[lbo-talk] employment

[Brad DeLong]

>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Doug Henwood" <dhenwood at panix.com>
>To: <lbo-talk at lbo-talk.org>
>Sent: Friday, September 05, 2003 12:32 PM
>Subject: Re: [lbo-talk] employment
>
>
>>  Eubulides wrote:
>>
>>  >And mainstreamer econs. like Stephen Roach are poo-pooing the
>productivity
>>  >miracle again:
>>  >
>>  >http://www.morganstanley.com/GEFdata/digests/20030905-fri.html#anchor0
>>
>>  His points are quite valid, but he's virtually alone in taking this
>>  position. Except for me - I've got a long section on productivity in
>>  After the New Economy. Order your copy today and boost my real
>>  output:
>>
><http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ISBN%3D1565847709/leftbusinessobseA/>.
>>
>  > Doug

His points on measuring white-collar service-sector productivity are 
valid, but they have little impact on the measurement of productivity 
for the economy as a whole. Almost all of final demand is made up of 
goods and non-white-collar services. Errors in overestimating 
white-collar service-sector productivity shift the locus of value 
added from the assembly line floor and the shipping warehouse to the 
office tower, but it's hard for me at least to see how it can distort 
the economy-wide productivity figures by much...

Brad DeLong