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Which personnel measures are effective in increasing productivity of old workers?

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Listed author(s):
  • Göbel, Christian
  • Zwick, Thomas

Abstract

In this study, we investigate the effect of five specific human resource measures for old employees (SMOE) on their relative productivity. Despite the fact that SMOE are applied in the majority of establishments, this is the first representative study on the effectiveness of these measures. We find that the relative productivity contributions of old workers are significantly higher in establishments that provide either specific equipment of work places or age-specific jobs for old workers. In establishments that apply mixed-age working teams the productivity contributions of old and of young employees are significantly higher than in establishments without this measure. Working time reductions and specific training for old employees are not associated with higher relative productivity of these employees. Our paper provides a joint explanation for two recent findings, the only modest decline of the productivity contributions of old workers and the high variance for estimates of age-productivity profiles.

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Paper provided by ZEW - Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung / Center for European Economic Research in its series ZEW Discussion Papers with number 10-069.

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Date of creation: 2010
Handle: RePEc:zbw:zewdip:10069
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Keywords: ageing workforce; age-productivity-profile; personnel management; HRM;

Find related papers by JEL classification:

  • J11 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts
  • J14 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination
  • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure

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  1. O'Mahony, Mary & Peng, Fei, 2009. "Skill bias, age and organizational change," MPRA Paper 38767, University Library of Munich, Germany.
  2. Addison, John T. & Teixeira, Paulino & Zwick, Thomas, 2006. "Works Councils and the Anatomy of Wages," IZA Discussion Papers 2474, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
  3. Jan Ours, 2009. "Will You Still Need Me: When I’m 64?," De Economist, Springer, vol. 157(4), pages 441-460, December.
  4. Stephen Bond & Måns Söderbom, 2005. "Adjustment Costs and the Identification of Cobb Douglas Production Functions," Economics Papers 2005-W04, Economics Group, Nuffield College, University of Oxford.
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  6. Malmberg, Bo & Lindh, Thomas & Halvarsson, Max, 2005. "Productivity consequences of workforce ageing - Stagnation or a Horndal effect?," Arbetsrapport 2005:17, Institute for Futures Studies.
  7. Göbel, Christian & Zwick, Thomas, 2009. "Age and productivity: evidence from linked employer employee data," ZEW Discussion Papers 09-020, ZEW - Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung / Center for European Economic Research.
  8. Thomas Zwick, 2003. "The Impact of ICT Investment on Establishment Productivity," National Institute Economic Review, National Institute of Economic and Social Research, vol. 184(1), pages 99-110, April.
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  11. Sandra E. Black & Lisa M. Lynch, 2001. "How To Compete: The Impact Of Workplace Practices And Information Technology On Productivity," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 83(3), pages 434-445, August.
  12. Uschi Backes-Gellner & Stephan Veen, 2008. "The Impact of Workforce Age Heterogeneity on Company Productivity," Working Papers 0078, University of Zurich, Institute for Strategy and Business Economics (ISU), revised Sep 2009.
  13. Bloom, Nicholas & Van Reenen, John, 2011. "Human Resource Management and Productivity," Handbook of Labor Economics, Elsevier.
  14. Gartner, Hermann, 2005. "The imputation of wages above the contribution limit with the German IAB employment sample," FDZ Methodenreport 200502_en, Institut für Arbeitsmarkt- und Berufsforschung (IAB), Nürnberg [Institute for Employment Research, Nuremberg, Germany].
  15. Zwick, Thomas, 2008. "The Employment Consequences of Seniority Wages," ZEW Discussion Papers 08-039, ZEW - Zentrum für Europäische Wirtschaftsforschung / Center for European Economic Research.
  16. Pekka Ilmakunnas & Seija Ilmakunnas, 2011. "Diversity at the Workplace: Whom Does it Benefit?," De Economist, Springer, vol. 159(2), pages 223-255, June.
  17. John Heywood & Uwe Jirjahn & Georgi Tsertsvardze, 2010. "Hiring older workers and employing older workers: German evidence," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 23(2), pages 595-615, March.
  18. Ichniowski, Casey & Shaw, Kathryn & Prennushi, Giovanna, 1997. "The Effects of Human Resource Management Practices on Productivity: A Study of Steel Finishing Lines," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 87(3), pages 291-313, June.
  19. Daveri, Francesco & Maliranta, Mika, 2006. "Age, Technology and Labour Costs," Discussion Papers 1010, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy.
  20. Zwick, Thomas, 2004. "Employee participation and productivity," Labour Economics, Elsevier, vol. 11(6), pages 715-740, December.
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Cited by:

  1. Bernhard Boockmann & Jan Fries & Christian Göbel, 2012. "Specific Measures for Older Employees and Late Career Employment," IAW Discussion Papers 89, Institut für Angewandte Wirtschaftsforschung (IAW).
  2. Bloom, David E. & Sousa-Poza, Alfonso, 2013. "Ageing and Productivity: Introduction," IZA Discussion Papers 7205, Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA).
  3. Bloom, David E. & Sousa-Poza, Alfonso, 2013. "Ageing and productivity," FZID Discussion Papers 63-2012, University of Hohenheim, Center for Research on Innovation and Services (FZID).
  4. Pekka Ilmakunnas & Seija Ilmakunnas, 2011. "Diversity at the Workplace: Whom Does it Benefit?," De Economist, Springer, vol. 159(2), pages 223-255, June.
  5. Christian Göbel & Thomas Zwick, 2012. "Age and Productivity: Sector Differences," De Economist, Springer, vol. 160(1), pages 35-57, March.
  6. Heinrich Traublinger & Hans-Peter Klös & Martin Zeil & Ludwig Spaenle, 2011. "Symposium »Demographischer Wandel und Fachkräfteentwicklung – Konsequenzen für Bildung und Handwerk«," ifo Schnelldienst, ifo Institute - Leibniz Institute for Economic Research at the University of Munich, vol. 64(06), pages 03-23, 03.
  7. Anna Ruzik-Sierdzinska & Claudia Villosio & Michele Belloni & Maciej Lis & Monika Potoczna, 2013. "Age and productivity. Human Capital Accumulation and Depreciation," CASE Network Reports 0114, CASE-Center for Social and Economic Research.
  8. Mahlberg, Bernhard & Freund, Inga & Prskawetz, Alexia, 2011. "Ageing, productivity and wages in Austria: Evidence from a matched employer-employee data set at the sector level," ECON WPS - Vienna University of Technology Working Papers in Economic Theory and Policy 02/2011, Vienna University of Technology, Institute for Mathematical Methods in Economics, Research Group Economics (ECON).

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