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Aging and regional productivity growth in Germany
[Alterung und regionales Produktivitätswachstum in Deutschland]

Author

Listed:
  • Eckhardt Bode

    (Kiel Institute for the World Economy)

  • Dirk Dohse

    (Kiel Institute for the World Economy)

  • Ulrich Stolzenburg

    (Kiel Institute for the World Economy)

Abstract

We investigate the effects of aging on regional productivity growth, the mechanisms and the strength of which are not well-understood. We focus on two different manifestations of population aging—workforce aging and an increasing share of retirees—and investigate channels through which aging may impact on regional productivity growth for a panel of German counties 2000–2019. We find that workforce aging is more negatively associated with productivity growth in urban than in nonurban regions. A likely reason is that aging is detrimental to innovative and knowledge-intensive activities, which are heavily concentrated in cities. We also find a negative association between the share of the retired population and productivity growth in regions with a small household services sector. A likely reason is that older people’s disproportionate demand for local household services (including health care, recreation) requires a re-allocation of resources from more productive manufacturing or business services to less productive household services. Regions specialized more in highly productive industries have more to lose in this process.

Suggested Citation

  • Eckhardt Bode & Dirk Dohse & Ulrich Stolzenburg, 2023. "Aging and regional productivity growth in Germany [Alterung und regionales Produktivitätswachstum in Deutschland]," Review of Regional Research: Jahrbuch für Regionalwissenschaft, Springer;Gesellschaft für Regionalforschung (GfR), vol. 43(3), pages 409-432, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jahrfr:v:43:y:2023:i:3:d:10.1007_s10037-023-00188-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s10037-023-00188-3
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Pfeifer, Christian & Wagner, Joachim, 2014. "Is innovative firm behavior correlated with age and gender composition of the workforce? : evidence from a new type of data for German enterprises," Journal for Labour Market Research, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany], vol. 47(3), pages 223-231.
    2. Daron Acemoglu & Pascual Restrepo, 2022. "Demographics and Automation," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 89(1), pages 1-44.
    3. Daron Acemoglu & Pascual Restrepo, 2018. "Demographics and Automation," Boston University - Department of Economics - Working Papers Series dp-299, Boston University - Department of Economics.
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    Cited by:

    1. Stephan Brunow & Ramona Jost, 2023. "Being a long distance out-commuter or home employee in a rather peripheral region evidence of a German federal state," Review of Regional Research: Jahrbuch für Regionalwissenschaft, Springer;Gesellschaft für Regionalforschung (GfR), vol. 43(2), pages 317-342, August.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Workforce aging; Population aging; Productivity growth; Regional analysis; Germany;
    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
    • J11 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • J26 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Retirement; Retirement Policies
    • R11 - Urban, Rural, Regional, Real Estate, and Transportation Economics - - General Regional Economics - - - Regional Economic Activity: Growth, Development, Environmental Issues, and Changes

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