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No Teens, No Tech: How Shortages of Young Workers Hinder Firm Technology Investments

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  • Cäcilia Lipowski

Abstract

Firms in developed countries face increasing shortages of young workers. This paper studies the importance of young workers, particularly vocational trainees, for firm technology investments. Leveraging exogenous variation in trainee supply caused by an education reform in Germany in 2001, I show that a reduction in trainee supply decreases firm technology investments. This suggests complementarity between young workers and new technologies. Consistent with firms’ lower opportunity costs and higher returns to training young workers than incumbents, the effect is driven by firms exposed to new tech skills. These findings dampen hopes of counteracting labor shortages by substituting labor with capital.

Suggested Citation

  • Cäcilia Lipowski, 2024. "No Teens, No Tech: How Shortages of Young Workers Hinder Firm Technology Investments," CESifo Working Paper Series 11471, CESifo.
    • Handle: RePEc:ces:ceswps:_11471
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    File URL: https://www.cesifo.org/DocDL/cesifo1_wp11471.pdf
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    endogenous technological change; labor shortages; firm investments; capital adjustment costs; vintage-specific skills;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • D22 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Firm Behavior: Empirical Analysis
    • D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Cost; Capital; Capital, Total Factor, and Multifactor Productivity; Capacity
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
    • O33 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Innovation; Research and Development; Technological Change; Intellectual Property Rights - - - Technological Change: Choices and Consequences; Diffusion Processes

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