The 1990s Acceleration in Labor Productivity: Causes and Measurement (ICPSR 1335)
Principal Investigator(s): Anderson, Richard G., Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; Kliesen, Kevin L., Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Summary:
The acceleration of labor productivity growth that began during the mid-1990s is the defining economic event of the past decade. A consensus has arisen among economists that the acceleration was caused by technological innovations that decreased the quality-adjusted prices of semiconductors and related information and communications technology (ICT) products, including digital computers. In sharp contrast to the previous 20 years, services-producing sectors heavy users of ICT products-led the productivity increase, besting even a robust manufacturing sector. In this article, the authors survey the performance of the services-producing and goods-producing sectors and examine revisions to aggregate labor productivity data of the type commonly discussed by policymakers. The revisions, at times, were large enough to reverse preliminary conclusions regarding productivity growth slowdowns and accelerations. The anticipated acceleration in the services sector and the large size of revisions to aggregate data combine to shed light on why economists were slow to recognize the productivity acceleration.
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These data are part of ICPSR's Publication-Related Archive and are distributed exactly as they arrived from the data depositor. ICPSR has not checked or processed this material. Users should consult the investigator(s) if further information is desired.
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Study Description
Citation
Anderson, Richard G., and Kevin L. Kliesen. The 1990s Acceleration in Labor Productivity: Causes and Measurement. ICPSR01335-v1. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2006-11-29. doi:10.3886/ICPSR01335.v1
Persistent URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR01335.v1
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Funding
This survey was funded by:
- Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Research Division
Scope of Study
Subject Terms: communications systems, labor productivity, technological change
Geographic Coverage: United States
Data Collection Notes:
(1) The file submitted is the data file 0605rad.xls. (2) These data are part of ICPSR's Publication-Related Archive and are distributed exactly as they arrived from the data depositor. ICPSR has not checked or processed this material. Users should consult the investigators if further information is desired.
Methodology
Version(s)
Original ICPSR Release: 2006-11-29
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