D S E Dipartimento Scienze Economiche Working Paper Department of Economics Ca’ Foscari University of Venice Fabrizio Castellucci Giovanni Pica Mario Padula The age-productivity gradient: evidence from a sample of F1 drivers ISSN: 1827/336X No. 16/WP/2009 Working Papers Department of Economics Ca’ Foscari University of Venice No. 16/WP/2009 ISSN 1827-3580 The age-productivity gradient: evidence from a sample of F1 drivers Fabrizio Castellucci Università Bocconi Giovanni Pica University of Salerno and CSEF Mario Padula Ca’ Foscari University of Venice and CSEF July 2009 Abstract Estimating the effect of aging on productivity is a daunting task. First, it requires clean measures of productivity. Second, unobserved heterogeneity at workers, firms and workers/firms level challenges the identification of the age-productivity gradient in cross- sectional data. Finally, the study of the age-productivity link requires to partial out the role of experience and to account for the selection bias that arises if less able people drop out faster than more able ones. We tackle these issues by focussing on a panel of Gran Prix Formula One drivers and show that the age-productivity link has an inverted U-shape profile, with a peak at around the age of 30-32. We would like to thank seminar participants at the University Ca' Foscari of Venice, the University of Milan, and conference participants at the Brucchi-Luchino conference, Bologna, December, 11-12, 2008 and the Third ICEE Conference, Ancona January 30-31, 2009. The usual disclaimer applies. Keywords: Aging, individual effects, firm effects, match effects, Formula One JEL Codes: J24,C23, L83 Address for correspondence: Mario Padula Department of Economics Ca’ Foscari University of Venice Cannaregio 873, Fondamenta S.Giobbe 30121 Venezia - Italy Phone: (++39) 041 2349184 Fax: (++39) 041 2349176
[email protected] This Working Paper is published under the auspices of the Department of Economics of the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice.