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Population Aging And Inventive Activity

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  • Irmen, Andreas
  • Litina, Anastasia

Abstract

This research empirically establishes and interprets the hypothesis that the relationship between population aging and inventive activity is hump-shaped. We estimate a reduced form, hump-shaped relationship in a panel of 33 OECD countries over the period 1960–2012, as well as in a panel of 248 NUTS 2 regions in Europe over the period 2001–2012. The increasing part of the hump may be associated with various channels including the acknowledgement that population aging requires inventive activity to guarantee current and future standards of living, or the observation that older educated workers are more innovative than their young peers. The decreasing part may reflect the tendency of aging societies to lose dynamism and the willingness to take risks.

Suggested Citation

  • Irmen, Andreas & Litina, Anastasia, 2022. "Population Aging And Inventive Activity," Macroeconomic Dynamics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 26(5), pages 1127-1161, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:cup:macdyn:v:26:y:2022:i:5:p:1127-1161_1
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Tan, Na & Liang, Xiaojun & Chang, Liang, 2024. "Growing older and growing technologically backward? Population ageing and high-technology exports of 171 countries," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 29(C).
    2. Madsen, Jakob B., 2025. "The aging society: Is growth reverting to pre-industrial levels in the 21st century?," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 229(C).
    3. Ben J. Heijdra & Klaus Prettner, 2020. "Putting People Back into the Picture: Some Studies in Demographic Economics," De Economist, Springer, vol. 168(2), pages 147-152, June.
    4. Balázs Zélity, 2023. "Age diversity and aggregate productivity," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 36(3), pages 1863-1899, July.
    5. Abeliansky, Ana Lucia & Prettner, Klaus, 2017. "Automation and demographic change," VfS Annual Conference 2017 (Vienna): Alternative Structures for Money and Banking 168215, Verein für Socialpolitik / German Economic Association.
    6. Kufenko, Vadim & Prettner, Klaus, 2016. "You can't always get what you want? Estimator choice and the speed of convergence," Hohenheim Discussion Papers in Business, Economics and Social Sciences 20-2016, University of Hohenheim, Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Sciences.
    7. Piano, Clara E., 2025. "Mind the fertility gap: Why people stopped having babies and how economic freedom can help," IEA Discussion Papers 143, Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA).
    8. Russell E. Triplett & Nilufer Ozdemir & Paul M. Mason, 2022. "Structural Change in the Investment Function," Journal of Economics and Finance, Springer;Academy of Economics and Finance, vol. 46(1), pages 220-236, January.
    9. Thomas Ziesemer & Anne von Gässler, 2021. "Ageing, human capital and demographic dividends with endogenous growth, labour supply and foreign capital," Portuguese Economic Journal, Springer;Instituto Superior de Economia e Gestao, vol. 20(2), pages 129-160, May.
    10. Kufenko, Vadmin & Prettner, Klaus, 2017. "You can't always get what you want? A Monte Carlo analysis of the bias and the efficiency of dynamic panel data estimators," ECON WPS - Working Papers in Economic Theory and Policy 07/2017, TU Wien, Institute of Statistics and Mathematical Methods in Economics, Economics Research Unit.
    11. Belyakov, A.O. & Kurbatskiy, A.N. & Prettner, K., 2021. "The growth effects of anticipated versus unanticipated population aging," Journal of Mathematical Economics, Elsevier, vol. 94(C).

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • J11 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts
    • O31 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Innovation and Invention: Processes and Incentives
    • O50 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - General
    • O57 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economywide Country Studies - - - Comparative Studies of Countries

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