Abstract
Authors of Working Papers are normally staff members of the Fund or consultants, although on occasion outside authors may collaborate with a staff member in writing a paper. The views expressed in the Working Papers or their summaries are, however, those of the authors and should not necessarily be interpreted as representing the views of the Fund. Copies of individual Working Papers and information on subscriptions to the annual series of Working Papers may be obtained from IMF Publication Services, International Monetary Fund, 700 19th Street, Washington, D.C. 20431. Telephone: (202) 623-7430 Telefax: (202) 623-7201 This compilation of summaries of Working Papers released during July-December 1994 is being issued as a part of the Working Paper series. It is designed to provide the reader with an overview of the research work performed by the staff during the period.
This paper examines the effects of demographic dynamics on the measured rates of economic growth. The presence of strong demographic dynamics affects the measurements of the differences in economic performance both across countries and over time. Having better measures of economic growth is extremely important for improving our understanding in this area and has direct policy applications. This paper attempts to improve the empirics of economic growth by taking full account of the effect that demographic dynamics have on economic growth. The methodology used in this paper is unique in that it relies on macro rather than micro data.
The principal result of this paper is the construction of a panel data base covering 119 countries for the period 1960-85 that includes measures of economic growth that are free of demographic effects. Other significant findings include a function that describes how productivity of labor varies with age and a panel data base of average effective labor supply per person, covering both past and future periods, up to the year 2025.