Productivity Growth in the 1990s: Technology, Utilization, or Adjustment? / Susanto Basu, John G. Fernald, Matthew D. Shapiro.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Basu, Susanto.

Contributor:

National Bureau of Economic Research.

Fernald, John G.

Shapiro, Matthew D.

Series:

Working Paper Series (National Bureau of Economic Research) no. w8359.

NBER working paper series no. w8359

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource: illustrations (black and white);

Other Title:

Productivity Growth in the 1990s

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. National Bureau of Economic Research 2001.

Summary:

Measured productivity growth increased substantially during the second half of the 1990s. This paper examines whether this increase owes to an increase in the rate of technological change or whether it can be explained by non-technological factors relating to factor utilization, factor accumulation, or returns to scale. It finds that the recent increase in productivity growth does appear to arise from an increase in technological change. Cyclical utilization raised measured productivity growth relative to technology growth in the first part of the expansion, but lowered it subsequently. Factor adjustment leads to a steady-state understatement of technology growth by measured productivity growth. The understatement was greater in the second half of the expansion than the first. Changes in the distribution of inputs across industries with different returns to scale lead to a modest understatement in the growth in technology. Although the increase technological change is most pronounced in durable manufacturing, technological change also increased outside of manufacturing.

Notes:

Print version record

July 2001.