1887

OECD Economics Department Working Papers

Working papers from the Economics Department of the OECD that cover the full range of the Department’s work including the economic situation, policy analysis and projections; fiscal policy, public expenditure and taxation; and structural issues including ageing, growth and productivity, migration, environment, human capital, housing, trade and investment, labour markets, regulatory reform, competition, health, and other issues.

The views expressed in these papers are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the OECD or of the governments of its member countries.

English, French

Enhancing productivity and growth in an ageing society

Key mechanisms and policy options

The increase in human longevity is a major achievement, which brings individual well-being and strong contributions to society, but population ageing also generates challenges. This paper documents demographic trends in OECD countries, highlighting that ageing today largely reflects past fertility, longevity, and migration developments. Policies have moderate or delayed impacts on population ageing, hence they should also focus on adapting to ongoing demographic trends. The paper quantifies ageing’s potential impacts on labour supply and GDP per capita, showing that the extension of working lives as longevity rises could mitigate, but not completely offset, the negative effects of ageing on employment. It also examines how ageing may affect productivity through various micro and macroeconomic mechanisms. Finally, it provides policy directions for addressing the ageing challenge, through supporting healthy ageing, boosting employment, job quality and labour mobility in all age groups, and promoting older workers’ productivity by further developing lifelong learning and fostering an age-friendly management culture.

English

Keywords: longevity, productivity, Fertility, economic growth, lifelong learning, health, demography, Ageing, migration, labour market policy
JEL: I18: Health, Education, and Welfare / Health / Health: Government Policy; Regulation; Public Health; J11: Labor and Demographic Economics / Demographic Economics / Demographic Trends, Macroeconomic Effects, and Forecasts; J13: Labor and Demographic Economics / Demographic Economics / Fertility; Family Planning; Child Care; Children; Youth; J08: Labor and Demographic Economics / General / Labor Economics Policies; F22: International Economics / International Factor Movements and International Business / International Migration; Q47: Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics / Energy / Energy Forecasting; J14: Labor and Demographic Economics / Demographic Economics / Economics of the Elderly; Economics of the Handicapped; Non-Labor Market Discrimination
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