Productivity Measurement Review May 1963 [antikvár]

The articles contained in this issue are exclusively concerned with macroeconomic productivity measurement. This technique is characterised by the use of data collected and published by international organisations, Central Bureaux of Statistics, trade associations or productivity research institutes; data which are, more often than not, compiled with quite different objectives in mind. The tasks of readaptation and harmonisation of concepts with existing figures incumbent upon the analyst are in contrast to those with which the plánt level measurement expert is faced. More disconcerting than these formai aspects is the fact that our two experts are, in the strict sense of the word, not even measuring the same thing and that productivity defined in physical quantities per unit of input is meaningless to the macroeconomic enquirer. But a macro-economic productivity figure expressed as a constant price volume of output per unit of input is probably the nearest we can ever hope to get in our search after a productivity yardstick for a branch of industry, a sector of the economy or a national economy as a whole. The ever-widening interest which such measurements command, will not come as a surprise to those who have observed the tendency towards closer international cooperation, larger markets and hence: increased competition, the dislocation of traditional industries in mature economies as a result of development in formerly " dormant " countries, replacement of home production by imports, the gathering speed of structural changes in all sectors of economic life. It has become a necessity to take stock of one's position and to compare one's own performance with that of others. International comparison of growth and levels of productivity is the subject of the contribution by Mr. Maddison. His absolute figures show that, by 1960, a large number of European countries had attained an output (G.N.P.) per person employed which was between 55 and 65 per cent of the U.S. level. Productivity growth in the various countries seems to be largely associated with the differences in absolute productivity levels. The extraordinary performance of Japan during the 1950's, therefore, must be seen against the background of a G.N.P. per person employed which was only about one-fourth of that of the U.S. Whereas in a former article published in Number 28 of this Review, Dr. Robson cleared the way for an appraisal of productivity in a developing economy, he now looks at the growth record of Southern Rhodesia with the help of more elaborate statistical material. His argument that a policy of high wages has been an impediment to growth and was the cause of an actual decline in productivity is diametrically opposed to the Brown and de Cani thesis in Number 29. Again, any explanation in terms of different