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International Comparisons of Labour Productivity in Transport and Communications: The US, the UK and Germany

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  • Mary O'Mahony
  • Nicholas Oulton

Abstract

We construct benchmark estimates of labour productivity covering the transport and communications sectors for the US, UK and Germany for 1992 and 1993. The US lead is substantial in rail and trucking, even after adjusting for differences in stage length, but Britain leads in air transport and all three countries have similar productivity levels in local transport. In telecommunications and postal services the US enjoys a large lead over both the UK and Germany. We compare these estimates based on industry data with ones derived from the national accounts and find them similar in communications but not in transport. For 1973–96, and also 1989–96, productivity was growing slower in the US, hence some of the gap has been closed. Copyright Kluwer Academic Publishers 2000

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  • Mary O'Mahony & Nicholas Oulton, 2000. "International Comparisons of Labour Productivity in Transport and Communications: The US, the UK and Germany," Journal of Productivity Analysis, Springer, vol. 14(1), pages 7-30, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:jproda:v:14:y:2000:i:1:p:7-30
    DOI: 10.1023/A:1007828627727
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Kwon, He-Boong, 2017. "Exploring the predictive potential of artificial neural networks in conjunction with DEA in railroad performance modeling," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 183(PA), pages 159-170.
    2. Vu, Khuong & Hartley, Kris, 2022. "Sources of transport sector labor productivity performance in industrialized countries: Insights from a decomposition analysis," Transport Policy, Elsevier, vol. 129(C), pages 204-218.
    3. Timmer, Marcel & Ypma, Gerard & van Ark, Bart van, 2007. "PPPs for Industry Output: A New Dataset for International Comparisons," GGDC Research Memorandum GD-82, Groningen Growth and Development Centre, University of Groningen.

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