Are personnel measures effective in increasing productivity of old workers?

In this study, we investigate the relation between five specific human resource measures for old employees (SMOE) and the relative productivity of old employees. Despite the fact that the share of old employees increases in most developed countries and many establishments apply specific measures for old employees, this is the first large scale study on this topic. We find that the relative productivity contributions of old workers are significantly higher in establishments that provide either specific equipment of work places or age-specific jobs for old workers. In establishments that apply mixed-age working teams the relative productivity contributions of old and of young employees are significantly higher than in establishments without this measure. Working time reductions and specific training for old employees are not associated with higher relative productivity of these employees. Our results suggest that the application of SMOE can contribute to the explanation for two recent findings, the only modest decline of the relative productivity contributions of old workers and the high variance for estimates of age-productivity profiles. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.