That's true, but these figures represent the actual dollar amounts spent on real investment. We are led to believe that finance has somehow drained the resources available for undertaking real investment spending. These data show it hasn't. The higher depreciation rates nowadays are significant only to the extent that the more rapid wearing out of of the capital stock was retarding productivity growth. But it's not, as I tried to show with these data:
nonfarm business productivity 1950s 2.1% 1960s 2.7% 1970s 1.7% 1980s 1.6% 1990s 2.0% 2000-07 2.4%
MFG productivity growth 1950's 2.8% 1960's 3.3% 1970's 2.3% 1980's 3.7% 1990's 4.6% 2000-2007 3.6%
>
> SA wrote:
>
>> As for whether capital was shifted out of production, the proof is in
>> the pudding. Here are the numbers I got for private fixed
>> non-residential investment as a share of GDP:
>>
>>
>> Inv/GDP
>> 1930s 6.5%
>> 1940s 6.7%
>> 1950s 9.4%
>> 1960s 9.8%
>> 1970s 11.1%
>> 1980s 12.1%
>> 1990s 10.9%
>> 2000-2007 10.7%
>>
>>
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>