Global Productivity


Book Description

The COVID-19 pandemic struck the global economy after a decade that featured a broad-based slowdown in productivity growth. Global Productivity: Trends, Drivers, and Policies presents the first comprehensive analysis of the evolution and drivers of productivity growth, examines the effects of COVID-19 on productivity, and discusses a wide range of policies needed to rekindle productivity growth. The book also provides a far-reaching data set of multiple measures of productivity for up to 164 advanced economies and emerging market and developing economies, and it introduces a new sectoral database of productivity. The World Bank has created an extraordinary book on productivity, covering a large group of countries and using a wide variety of data sources. There is an emphasis on emerging and developing economies, whereas the prior literature has concentrated on developed economies. The book seeks to understand growth patterns and quantify the role of (among other things) the reallocation of factors, technological change, and the impact of natural disasters, including the COVID-19 pandemic. This book is must-reading for specialists in emerging economies but also provides deep insights for anyone interested in economic growth and productivity. Martin Neil Baily Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution Former Chair, U.S. President’s Council of Economic Advisers This is an important book at a critical time. As the book notes, global productivity growth had already been slowing prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and collapses with the pandemic. If we want an effective recovery, we have to understand what was driving these long-run trends. The book presents a novel global approach to examining the levels, growth rates, and drivers of productivity growth. For anyone wanting to understand or influence productivity growth, this is an essential read. Nicholas Bloom William D. Eberle Professor of Economics, Stanford University The COVID-19 pandemic hit a global economy that was already struggling with an adverse pre-existing condition—slow productivity growth. This extraordinarily valuable and timely book brings considerable new evidence that shows the broad-based, long-standing nature of the slowdown. It is comprehensive, with an exceptional focus on emerging market and developing economies. Importantly, it shows how severe disasters (of which COVID-19 is just the latest) typically harm productivity. There are no silver bullets, but the book suggests sensible strategies to improve growth prospects. John Fernald Schroders Chaired Professor of European Competitiveness and Reform and Professor of Economics, INSEAD




The Productivity Problem


Book Description




The Productivity Puzzle: Restoring Economic Dynamism


Book Description

This monograph is a collection of articles on productivity and related topics submitted by speakers at an interdisciplinary November 2017 conference sponsored by, among others, the CFA Institute Research Foundation, with additional articles solicited by the editors from noted experts on the field.




The Economics of Art and Culture


Book Description

The 2001 second edition of this survey of the economics of - and public policy towards - the fine arts and performing arts covers arts at federal, state, and local levels in the United States as well as the international arts sector. The work will interest academic readers in the field and scholars of the sociology of the arts, as well as general readers seeking a systematic analysis of the arts. Theoretical concepts are developed from scratch so that readers with no background in economics can follow the argument. The authors look at the arts' historical growth and then examine consumption and production of the live performing arts and the fine arts, the functioning of arts markets, the financial problems of performing arts companies and museums, and the key role of public policy. A final chapter speculates about the future of art and culture in the United States.




What's Best Next


Book Description

By anchoring your understanding of productivity in God's plan, What's Best Next gives you a practical approach for increasing your effectiveness in everything you do. There are a lot of myths about productivity--what it means to get things done and how to accomplish work that really matters. In our current era of innovation and information overload, it may feel harder than ever to understand the meaning of work or to have a sense of vocation or calling. So how do you get more of the right things done without confusing mere activity for actual productivity? Matt Perman has spent his career helping people learn how to do work in a gospel-centered and effective way. What's Best Next explains his approach to unlocking productivity and fulfillment in work by showing how faith relates to work, even in our everyday grind. What's Best Next is packed with biblical and theological insight and practical counsel that you can put into practice today, such as: How to create a mission statement for your life that's actually practicable. How to delegate to people in a way that really empowers them. How to overcome time killers like procrastination, interruptions, and multitasking by turning them around and making them work for you. How to process workflow efficiently and get your email inbox to zero every day. How to have peace of mind without needing to have everything under control. How generosity is actually the key to unlocking productivity. This expanded edition includes: a new chapter on productivity in a fallen world a new appendix on being more productive with work that requires creative thinking. Productivity isn't just about getting more things done. It's about getting the right things done--the things that count, make a difference, and move the world forward. You can learn how to do work that matters and how to do it well.




