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Why did productivity fall so much during the Great Depression?

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  • Lee E. Ohanian

Abstract

Between 1929 and 1933, real output per adult fell over 30 percent and total factor productivity fell 18 percent. This productivity decrease is much larger than expected from just extrapolating the productivity decrease that typically occurs during recessions. This paper evaluates what factors may have caused this large decrease, including unmeasured factor utilization, changes in the composition of production, and increasing returns. I find that these factors combined explain less than one-third of the 18 percent decrease, and I conclude that the productivity decrease during the Great Depression remains a puzzle.

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  • Lee E. Ohanian, . "Why did productivity fall so much during the Great Depression?," Staff Report, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
    • Handle: RePEc:fip:fedmsr:285
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Bernanke, Ben S & Parkinson, Martin L, 1991. "Procyclical Labor Productivity and Competing Theories of the Business Cycle: Some Evidence from Interwar U.S. Manufacturing Industries," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 99(3), pages 439-459, June.
    2. Andrew Atkeson & Patrick J. Kehoe, 1993. "Industry evolution and transition: the role of information capital," Staff Report, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
    3. Harold L. Cole & Lee E. Ohanian, . "Re-examining the contributions of money and banking shocks to the U.S. Great Depression," Staff Report, Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
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    Keywords

    Productivity; Depressions;

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