Is innovative firm behavior correlated with age and gender composition of the workforce? Evidence from a new type of data for German enterprises

Arbeitspapier

This empirical research note documents the relationship between composition of a firm's workforce (with a special focus on age and gender) and its performance with respect to innovative activities (outlays and employment in research and development (R&D)) for a large representative sample of enterprises from manufacturing industries in Germany using unique newly available data. We find that firms with a higher share of older workers have significantly lower proportions of R&D outlays in total revenues and of R&D employment in total employment, whereas firms with a higher share of female employment seem to be more active in R&D.

Object Details

• Language: Englisch

References and Relationships

• Bibliographic citation: Series: IZA Discussion Papers ; No. 7050

Classification and Topics

• Classification: Wirtschaft ; Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis ; Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity ; Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure ; Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity ; Firm Performance: Size, Diversification, and Scope
• Subject: ageing ; firm performance ; gender ; Germany ; innovation ; R&D ; Innovation ; Industrielle Forschung ; Ältere Arbeitskräfte ; Weibliche Arbeitskräfte ; Verarbeitendes Gewerbe ; Altersgruppe ; Geschlecht ; Deutschland

Contributors, Places and Time

• Event: Geistige Schöpfung
• (who): Pfeifer, Christian ; Wagner, Joachim
• Event: Veröffentlichung
• (who): Institute for the Study of Labor (IZA)
• (where): Bonn
• (when): 2012

Further information

• Handle: http://hdl.handle.net/10419/69441
• Last update: 10.03.2025, 11:42 AM CET