Productivity
The Enterprise Automation Imperative—Why Modern Societies Will Need All the Productivity They Can Get
Contrary to common belief, enterprise automation is not a cause for alarm, but instead a societal imperative. Modern nations will need all the productivity they can get to address today’s ever-more-resource-constrained challenges.
As nations engage in a race for global advantage in innovation, ITIF champions a new policy paradigm that ensures businesses and national economies can compete successfully by spurring public and private investment in foundational areas such as research, skills, and 21st century infrastructure. Our research on productivity issues analyzes past, present, and future trends in productivity, and advances policies to drive robust productivity growth, including through tech-based automation.
June 21, 2022
Fact of the Week: The Digital Economy Accounted for 9.6 Percent of GDP in 2019
The digital economy accounted for 9.6 percent of US GDP in 2019, or $2.05 trillion.
June 13, 2022
If Congress Wants to Help American Workers, It Should Not Require Two-Person Train Crews
As technology such as Positive Train Control systems has improved, and further advances in autonomous systems look promising, freight rail companies would like the flexibility of operating trains with less than two operators, not so they can raise profits, but so they can reduce prices to better compete with the trucking sector.
March 28, 2022
Fact of the Week: Teleworking Options Are Expected to Remain Available After COVID-19 for 70 Percent of Workforces Employed in Knowledge-Intensive Services
Managers found that company productivity improved under a companywide teleworking policy, with the strongest ratings on productivity improvement made from managers of firms in “hybrid” models, where workers share time between the home and office.
March 14, 2022
Fact of the Week: Large Firms Implementing Artificial Intelligence Enjoyed Additional Productivity Growth Within Just Three Years
Time-lag implementation in the regression also showed a delay of three years between the point of AI adoption and return on productivity growth, indicating an investment delay for AI that could also explain previous literature gaps.
February 22, 2022
Fact of the Week: The Cold War Productivity Gap Between East and West Germany Would Have Been More Than 13 Percent Larger if the East Had Not Engaged in Industrial Espionage
Econometric analysis using scientific records from East German intelligence informants versus measurements of total factor productivity showed a statistically significant negative relationship between industrial espionage and the gap in productivity between East and West Germany.
February 14, 2022
Fact of the Week: Increasing Industrial Use of AI Improves Purchasing Power and Reduces regionsal Inequality
The long-run benefits of industrial intelligence in China shows that AI can be an engine for regionsal economic parity as well as for growth.
February 7, 2022
Fact of the Week: Developing Countries Are Leading Global Growth in Robot Adoption
From 2000 to 2016 new robot adoption grew by roughly 70 percent in North America and Europe, whereas it grew more than 300 percent in the rest of the world.
January 11, 2022
What a National Strategic-Industry Policy Should Look Like
ITIF hosted a discussion of what a robust national strategic-industry policy should—and should not—entail.
November 22, 2021
Fact of the Week: Software Is the Best Capital Investment Low-Productivity Firms Can Make to Spur Labor Output
Low-productivity firms that may find themselves lagging in today’s economy have the opportunity to catch up to frontier firms by increasing their investments in software to build a digital presence for consumers and to digitally streamline workplace operations.
November 22, 2021
Big Is Beautiful: Strengthening Growth and Competitiveness in the Canadian Economy
Report for the Macdonald-Laurier Institute: Instead of succumbing to the “small is beautiful, big is ugly” narrative, Canada must recognize the critical role large businesses play in a growing, competitive economy with high productivity and wages.
