The historical productivity variations during the recessions’ periods in the U.S. economy and in the OECD countries

Abstract EN

This paper provides thorough analysis for the changes in total factor productivity TFP and its main determinants in the private business sector through a diagrammatic overview for the patterns of variation over the period from 1949 to 2013.

This study attempts to pinpoint the main causes of the TFP slowdown in the US economy and in the OECD countries.

Due to data unavailability – during the time at which the research in this paper has been executed – the analysis for the growth in TFP covers the period between 1995 and 2013 for the selected sample from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development economies (OECD).

Throughout this period, the collected data reveal an interesting narrative about the slowdown in TFP.

Especially after 2004 partly due to a slowdown in capital intensity and capital deepening, a slowdown in the start-ups and small ventures shares in the business sector, and a slowdown in investment growth in recent years.