Age and Gender Effects of Workforce Composition on Productivity and Profits: Evidence from a New Type of Data for German Enterprises

Contemporary Economics, Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 25-46, 2014

22 Pages Posted: 10 May 2014

See all articles by Christian Pfeifer

Christian Pfeifer

Leuphana University of Lueneburg; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Joachim Wagner

University of Lueneburg - Institute of Economics; Max Planck Society for the Advancement of the Sciences - Max Planck Institute for Economics; IZA Institute of Labor Economics

Date Written: March 31, 2014

Abstract

This empirical paper documents the relationship between the composition of a firm’s workforce (with a special focus on age and gender) and its performance (productivity and profitability) for a large representative sample of enterprises from manufacturing industries in Germany using newly available, unique data. We find concave age-productivity profiles and a negative correlation of age on firms’ profitability. Moreover, our micro-econometric analysis reveals for the first time that the ceteris paribus lower level of productivity in firms with a higher share of female employees does not go hand in hand with a lower level of profitability in these firms.

Keywords: ageing, firm performance, gender, productivity, profitability, Germany

JEL Classification: D22, D24, J21, J24, L25

Suggested Citation

Pfeifer, Christian and Wagner, Joachim, Age and Gender Effects of Workforce Composition on Productivity and Profits: Evidence from a New Type of Data for German Enterprises (March 31, 2014). Contemporary Economics, Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 25-46, 2014 , Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2435036

Christian Pfeifer

Leuphana University of Lueneburg ( email )

Scharnhorststrasse 1
Lüneburg, 21335
Germany

IZA Institute of Labor Economics ( email )

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

Joachim Wagner (Contact Author)

University of Lueneburg - Institute of Economics ( email )

PO Box 2440
D-21314 Luneburg
Germany
+49 4131 677 2330 (Phone)
+49 4131 677 2026 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.uni-lueneburg.de/wifo

Max Planck Society for the Advancement of the Sciences - Max Planck Institute for Economics ( email )

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D-07745 Jena, 07745
Germany

IZA Institute of Labor Economics

P.O. Box 7240
Bonn, D-53072
Germany

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