Handbook of Research on Remote Work and Worker Well-Being in the Post-COVID-19 Era


Book Description

With the introduction of policies to combat COVID-19, far greater numbers of employees across the globe—including those with limited job autonomy—have moved to undertake their entire job at home. Although challenging in the current climate, embracing these flexible modes of work such as working at home, including relevant investment in technology to enable this, will not only deliver potential organizational benefits but also increase the adaptability of the labor market in the short and longer terms. Although perhaps not the central concern of many in the current climate, “good” home-based work is achievable and perhaps even a solution to the current work-based dilemma created by COVID-19 and should be a common goal for individuals, organizations, and society. Research also has shifted to focus on the routines of workers, organizational performance, and well-being of companies and their employees along with reflections on the ways in which these developments may influence and alter the nature of paid work into the post-COVID-19 era. The Handbook of Research on Remote Work and Worker Well-Being in the Post-COVID-19 Era focuses on the rapid expansion of remote working in response to the global COVID-19 pandemic and the impacts it has had on both employees and businesses. The content of the book progresses understanding and raises awareness of the benefits and challenges faced by large-scale movements to remote working, considering the wide array of different ways in which the large-scale movement to remote working is impacting working lives and the economy. This book covers how different fields of work are responding and implementing remote work along with providing a presentation of how work occurs in digital spaces and the impacts on different topics such as gender dynamics and virtual togetherness. It is an ideal reference book for HR professionals, business managers, executives, entrepreneurs, policymakers, researchers, students, practitioners, academicians, and business professionals interested in the latest research on remote working and its impacts.




New Developments in Productivity Analysis


Book Description

The productivity slowdown of the 1970s and 1980s and the resumption of productivity growth in the 1990s have provoked controversy among policymakers and researchers. Economists have been forced to reexamine fundamental questions of measurement technique. Some researchers argue that econometric approaches to productivity measurement usefully address shortcomings of the dominant index number techniques while others maintain that current productivity statistics underreport damage to the environment. In this book, the contributors propose innovative approaches to these issues. The result is a state-of-the-art exposition of contemporary productivity analysis. Charles R. Hulten is professor of economics at the University of Maryland. He has been a senior research associate at the Urban Institute and is chair of the Conference on Research in Income and Wealth of the National Bureau of Economic Research. Michael Harper is chief of the Division of Productivity Research at the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Edwin R. Dean, formerly associate commissioner for Productivity and Technology at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, is adjunct professor of economics at The George Washington University.




Soft Machines


Book Description

Enthusiasts look forward to a time when tiny machines reassemble matter and process information but is their vision realistic? 'Soft Machines' explains why the nanoworld is so different to the macro-world that we are all familar with and shows how it has more in common with biology than conventional engineering.




Productivity Measurement and Analysis


Book Description

Presents the proceedings of two workshops on productivity measurement and analysis, which brought together representatives of statistical offices, central banks and other officials involved with the analysis and measurement of productivity at aggregate and industry levels.




Government Policy toward Open Source Software


Book Description

Can open source software—software that is usually available without charge and that individuals are free to modify—survive against the fierce competition of proprietary software, such as Microsoft Windows? Should the government intervene on its behalf? This book addresses a host of issues raised by the rapid growth of open source software, including government subsidies for research and development, government procurement policy, and patent and copyright policy. Contributors offer diverse perspectives on a phenomenon that has become a lightning rod for controversy in the field of information technology. Contributors include James Bessen (Research on Innovation), David S. Evans (National Economic Research Associates), Lawrence Lessig (Stanford University), Bradford L. Smith (Microsoft Corporation), and Robert W. Hahn (director, AEI-Brookings Joint Center).