PRODUCTIVITY ACCOUNTING BASED ON PRODUCTION PRICES

In this paper we propose a method of productivity accounting based on production prices. By using input-output tables from four major OECD countries between 1970 and 2000, we compute the associated wage-profit frontiers and the net national products, and from these we derive two measures of productivity growth based on production prices and a chosen numéraire. Our findings support the general conclusions in the existing literature on the productivity slowdown and later rebound, and supply new important insights to the extent and timing of these events. Copyright © 2009 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.