IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/joecag/v31y2025ics2212828x25000301.html

The evolution of age-friendly jobs in a rapidly ageing economy

Author

Listed:
  • Kim, Hyeongsuk
  • Lee, Chulhee
  • Eggleston, Karen

Abstract

Korea’s labor force shift toward older, female, and more educated workers has been even more dramatic than that of the US in recent decades. This paper documents how Korean job characteristics vary by age and characterizes the “age-friendliness” of Korean employment from 2000 to 2020 by applying the Age-Friendliness Index (AFI) developed by Acemoglu, Mühlbach and Scott to Korean occupational data. The AFI measures job characteristics—such as physical demands and job autonomy—based on occupational descriptions and worker preferences. Our primary empirical findings are that the age-friendliness of Korean jobs grew more slowly than in the US, and that older Koreans were not the main beneficiaries of these jobs. Both findings reflect the demographic, labor market, and institutional differences between Korea and the US. Slow growth of AFI can be partially explained by labor market rigidities, the role of large firms in Korea, and the flattening of managerial structures.

Suggested Citation

  • Kim, Hyeongsuk & Lee, Chulhee & Eggleston, Karen, 2025. "The evolution of age-friendly jobs in a rapidly ageing economy," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 31(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:joecag:v:31:y:2025:i:c:s2212828x25000301
    DOI: 10.1016/j.jeoa.2025.100575
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212828X25000301
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.jeoa.2025.100575?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cevat Giray Aksoy & Jose Maria Barrero & Nicholas Bloom & Steven J. Davis & Mathias Dolls & Pablo Zarate, 2022. "Working from Home Around the World," Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Economic Studies Program, The Brookings Institution, vol. 53(2 (Fall)), pages 281-360.
    2. Acemoglu, Daron & Mühlbach, Nicolaj Søndergaard & Scott, Andrew J., 2022. "The rise of age-friendly jobs," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 23(C).
    3. Jongwoo Chung & Chulhee Lee, 2023. "Technology, job characteristics, and retirement of aged workers: evidence from automation and IT adoption of firms in Korea," Industrial and Corporate Change, Oxford University Press and the Associazione ICC, vol. 32(4), pages 930-955.
    4. Minki Hong, 2023. "Structural Changes in South Korea Employment (2000–2021)," JRC Working Papers on Labour, Education and Technology 2023-02, Joint Research Centre.
    5. David Neumark & Ian Burn & Patrick Button & Nanneh Chehras, 2019. "Do State Laws Protecting Older Workers from Discrimination Reduce Age Discrimination in Hiring? Evidence from a Field Experiment," Journal of Law and Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 62(2), pages 373-402.
    6. Nicole Maestas & Kathleen J. Mullen & David Powell & Till von Wachter & Jeffrey B. Wenger, 2023. "The Value of Working Conditions in the United States and the Implications for the Structure of Wages," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 113(7), pages 2007-2047, July.
    7. Raghuram G. Rajan & Julie Wulf, 2006. "The Flattening Firm: Evidence from Panel Data on the Changing Nature of Corporate Hierarchies," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 88(4), pages 759-773, November.
    8. Kim, Hongsoo & Kwon, Soonman, 2021. "A decade of public long-term care insurance in South Korea: Policy lessons for aging countries," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 125(1), pages 22-26.
    9. Nicole Maestas & Julie Zissimopoulos, 2010. "How Longer Work Lives Ease the Crunch of Population Aging," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 24(1), pages 139-160, Winter.
    10. Hanhyung Pyo & Sungcheol Hong & Ahnjeong Kim, 2016. "Firm Size and Job Creation in Korea: Do Small Businesses Create More Jobs?," Korean Economic Review, Korean Economic Association, vol. 32, pages 137-166.
    11. repec:osf:socarx:q4dyg_v1 is not listed on IDEAS
    12. Albinowski, Maciej, 2024. "Part-time employment opportunities and labour supply of older workers," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 28(C).
    13. Koh, Young-sun, 2024. "South Korea needs more big company jobs," KDI Focus 130, Korea Development Institute (KDI).
    14. Seongeun Kim & Michèle Tertilt & Minchul Yum, 2024. "Status Externalities in Education and Low Birth Rates in Korea," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 114(6), pages 1576-1611, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Bloom, David E. & Scott, Andrew J., 2025. "Introduction to this Special Issue: The Economics of Ageing," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 32(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Scott, Andrew J., 2023. "The economics of longevity – An introduction," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 24(C).
