The Sources of Growth in a Technologically Progressive Economy: the United States, 1899-1941

Gerben Bakker, Nicholas Crafts and Pieter Woltjer

CAGE Online Working Paper Series from Competitive Advantage in the Global Economy (CAGE)

Abstract: We develop new aggregate and sectoral Total Factor Productivity (TFP) estimates for the United States between 1899 and 1941 through better coverage of sectors and better-measured labor quality, and find TFP-growth was lower than previously thought, broadly based across sectors, and strongly variant intertemporally. We then test and reject three prominent claims. First, the 1930s did not have the highest TFP-growth of the twentieth century. Second, TFP-growth was not predominantly caused by four ‘great inventions’. Third, TFP-growth was not driven indirectly by spillovers from great inventions such as electricity. Instead, the creative-destruction-friendly American innovation system was the main productivity driver.

Keywords: productivity growth; total factor productivity; great inventions; spillovers; United States — history JEL Classification: N11, N12, O47, O51. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-eff, nep-gro, nep-his, nep-ino and nep-tid
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Related works:
Journal Article: The Sources of Growth in a Technologically Progressive Economy: The United States, 1899–1941 (2019)
Working Paper: The sources of growth in a technologically progressive economy: the United States, 1899‐1941 (2019)
Working Paper: The sources of growth in a technologically progressive economy: the United States, 1899-1941 (2017)
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:cge:wacage:341

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