The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of US Productivity
Nick Bloom (Stanford)
Good:�US Levels
Bad:
Trends
Ugly:
Inequality
America is the Most Productive (Large) Country
Productivity (GDP per hour) as a % of the US in 2014
0
20
40
60
80
100
United States
Netherlands
France
Germany
Australia
Canada
Italy
Spain
United Kingdom
Japan
America is also the Worlds Richest (Large) Country
GDP Per Capita (2014 $)
0
20,000
40,000
60,000
United States
Netherlands
Australia
Germany
Canada
Spain
United Kingdom
France
Japan
Italy
Good:�US Levels
Bad:
Trends
Ugly:
Inequality
Is Productivity Growth Slowing Down?
-5
0
5
10
15
US Productivity Growth
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
Is Productivity Growth Slowing Down?
-5
0
5
10
15
US Productivity Growth
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
Is Productivity Growth Slowing Down?
-5
0
5
10
15
US Productivity Growth
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
Is Productivity Growth Slowing Down?
-5
0
5
10
15
US Productivity Growth
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
Is Productivity Growth Slowing Down?
-5
0
5
10
15
US Productivity Growth
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
Is Productivity Growth Slowing Down?
-5
0
5
10
15
US Productivity Growth
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
Is Productivity Growth Slowing Down?
-5
0
5
10
15
US Productivity Growth
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
Is Productivity Growth Slowing Down?
-5
0
5
10
15
US Productivity Growth
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
What about the future? It’s hard to tell as productivity growth is basically a random walk
-2
0
2
4
6
8
-2
0
2
4
6
8
Productivity Growth - This Year
Productivity Growth - Last Year
Good:�US Levels
Bad:
Trends
Ugly:
Inequality
Since 1980 productivity growth has�not benefitted the median family much at all
50
100
150
200
1955
1965
1975
1985
1995
2005
2015
Productivity
(1980=100)
Real Median Family Income
(1980=100)
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly of US Productivity
Nick Bloom (Stanford)