    2. Van Borm, Hannah & Burn, Ian & Baert, Stijn, 2021. "What Does a Job Candidate's Age Signal to Employers?," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 71(C).
    3. Cevat Giray Aksoy & Nicholas Bloom & Steven J. Davis & Victoria Marino & Cem Ozguzel, 2025. "Remote Work, Employee Mix, and Performance," NBER Working Papers 33851, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    4. Guillaume Gueguen & Claudia Senik, 2023. "Adopting telework: The causal impact of working from home on subjective well‐being," British Journal of Industrial Relations, London School of Economics, vol. 61(4), pages 832-868, December.
    5. Monique Morrissey & Siavash Radpour & Barbara Schuster, 2023. "Older Workers and Retirement Security: a Review," SCEPA working paper series. 2023-01, Schwartz Center for Economic Policy Analysis (SCEPA), The New School.
    6. Nicholas Bloom & Ruobing Han & James Liang, 2022. "How Hybrid Working From Home Works Out," NBER Working Papers 30292, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    7. Van Landeghem, Bert & Dohmen, Thomas & Hole, Arne Risa & Künn-Nelen, Annemarie, 2024. "The value of commuting time, flexibility, and job security: Evidence from current and recent jobseekers in Flanders," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).
    8. Joanne Song McLaughlin, 2020. "Falling Between the Cracks: Discrimination Laws and Older Women," LABOUR, CEIS, vol. 34(2), pages 215-238, June.
    9. L.G. Deidda & F. Cerina & S. Nobili, 2025. "Skill-biased remote work and incentives," Working Paper CRENoS 202505, Centre for North South Economic Research, University of Cagliari and Sassari, Sardinia.
    10. Aitken, Andrew & Singh, Shruti, 2023. "Time to change? Promoting mobility at older ages to support longer working lives," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 24(C).
    11. Lewandowski, Piotr & Lipowska, Katarzyna & Smoter, Mateusz, 2024. "Preference for working from home – subjective perceptions of COVID-19 matter more than objective information on occupational exposure to contagion," Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Economics (formerly The Journal of Socio-Economics), Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    12. Anja Schöttner & Veikko Thiele, 2010. "Promotion Tournaments and Individual Performance Pay," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 19(3), pages 699-731, September.
    13. Piotr Lewandowski & Katarzyna Lipowska & Mateusz Smoter, 2022. "Working from home during a pandemic – a discrete choice experiment in Poland," IBS Working Papers 03/2022, Instytut Badan Strukturalnych.
    14. Daron Acemoglu & Philippe Aghion & Claire Lelarge & John Van Reenen & Fabrizio Zilibotti, 2007. "Technology, Information, and the Decentralization of the Firm," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 122(4), pages 1759-1799.
    15. Fuchsman, Dillon & McGee, Josh B. & Zamarro, Gema, 2023. "Teachers’ willingness to pay for retirement benefits: A national stated preferences experiment," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 92(C).
    16. Wallenius, Johanna, 2022. "R(a)ising employment of older individuals," The Journal of the Economics of Ageing, Elsevier, vol. 23(C).
    17. Blessing Atwine & Ibrahim Mike Okumu & John Bosco Nnyanzi, 2023. "What drives the dynamics of employment growth in firms? Evidence from East Africa," Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, Springer, vol. 12(1), pages 1-25, December.
    18. Bénédicte Gendron, 2004. "Why emotional capital matters in education and in labour? toward an Optimal exploitation of human capital and knowledge management," Cahiers de la Maison des Sciences Economiques r04113, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris 1).
    19. Nicholas Bloom & Luis Garicano & Raffaella Sadun & John Van Reenen, 2014. "The Distinct Effects of Information Technology and Communication Technology on Firm Organization," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 60(12), pages 2859-2885, December.
    20. Button, Patrick & Walker, Brigham, 2020. "Employment discrimination against Indigenous Peoples in the United States: Evidence from a field experiment," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 65(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    JEL classification:

    • I0 - Health, Education, and Welfare - - General
    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • J20 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - General
    • J32 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Nonwage Labor Costs and Benefits; Retirement Plans; Private Pensions

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:joecag:v:31:y:2025:i:c:s2212828x25000301. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/the-journal-of-the-economics-of-ageing .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.