Population-ageing, structural change and productivity growth

Stijepic, Denis and Wagner, Helmut (2009): Population-ageing, structural change and productivity growth.

Abstract

Population-ageing is one of the traditional topics of development and growth theory and a key challenge to most modern societies. We focus on the following aspect: Population-ageing is associated with changes in demand-structure, since demand-patterns change with increasing age. This process induces structural changes (factor-reallocations across technologically heterogeneous sectors) and, thus, has impacts on average productivity growth. We provide a neoclassical multi-sector growth-model for analyzing these aspects and elaborate potential policy-impact channels. We show that ageing has permanent and complex/multifaceted impacts on the growth rate of the economy and could, therefore, be an important determinant of long-run GDP-growth.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: population-ageing; demand shifts; reallocation of factors; cross-sector technology-disparity; GDP-growth; multi-sector growth models; neoclassical growth models; structural change
• Subjects: O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O4 - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity > O41 - One, Two, and Multisector Growth Models; H - Public Economics > H5 - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies > H55 - Social Security and Public Pensions; H - Public Economics > H5 - National Government Expenditures and Related Policies > H51 - Government Expenditures and Health; J - Labor and Demographic Economics > J1 - Demographic Economics > J19 - Other; O - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth > O1 - Economic Development > O14 - Industrialization ; Manufacturing and Service Industries ; Choice of Technology

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