Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP7713
Authors: Jan C. van Ours; Lenny Stoeldraijer
Abstract: Previous empirical studies on the effect of age on productivity and wages find contradicting results. Some studies find that if workers grow older there is an increasing gap between productivity and wages, i.e. wages increase with age while productivity does not or does not increase at the same pace. However, other studies find no evidence of such an age related pay-productivity gap. We perform an analysis of the relationship between age, wage and productivity using a matched worker-firm panel dataset from Dutch manufacturing covering the period 2000-2005. We find little evidence of an age related pay-productivity gap.
Keywords: age; productivity; wage
JEL Codes: J23; J31
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| age (J14) | productivity (O49) |
| age (J14) | wages (J31) |
| productivity (O49) | wages (J31) |
| age (57 and above) (J14) | productivity (O49) |
| age (30 to 45) (J14) | productivity (O49) |
| age (50 and above) (J14) | productivity (O49) |
| age (J14) | productivity and wage costs (J39) |