Untapped work capacity among old persons and their potential contributions to the “silver dividend” in Japan

In contemporary Japan, the utilization of healthy elderly persons in economic production is one of the most urgent policy matters. In this paper, we have measured the untapped work capacity of old persons, using the microdata gathered in the Japanese Study of Aging and Retirement (JSTAR), a longitud...

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Main Authors: Matsukura, Rikiya, Shimizutani, Satoshi, Mitsuyama, Nahoko, Lee, Sang Hyop, Ogawa, Naohiro
Format: Article
Published: Elsevier 2018
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Online Access:http://eprints.um.edu.my/21313/
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeoa.2017.01.002
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spelling my.um.eprints.213132019-05-27T03:33:37Z http://eprints.um.edu.my/21313/ Untapped work capacity among old persons and their potential contributions to the “silver dividend” in Japan Matsukura, Rikiya Shimizutani, Satoshi Mitsuyama, Nahoko Lee, Sang Hyop Ogawa, Naohiro HC Economic History and Conditions In contemporary Japan, the utilization of healthy elderly persons in economic production is one of the most urgent policy matters. In this paper, we have measured the untapped work capacity of old persons, using the microdata gathered in the Japanese Study of Aging and Retirement (JSTAR), a longitudinal survey carried out on subjects aged 50–75. Our computed results show that the volume of untapped work capacity of the Japanese elderly aged 60–79 is vast, amounting to more than 11 million workers at present. We have also applied the computed results to the National Transfer Accounts (NTA) framework, and quantified the magnitude of the use of the untapped work capacity upon potential economic growth. The accumulated effect of the economic support ratio upon potential economic growth is substantial in the long term, generating a sizable amount of the so called “silver dividend”. We have also examined the issue of whether or not the use of untapped work capacity provided by old persons could affect the well-being of workers in other age groups. The regression results support the view that the substitutability between the selected age groups of the elderly and the young is negligible, so that the utilization of potential work capacity of elderly persons is unlikely to pose any serious threat to the employment opportunities of their young counterparts in Japan. Elsevier 2018 Article PeerReviewed Matsukura, Rikiya and Shimizutani, Satoshi and Mitsuyama, Nahoko and Lee, Sang Hyop and Ogawa, Naohiro (2018) Untapped work capacity among old persons and their potential contributions to the “silver dividend” in Japan. Journal of the Economics of Ageing, 12. pp. 236-249. ISSN 2212-828X https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeoa.2017.01.002 doi:10.1016/j.jeoa.2017.01.002
institution Universiti Malaya
building UM Library
collection Institutional Repository
continent Asia
country Malaysia
content_provider Universiti Malaya
content_source UM Research Repository
url_provider http://eprints.um.edu.my/
topic HC Economic History and Conditions
spellingShingle HC Economic History and Conditions
Matsukura, Rikiya
Shimizutani, Satoshi
Mitsuyama, Nahoko
Lee, Sang Hyop
Ogawa, Naohiro
Untapped work capacity among old persons and their potential contributions to the “silver dividend” in Japan
description In contemporary Japan, the utilization of healthy elderly persons in economic production is one of the most urgent policy matters. In this paper, we have measured the untapped work capacity of old persons, using the microdata gathered in the Japanese Study of Aging and Retirement (JSTAR), a longitudinal survey carried out on subjects aged 50–75. Our computed results show that the volume of untapped work capacity of the Japanese elderly aged 60–79 is vast, amounting to more than 11 million workers at present. We have also applied the computed results to the National Transfer Accounts (NTA) framework, and quantified the magnitude of the use of the untapped work capacity upon potential economic growth. The accumulated effect of the economic support ratio upon potential economic growth is substantial in the long term, generating a sizable amount of the so called “silver dividend”. We have also examined the issue of whether or not the use of untapped work capacity provided by old persons could affect the well-being of workers in other age groups. The regression results support the view that the substitutability between the selected age groups of the elderly and the young is negligible, so that the utilization of potential work capacity of elderly persons is unlikely to pose any serious threat to the employment opportunities of their young counterparts in Japan.
format Article
author Matsukura, Rikiya
Shimizutani, Satoshi
Mitsuyama, Nahoko
Lee, Sang Hyop
Ogawa, Naohiro
author_facet Matsukura, Rikiya
Shimizutani, Satoshi
Mitsuyama, Nahoko
Lee, Sang Hyop
Ogawa, Naohiro
author_sort Matsukura, Rikiya
title Untapped work capacity among old persons and their potential contributions to the “silver dividend” in Japan
title_short Untapped work capacity among old persons and their potential contributions to the “silver dividend” in Japan
title_full Untapped work capacity among old persons and their potential contributions to the “silver dividend” in Japan
title_fullStr Untapped work capacity among old persons and their potential contributions to the “silver dividend” in Japan
title_full_unstemmed Untapped work capacity among old persons and their potential contributions to the “silver dividend” in Japan
title_sort untapped work capacity among old persons and their potential contributions to the “silver dividend” in japan
publisher Elsevier
publishDate 2018
url http://eprints.um.edu.my/21313/
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeoa.2017.01.002
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score 13.209306