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The Pre-Great Recession Slowdown in Productivity
Report

The Pre-Great Recession Slowdown in Productivity

Gilbert Cette, John G. Fernald and Benoit Mojon
FRBSF, 2016
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Editorial Rating

7

Qualities

  • Comprehensive
  • Analytical
  • Innovative

Recommendation

Productivity, a long-term driver of economies and incomes, has lagged during the recovery from the Great Recession. However, the 2008 financial crisis isn’t the sole cause of the decline. In fact, the slowdown in productivity improvements in major developed countries was already underway before 2007. This working paper from economists Gilbert Cette, John G. Fernald and Benoit Mojon presents a thorough analysis of the precrisis mechanisms that caused efficiency gains to sputter. getAbstract recommends this authoritative study to policy makers and executives interested in understanding what propels productivity.

Take-Aways

  • Economists have been concerned about the slow pace of productivity growth in the United States and the major economies of Europe since the Great Recession.
  • By 1995, the total factor productivity of France, Germany, Spain and Italy had reached parity or near parity with that of the United States, the leading global economy.
  • The rapid rise and implementation of information and communication technologies (ICT) fueled the boost of productivity gains in America from the late 1990s to 2004.

About the Authors

Gilbert Cette and Benoit Mojon are economists at the Banque de France. John G. Fernald is an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

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