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The Industry Anatomy of the Transatlantic Productivity Growth Slowdown: Europe Chasing the American Frontier

Author

Listed:
  • Robert J. Gordon
  • Hassan Sayed

Abstract

By merging KLEMS data covering 16 industry groups within the total economy and 11 manufacturing sub-industries, we compare and contrast productivity growth from 1950 to 2015 in the United States with an aggregate of the ten largest European nations (EU-10) from 1972 to 2015. We interpret the EU-10 performance as catching up to the United States in stages. Strikingly, the total economy "early-to-late" productivity growth slowdown from 1972-1995 to 2005-2015 in the EU-10 (-1.68 percentage points) was almost identical to the U.S. slowdown from 1950-1972 to 2005-2015 (-1.67 percentage points). There is a very high EU-U.S. correlation in the magnitude of the early-to-late slowdown in each industry, suggesting that the productivity growth slowdown from the early postwar years to the most recent decade was due to a retardation in technical change that affected the same industries by roughly the same magnitudes on both sides of the Atlantic.

Suggested Citation

  • Robert J. Gordon & Hassan Sayed, 2019. "The Industry Anatomy of the Transatlantic Productivity Growth Slowdown: Europe Chasing the American Frontier," International Productivity Monitor, Centre for the Study of Living Standards, vol. 37, pages 3-38, Fall.
    • Handle: RePEc:sls:ipmsls:v:37:y:2019:1
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Gordon, Robert J. & Sayed, Hassan, 2020. "Transatlantic Technologies: The Role of ICT in the Evolution of U.S. and European Productivity Growth," CEPR Discussion Papers 15011, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    2. Ian Goldin & Pantelis Koutroumpis & François Lafond & Julian Winkler, 2024. "Why Is Productivity Slowing Down?," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 62(1), pages 196-268, March.
    3. Kuusi, Tero & Nevavuo, Jenni, 2023. "Breakthrough Innovations and Productivity: An International Perspective," ETLA Working Papers 101, The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy.
    4. Liu, Weilin & Cheng, Qian & Sickles, Robin C., 2022. "Productivity Growth and Spillovers across European Industries: A Global Value Chain Perspective Based on EURO KLEMS," Working Papers 22-001, Rice University, Department of Economics.
    5. Robert J. Gordon & Hassan Sayed, 2020. "Transatlantic Technologies: The Role of ICT in the Evolution of U.S. and European Productivity Growth," NBER Working Papers 27425, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    6. 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.
    7. David Martinez Turegano, 2020. "Sectoral productivity vis-à-vis the US and heterogeneity within the EU27: the role of firm size distribution and firm demographics," JRC Research Reports JRC122059, Joint Research Centre.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Productivity growth; Europe; United States;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • O4 - Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth - - Economic Growth and Aggregate Productivity
    • F4 - International Economics - - Macroeconomic Aspects of International Trade and Finance

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