivité La composition de la population d’âge actif peut influer sur le niveau global de l’emploi et sur la productivité moyenne car aussi bien les taux d’emploi que les niveaux de la productivité varient selon les groupes de population. Cette étude a pour objectif d’évaluer dans quelle mesure la structure de la population d’âge actif, en fonction de l’âge, du sexe et du niveau d’éducation, peut expliquer les différences de niveau d’emploi et de productivité entre pays. Les différences dans la structure de la population contribuent pour beaucoup aux écarts entre pays tant des niveaux d’utilisation de la main d’oeuvre que de la productivité. En combinant ces effets mécaniques, on observe que les différences dans la composition de la population d’âge actif expliquent pour environ un tiers l’écart de PIB par habitant de l’Europe (UE15) par rapport aux États-Unis, principalement du fait des différences de niveau d’éducation.

Suggested Citation

  • Hervé Boulhol, 2009. "The Effects of Population Structure on Employment and Productivity," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 684, OECD Publishing.
    • Handle: RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:684-en
    DOI: 10.1787/225644583654
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    Cited by:

    1. Renaud Bourlès & Gilbert Cette & Anastasia Cozarenco, 2012. "Employment and Productivity: Disentangling Employment Structure and Qualification Effects," International Productivity Monitor, Centre for the Study of Living Standards, vol. 23, pages 44-54, Spring.
    2. Adegboye , Abidemi C. & Arodoye , Nosakhare L., 2023. "Structural Changes and Employment Growth in Sub-Saharan Africa: Does Demographic Structure Matter?," Journal of Economic Development, The Economic Research Institute, Chung-Ang University, vol. 48(2), pages 143-166, June.
    3. Hervé Boulhol & Laure Turner, 2009. "Employment-Productivity Trade-off and Labour Composition," OECD Economics Department Working Papers 698, OECD Publishing.
    4. Serguey Ivanov, 2009. "Demographic and economic factors of labour supply: Long-term projections and policy options for France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom," Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, Vienna Institute of Demography (VID) of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in Vienna, vol. 7(1), pages 83-122.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    aggregate employment; demographics; démographie; emploi agrégé; labour productivity; productivité du travail; quality of labour; qualité de l'emploi;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • E24 - Macroeconomics and Monetary Economics - - Consumption, Saving, Production, Employment, and Investment - - - Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
    • J10 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - General
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials

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