U.S. labor and total-factor productivity growth slowed prior to the Great Recession. The timing rules out explanations that focus on disruptions during or since the recession, and industry and state data rule out "bubble economy" stories related to housing or finance. The slowdown is located in...

"Yes. We construct a measure of aggregate technology change, controlling for varying utilization of capital and labor, non-constant returns and imperfect competition, and aggregation effects. On impact, when technology improves, input use and non-residential investment fall sharply. Output...