Chapter 11.
Industry Productivity Measures

Technical References

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Duke, John; Litz, Diane; and Usher, Lisa. "Multifactor productivity in railroad transportation," Monthly Labor Review, August 1992.

Presents the indexes of multifactor productivity for railroad transportation, the first nonmanufacturing industry for which this measure was published by BLS. The multifactor productivity measure relates output to the combined inputs of labor, capital, and intermediate purchases

Kunze, Kent; Jablonski, Mary; and Klarquist, Virginia. "BLS    Modernizes Industry Labor Productivity Program,"    Monthly Labor Review, July 1995.

Describes a newly adopted method for constructing the output measures associated with industry labor productivity statistics generated by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Kutscher, Ronald E. and Mark, Jerome A. "The Service Producing Sector: Some Common Perceptions Reviewed," Monthly Labor Review,  April 1983.

Compares the growth in output per hour in the service-producing industries to the goods-producing industries. Also examines the level of capital intensity in each sector and the underlying employment shifts between the two sectors.

Sherwood, Mark. "Multifactor Productivity in the Steel and Motor Vehicles Industries," Monthly Labor Review, August 1987.

Describes the methodology and results for the first two industry multifactor productivity measures published by BLS. Explains the relationship of multifactor productivity to labor productivity and discusses underlying trends in output and inputs of labor, capital, and intermediate purchases.

U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics.   Trends in Multifactor Productivity. Bulletin 2178, September 1983.

Describes methodology of multifactor productivity for major sectors of the U.S. economy and presents results.

Other publications

Caves, Douglas W., Christensen, Laurits R., and Diewert, W. Erwin. "The Economic Theory of Index Numbers and   the Measurement of Input, Output, and Productivity," Econometrica, Vol. 50, No. 6, November 1982.

Discusses the Tornqvist index in the context of productivity measurement. Concludes that the index has superior properties for measuring the structure of production in addition to its being exact for the translog functional form.

Dean, Edwin R. and Kunze, Kent. "Productivity Measurement in Service Industries," Conference on Output Measurement in the Service Sector, May 1990.

Describes the method for the construction of industry productivity measures in the service sector. Compares BLS industry output measures with industry output measures developed by the Bureau of Economic Analysis for service sector industries.

Jorgenson, Dale, W., "Productivity and Economic Growth," in Fifty Years of Economic Measurement: The Jubilee of the Conference on Research in Income and Wealth, Ernst R.Berndt and Jack E. Triplett, Editors. University of Chicago Press, 1990, pp.19-118.

Discusses the derivation of sectoral output, input, and productivity measures and presents results for industries in the United States. Also discusses sources of growth.

Kendrick, John W. and Vaccara, Beatrice N., eds. New Developments in Productivity Measurement and Analysis, Studies in Income and Wealth, Vol. 44. Chicago, The University of Chicago Press, 1980.

Collection of papers on such subjects as labor and multifactor productivity by industry; productivity in selected service sectors; and international comparisons of  productivity.  Includes a study of high and low productivity establishments; current efforts to measure productivity in the public sector; effects of research and development on industry productivity growth; and energy and pollution effects on productivity and international comparisons of economic growth.

National Academy of  Sciences. Measurement and  Interpretation of Productivity, Washington, DC, 1979.

Collection of papers on such topics as the concepts and measurement of productivity; the limitations of productivity statistics; the measurement of outputs and inputs; the sources of economic growth; measures of company productivity; and international comparisons of productivity.

Next: In chapter 12