In this presentation, the authors 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. Their 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. The authors have also explored whether or not the use of untapped work capacity of old persons could affect the well-being of workers in other age groups.​

In discussing the presentation on “Nonlinear Effects of Population Aging on Economic Growth”
presented by Hyun-Hoon Lee, the presenter noted that in principle, population aging may affect growth through labor supply, capital accumulation, and productivity. He also noted that the empirical evidence for nonlinearity in the relationship between growth and aging seems weak, and that here is a one-on-one relationship between the elderly and the working-age shares after controlling for the youth population share.

Using the panel data consisting of 142 countries for the period between 1960 and 2014, the authors assessed the nonlinear effects of population aging on economic growth. They found that population aging negatively affects economic growth only when it reaches a certain high level and its negative effects grow stronger as population aging deepens. They also underscored that population aging has hampered economic growth, during the period of more recent years, especially in developed countries where population aging is quite advanced.

In discussing the presentation on “Demographics and Innovation” by François Derrien, the speaker noted that the paper successfully gathered various data to control for factors that appear to be correlated with age structure and innovation. She also underscored the policy implications of coping with an aging population, such as incentivizing childbirth and encouraging younger and skilled immigration. She further expressed curiosity on whether the authors would draw a similar conclusion if their analysis would be conducted using data from Asian countries.​

Are younger labor forces more innovative? The authors attempt to answer this question using the native-born labor force projected based on local historical births in the US. They used three successive levels of analysis to eliminate or examine effects such as firm and inventor life cycles. They also established that innovation activities reflect the innovative characteristics of younger labor forces, and firms in younger labor markets have higher valuations.

The workforce in many Asian countries is aging and shrinking. Specific technologies could help improve the labor force participation of senior citizens or their productivity. Policies should promote the promotion and adoption of technologies, lifelong learning for seniors, and cross-border, intra-Asia mobility for workers.

Some member-nations of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) will see their working-age population grow or slightly decline by 2050; others will see them shrink. Several APEC countries rely on migration to expand their labor force and GDP. The labor force participation rates among people aged 50-64 and women aged 15-64 are expected to rise in almost all APEC member countries by 2050, and affect the growth in GDP per worker. Policies should focus on migration, resolving bilateral issues, the health and training of elderly workers, child care, and gender wage gap.

Reacting to the main presentation, the author noted the importance of the topic health capacity to work and the useful results of the research, as it investigates the extent to which older Japanese people could enlarge the labor supply. Nonetheless, he pointed out potential issues with the two methods used in the study.