Population Aging and Innovation: Do Old Societies Think New Ideas?

This research advances the hypothesis that at the individual level "old people think old ideas" whereas at the aggregate level "old societies think new ideas." More precisely, we empirically establish the following three hypotheses: i) population aging has a hump-shaped effect on innovation, ii) old societies foster new ideas, and iii) the effect of population aging on innovation operates partly through a favorable attitude towards new ideas and creativity. Our results falsify the often encountered vision according to which old societies have old ideas. Moreover, they emphasize that innovation activity in aging societies is in part driven by cultural attitudes.