Trend TFP Growth in the United States: Forecasts Versus Outcomes
17 Pages Posted: 15 May 2017
Date Written: May 2017
Abstract
We analyze TFP growth in the U.S. business sector using a basic unobserved component model where trend growth follows a random walk and the noise is a first-order auto-regression. This is fitted using a Kalman-filter methodology. We find that trend TFP growth has declined steadily from 1.5 per cent to 1.0 per cent per year over the last 50 years. Nevertheless, recent trends are not a good guide to actual medium-term TFP growth. This exhibits substantial variations and is quite unpredictable. Techno-optimists should not give best to secular stagnationists simple because recent TFP growth has been weak.
Keywords: productivity slowdown, secular stagnation, TFP growth
JEL Classification: E32, N12, O47
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation
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Trend TFP Growth in the United States: Forecasts Versus Outcomes
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