What role did education, equipment age and technology play in 20th century productivity growth?

Antonin Bergeaud (1) , Gilbert Cette (2, 1) , Rémy Lecat (1)

1 Centre de recherche de la Banque de France
2 AMSE - Aix-Marseille Sciences Economiques

The 20th century was a period of exceptional growth, driven mainly by the increase in total factor productivity (TFP). Studying 17 OECD countries over the 1890-2013 period,1 this Rue de la Banque shows that the “one big wave” of productivity growth in the mid-20th century, as well as the ICT productivity wave, remain only partially explained when taking into account quality-adjusted factors such as education, equipment age and technology diffusion along with the stock of productive capital and hours worked. These results plead for a wider view on growth factors, encompassing changes in the production process, management techniques, financing practices, firm demography and factor allocation.

Domaines: Economies et finances; Sciences de l'Homme et Société

Antonin Bergeaud, Gilbert Cette, Rémy Lecat. What role did education, equipment age and technology play in 20th century productivity growth?. Rue de la Banque, n°43, 2017, pp.1-5. ⟨hal-01724564⟩