>Since most services are
>nonproductive (neither increase nor decrease the total real output
>of consumable and investible goods and services, representing merely
>private or social overhead costs) "productivity" is not a meaningful
>concept in relation to them.
>
What does that mean? How does any economic activity fail to increase the output of consumable or investable goods or services?
The biggest sources of employment growth lately have been restaurants and health care. They're crappy jobs, sure, but aren't restaurant meals and heart surgeries "consumable services"? Would you want to live in a society that lacks them?
Seth
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Just an aside here, my understanding is that a very large proportion in the growth of the US GDP over the Bush years has been in finance services, insurance and real estate. This growth is measured in dollars, but the dollars have been inflated by speculation within these industries, thus the recession being just around the corner. Over the same time, what's known as "manufacturing" has shrunk about 3%.
Somebody with more knowledge and more access to info may be able to correct my understanding....
Mike B)
"Would you have freedom from wage-slavery.." Joe Hill http://iamawobbly.multiply.com/
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