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Does Mental Productivity Decline with Age? Evidence from Chess Players

Author

Listed:
  • Bertoni, Marco

    (University of Padova)

  • Brunello, Giorgio

    (University of Padova)

  • Rocco, Lorenzo

    (University of Padova)

Abstract

We use data on international chess tournaments to study the relationship between age and mental productivity in a brain-intensive profession. We show that less talented players tend to leave the game in the earliest phases of their career. When the effects of age on productivity vary with unobserved ability, commonly used fixed effects estimators applied to raw data do not guarantee consistent estimates of age-productivity profiles. In our data, this method strongly over-estimates the productivity of older players. We apply fixed effects to first-differenced data and show that productivity peaks in the early forties and smoothly declines thereafter. Because of this, players aged 60 are 11 percent less productive than players in their early forties.

Suggested Citation

  • Bertoni, Marco & Brunello, Giorgio & Rocco, Lorenzo, 2013. "Does Mental Productivity Decline with Age? Evidence from Chess Players," IZA Discussion Papers 7311, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    • Handle: RePEc:iza:izadps:dp7311
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    Cited by:

    1. Alexander Eck & Carolin Fritzsche & Jan Kluge & Joachim Ragnitz & Felix Rösel, 2015. "Fiscal Capacity and Determining Structural Characteristics of the Eastern German Laender," ifo Dresden Studien, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, number 76, May.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    productivity; mental ability; aging;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D83 - Microeconomics - - Information, Knowledge, and Uncertainty - - - Search; Learning; Information and Knowledge; Communication; Belief; Unawareness
    • J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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