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Automation, Workforce Age Structure, and Firm Productivity: Evidence from Austrian Linked Employer-Employee Data

Author

Listed:
  • Mahlberg, Bernhard
  • Mara, Isilda
  • Prskawetz, Alexia
  • Gerstner, Isabel

Abstract

The aim of this study is to estimate the age–productivity profile of Austrian firms using a linked employer–employee dataset for the years 2013–2022. The OLS and FE estimates indicate a highly significant relationship between workforce age structure and labour productivity. Across both estimation methods, we find an inverted U-shaped age–productivity profile. We also account for capital intensity and the share of automation-related assets (ADRA). The estimation results show that firms with greater capital intensity and higher levels of automation consistently exhibit higher productivity across the distribution. In addition, the marginal effect of the share of ADRA-related capital is greater than that of the agerelated variables. These findings have important implications for both firm strategy and public policy, highlighting the role of technology diffusion, education, and potentially organisational change in sustaining productivity in ageing societies. The empirical strategy is complemented by panel data methods and robustness checks to account for persistence, unobserved heterogeneity, and potential reverse causality.

Suggested Citation

  • Mahlberg, Bernhard & Mara, Isilda & Prskawetz, Alexia & Gerstner, Isabel, 2026. "Automation, Workforce Age Structure, and Firm Productivity: Evidence from Austrian Linked Employer-Employee Data," ECON WPS - Working Papers in Economic Theory and Policy 01/2026, TU Wien, Institute of Statistics and Mathematical Methods in Economics, Economics Research Unit.
    • Handle: RePEc:zbw:tuweco:342377
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    Keywords

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    JEL classification:

    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • 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
    • J82 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Standards - - - Labor Force Composition
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

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