Centro de Documentacion de Fundación MAPFRE - Why is ageing associated with lower adoption of new technologies? Evidence from voluntary medical male circumcision and a structural model

MAP20210030666

Why is ageing associated with lower adoption of new technologies? Evidence from voluntary medical male circumcision and a structural model / Nicholas Wilson

Sumario: A popular conception is that older people are less likely to adopt new technologies than are younger people. The mechanism underlying this relationship is less well-known. I provide evidence on this question using data from the introduction of voluntary medical male circumcision (VMMC), a new medical technology with substantial health benefits in high HIV prevalence settings. I find limited support for several leading potential mechanisms such as previous investment in older substitute technologies, cohort differences in educational attainment, or various life-cycle changes (i.e. marriage, having ever had sex, coital frequency). I provide a model demonstrating that shorter time horizons and lower consumption values of life mechanically associated with ageing may cause lower VMMC adoption among older males and simulate the adoption-age profile under various parameter assumptions. I discuss implications for policymaking and future research.

En: The Journal of the economics of ageing . - Oxford : Elsevier ScienceDirect, 2021-. - 14/06/2021 Volumen 19 - 2021 , 16 p.

1. Envejecimiento . 2. Ageingnomics. Economia senior . 3. Personas mayores . I. Title.