Must-Read: Barry Eichengreen, Donghyun Park, and Kwanho Shin: The Global Productivity Slump: Common and Country-Specific Factors

Must-Read: Barry Eichengreen, Donghyun Park, and Kwanho Shin: The Global Productivity Slump: Common and Country-Specific Factors: “In 2014, according to the Conference Board’s Total Economy Data Base, the growth of total factor productivity (TFP) hovered around zero…

…for the third straight year, down from 1 per cent in 1996-2006 and ½ per cent in 2007-12…. We identify previous episodes of sharp and sustained decelerations in TFP growth using data for a large sample of countries and years… as many as 77 such episodes…. Low levels of educational attainment, unusually high investment rates and weak political systems are among the significant country-specific correlates of TFP slumps, while increases in risk (higher TED spreads) and energy-price shocks are among the significant global factors.