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Productivity: what is it and why do we care about it?

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Author Info
Charles Steindel
Kevin Stiroh

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Abstract

Economists, business analysts, and policymakers have all focused considerable attention on U.S. productivity growth in recent years. This paper presents a broad overview of productivity--both labor and total factor--and discusses why it is such an important topic. We begin with the official U.S. productivity statistics prepared by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and discuss several stylized facts. We show how productivity relates to critically important variables like long-run growth, living standards, and inflation. We then describe the proximate factors that determine labor productivity using a standard growth accounting framework. Finally, we outline a series of unresolved productivity issues that have direct implications for the future of the U.S. economy.

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Paper provided by Federal Reserve Bank of New York in its series Staff Reports with number 122.

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Date of creation: 2001
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Handle: RePEc:fip:fednsr:122

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Keywords: Productivity Labor productivity Technology

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This paper has been announced in the following NEP Reports: References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
  1. Charles Steindel, 1999. "The impact of reduced inflation estimates on real output and productivity growth," Current Issues in Economics and Finance, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, issue Jun. [Downloadable!]
  2. John G. Fernald & Susanto Basu, 1999. "Why is productivity procyclical? Why do we care?," International Finance Discussion Papers 638, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.). [Downloadable!]
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  3. Norsworthy, J R & Malmquist, David H, 1983. "Input Measurement and Productivity Growth in Japanese and U.S. Manufacturing," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 73(5), pages 947-67, December. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  4. Martin Neil Baily & Robert J. Gordon, 1989. "The Productivity Slowdown, Measurement Issues, and the Explosion of Computer Power," NBER Reprints 1199, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
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  5. Basu, Susanto & Fernald, John G., 1995. "Are apparent productive spillovers a figment of specification error?," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 165-188, August. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  6. repec:fth:harver:1487 is not listed on IDEAS
  7. Stiroh, Kevin J, 1998. "Computers, Productivity, and Input Substitution," Economic Inquiry, Oxford University Press, vol. 36(2), pages 175-91, April.
  8. W. Erwin Diewert & Kevin J. Fox, 1999. "Can measurement error explain the productivity paradox?," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 32(2), pages 251-280, April. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  9. Hall, Robert E, 1988. "The Relation between Price and Marginal Cost in U.S. Industry," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 96(5), pages 921-47, October. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  10. Carol Corrado & Lawrence Slifman, 1999. "Decomposition of Productivity and Unit Costs," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 89(2), pages 328-332, May. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  11. Griliches, Zvi, 1994. "Productivity, R&D, and the Data Constraint," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 84(1), pages 1-23, March.
  12. William D. Nordhaus, 2000. "Productivity Growth and the New Economy," Cowles Foundation Discussion Papers 1284, Cowles Foundation, Yale University. [Downloadable!]
  13. Charles R. Hulten, 2000. "Total Factor Productivity: A Short Biography," NBER Working Papers 7471, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Ana Fernandes, 2002. "Trade Policy, Trade Volumes and Plant-Level Productivity in Colombian Manufacturing Industries," Working Papers 847, Economic Growth Center, Yale University. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Hal R. Varian, 2001. "High-technology industries and market structure," Proceedings, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, pages 65-101. [Downloadable!]
  3. Stephen D. Oliner & Daniel E. Sichel, 2002. "Information technology and productivity: where are we now and where are we going?," Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, issue Q3, pages 15-44. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  4. Paola Caselli & Francesco Paternò, 2001. "ICT accumulation and productivity growth in the United States: an analysis based on industry data," Temi di discussione (Economic working papers) 419, Bank of Italy, Economic Research Department. [Downloadable!]
  5. Areendam Chanda & Carl-Johan Dalgaard, 2005. "Wage Inequality and the Rise of Services," DEGIT Conference Papers c010_016, DEGIT, Dynamics, Economic Growth, and International Trade. [Downloadable!]
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