Winter 2004

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NBER Productivity Program, http://www.nber.org/programs/p/p.html — features a complete list of National Bureau of Economic Research working papers related to productivity.

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, http://www.bls.gov/lpc/faqs.htm — eleven frequently asked questions about productivity.

“A Most Important Number,” Martin and Kathleen Feldstein, National Bureau of Economic Research web site. http://www.nber.org/feldstein/bg081401.html

“Living Standards & Economic Growth: A Primer,” New England Economic Adventure web site — looks at the relationship between productivity and standard of living. http://www.economicadventure.org/teachers/primer.pdf

“Productivity Growth,” Evan Koenig, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas — a single, clearly written page on what productivity is and why it’s important. http://www.dallasfed.org/eyi/usecon/0003growth.html

Backgrounders: Productivity — a one-page summary of why productivity matters. http://www.bankofcanada.ca/en/backgrounders/bg-p4.htm

“Revolutions in Productivity,” 2000 Annual Report, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis — an entire issue on productivity and economic growth. Be sure to check out the section on “Inventions That Made History.” http://www.stls.frb.org/publications/ar/2000/index.html

“As Easy As P.I.E.: Productivity, Innovation, and Education,” Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. http://stlouisfed.org/news/speeches/2002/04_25_02.html

“The Microchip Flexes Its Muscle. Can It Compete with History’s Best?” Kevin L. Kliesen and David C. Wheelock, The Regional Economist, July 2001, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis — explores the relationship between high-tech innovation and productivity. The sections on 19th and early 20th century productivity advances is particularly interesting. http://www.stls.frb.org/publications/re/2001/c/pages/leadarticle.html

Are We in a Productivity Boom? Evidence from Multifactor Productivity Growth, Paul W. Bauer, Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland — “explores the relationship between labor productivity and multifactor productivity, a measure that accounts for factors other than technological improvement. It concludes that MFP provides a better measure of productivity due solely to technical change.” http://www.clev.frb.org/Research/Com99/1015.htm

“Mass Production,” http://www.willamette.edu/~fthompso/MgmtCon/Mass_Production.html — short, clear explanations of mass production, machine tools and interchangeable parts, the assembly line, and the effects of mass production on the organization of work.

“Henry Ford and the Model T” — focuses on how Ford put America on wheels by increasing productivity and bringing down the price of cars. http://www.wiley.com/legacy/products/subject/business/forbes/ford.html

The Michigan Historical Museum’s web site has a section on productivity in the auto industry’s early years. http://www.sos.state.mi.us/history/museum/explore/museums/hismus/1900-75/erlyauto/onwheels.html

Adirondack History Network — the section on women’s lives takes you back to a time when life was labor-intensive. http://adirondackhistory.org

An Outline of American History, Chapter 7: “Growth and Transformation” — looks at the 19th century period when America transformed itself “from a rural republic to an urban state.” http://usinfo.state.gov/usa/infousa/facts/history/ch7.htm

The Shape of Twentieth Century Economic History, J. Bradford DeLong, National Bureau of Economic Research, Working Paper No. w7569, February 2000 http://www.nber.org/papers/w7569

From the American System to Mass Production, 1800-1932, David a Hounshell, The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 1984 — a classic that covers the development of manufacturing technology in the United States.

“The New England Textile Industry, 1825-60: Trends and Fluctuations,” Lance E. Davis and H. Louis Stettler III. Included in Output, Employment, and Productivity in the United States After 1800, National Bureau of Economic Research, Studies in Income and Wealth, Vol. 30, 1966. — this article is almost 35 years old and hard to find, but it contains lots of useful data.