The COVID-19 pandemic struck the global economy after a decade that featured a broad-based slowdown in productivity growth. Global Productivity: Trends, Drivers, and Policies presents the first comprehensive analysis of the evolution and drivers of productivity growth, examines the effects of COVID-19 on productivity, and discusses a wide range of policies needed to rekindle productivity growth. The book also provides a far-reaching data set of multiple measures of productivity for up to 164 advanced economies and emerging market and developing economies, and it introduces a new sectoral database of productivity. The World Bank has created an extraordinary book on productivity, covering a large group of countries and using a wide variety of data sources. There is an emphasis on emerging and developing economies, whereas the prior literature has concentrated on developed economies. The book seeks to understand growth patterns and quantify the role of (among other things) the reallocation of factors, technological change, and the impact of natural disasters, including the COVID-19 pandemic. This book is must-reading for specialists in emerging economies but also provides deep insights for anyone interested in economic growth and productivity. Martin Neil Baily Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution Former Chair, U.S. President’s Council of Economic Advisers This is an important book at a critical time. As the book notes, global productivity growth had already been slowing prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and collapses with the pandemic. If we want an effective recovery, we have to understand what was driving these long-run trends. The book presents a novel global approach to examining the levels, growth rates, and drivers of productivity growth. For anyone wanting to understand or influence productivity growth, this is an essential read. Nicholas Bloom William D. Eberle Professor of Economics, Stanford University The COVID-19 pandemic hit a global economy that was already struggling with an adverse pre-existing condition—slow productivity growth. This extraordinarily valuable and timely book brings considerable new evidence that shows the broad-based, long-standing nature of the slowdown. It is comprehensive, with an exceptional focus on emerging market and developing economies. Importantly, it shows how severe disasters (of which COVID-19 is just the latest) typically harm productivity. There are no silver bullets, but the book suggests sensible strategies to improve growth prospects. John Fernald Schroders Chaired Professor of European Competitiveness and Reform and Professor of Economics, INSEAD

Zvi Griliches, a world-renowned pioneer in the field of productivity growth, has compiled in a single volume his pathbreaking research on R&D and productivity. Griliches addresses the relationship between research and development (R&D) and productivity, one of the most complex yet vital issues in today's business world. Using econometric techniques, he establishes this connection and measures its magnitude for firm-, industry-, and economy-level data. Griliches began his studies of productivity growth during the 1950s, adding a variable of "knowledge stock" to traditional production function models, and his work has served as the point of departure for much of the research into R&D and productivity. This collection of essays documents both Griliches's distinguished career as well as the history of this line of thought. As inputs into production increasingly taking the form of "intellectual capital" and new technologies that are not as easily measured as traditional labor and capital, the methods Griliches has refined and applied to R&D become crucial to understanding today's economy.

Measuring Economic Growth and Productivity: Foundations, KLEMS Production Models, and Extensions presents new insights into the causes, mechanisms and results of growth in national and regional accounts. It demonstrates the versatility and usefulness of the KLEMS databases, which generate internationally comparable industry-level data on outputs, inputs and productivity. By rethinking economic development beyond existing measurements, the book's contributors align the measurement of growth and productivity to contemporary global challenges, addressing the need for measurements as well as the Gross Domestic Product. All contributors in this foundational volume are recognized experts in their fields, all inspired by the path-breaking research of Dale W. Jorgenson. - Demonstrates how an approach based on sources of economic growth (KLEMS – capital, labor, energy, materials and services) can be used to analyze economic growth and productivity - Includes examples covering the G7, E7, EU, Latin America, Norway, China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, India and other South Asian countries - Examines the effects of digital, information, communication and integrated technologies on national and regional economies

"Innovation and entrepreneurship are ubiquitous today, both as fields of study and as starting points for conversations among experts in government and economic development. But while these areas on continue to attract public and private investments, many measurements of their resulting economic growth-including productivity growth and business dynamism-have remained modest. Why this difference? Because not all business sectors are the same, and the transformative gains of some industries have been offset by stagnation or contraction in others. Accordingly, a nuanced understanding of the economy requires a nuanced understanding of where innovation and entrepreneurship occur and where they matter. Answering these questions allows for strategic public investment and the infrastructure for economic growth.The Role of Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Economic Growth, the latest entry in the NBER conference series, seeks to codify these answers. The editors leverage industry studies to identify specific examples of productivity improvements enabled by innovation and entrepreneurship, including those from new production technologies, increased competition, new organizational forms, and other means. Taken together, the volume illuminates whether the contribution of innovation and entrepreneurship to economic growth is likely to be concentrated, be it selected sectors or more broadly"--

"How and how much should we seek R&D knowledge to pursue 21st century human and economic goals? The valid options are clearly presented here with incomparable diversity and depth of thought."—Robert W. Galvin, Motorola, Inc. What are the links between technology and the economy? How much does research and development contribute to economic growth and productivity? In 1972, the National Science Foundation sponsored an historic colloquium on research and development and economic growth/productivity. At that time, the entire field of inquiry was in its infancy. Since then, a great deal of research has been devoted to the subject. This authoritative volume revisits the themes of the original conference and summarizes the contributions of research to the economy and society since that time. In this volume, some of the nation's most distinguished economists and science policy specialists assess the current state of knowledge and note the advances since the initial colloquium; examine recent contributions in light of the heightened awareness of the complexity of the R&D process and the increased international competition in many high-technology sectors; and review the broader implications of the contributions of research in areas such as education, health, the environment, and quality of life. They present a broad and up-to-date summary of how R&D and innovation contribute to economic growth and society. Their essays address such issues as the contributions of targeted national research investment, the differences in social and private rates of return from research, the appropriate mix of public and private support for research, and other critical issues. While the book authoritatively answers many questions, new analytical and policy puzzles have arisen. As the nation moves into a new era, the context and assumptions underlying the research system have undergone a transformation. The future roles of industrial research departments, national laboratories, and research universities will be subject to intense debate and scrutiny. This volume presents compelling evidence of the continuing importance of research and technology to vital national goals. In addition to the editors, the contributors are Michael J. Boskin, Harvey Brooks, Susan E. Cozzens, Bronwyn H. Hall, Lawrence J. Lau, Shirley M. Malcom, Edwin Mansfield, Ernest J. Moniz, David C. Mowery, Van Doorn Ooms, Paul Romer, and Charles L. Schultze. Copublished with the American Enterprise Institute

Griliches was a modern master of empirical economics. Here, he recounts what he and others have learned about the sources of economic growth, and conveys how he tackled research problems. For Griliches, theorizing without measurement produces mere parables, but measurement without theory is blind. Judgment enables one to strike the right balance.