>MEASURING PRODUCTIVITY IN A SERVICE ECONOMY
>Much of the credit for the United States' long-running economic boom has
>been granted to the productivity-boosting effects of high-technology. But
>technology has been seen as primarily a boon to manufacturing businesses.
>The fast-growing service sector, on the other hand, has been slow to improve
>productivity by adopting technology. That has led some critics to contend
>that the so-called "New Economy," in which technological advances pave the
>way for long-lasting growth and prosperity, is a sham, that the economy is
>merely experiencing a normal period of prosperity, not an entirely new
>paradigm. But there are signs that productivity is up in the service sector.
>According to recent government data, which measures productivity as output
>per hours worked, barbershops, for instance, registered a 2.7% productivity
>gain in 1998 and photography studios enjoyed a 14.7% increase. These gains
>are likely due in part to the broad adoption of high-tech tools in service
>businesses. As one economist noted after completing a study of 800 firms --
>half service sector, half manufacturing, "more technology, more
>productivity." (San Jose Mercury News 2 Jul 2000)
Barbershops? Computerized clippers? Those gadgets that can picture you with a changed haircolor? Claiming a productivity increase for barbershops makes me more suspicious than ever that something's rotten with those productivity numbers. The spirit of Billy Liar spreading through the BLS?
Doug