[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-324795-105":59,"doc-detail-324795-en":131},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":124,"head_meta":126,"extra_data":128,"updated_unix":130},105,"en","productivity-costs-and-international-competitiveness-economic-commentary-review","Productivity, Costs, and International Competitiveness - Economic Commentary Review","","American competitiveness in world markets improved as exports surged and the merchandise trade deficit narrowed from mid-1986 to mid-1988, supported by a broad manufacturing revival. The shift is linked mainly to dollar depreciation after early 1985, yet also to lower-cost dynamics: larger productivity gains and slower growth in unit labor costs relative to major trading partners. This Economic Commentary reviews U.S. manufacturing performance against past trends and partner countries, emphasizing productivity acceleration and constrained compensation growth.",{"@graph":69,"@context":123},[70,84,106],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/productivity-costs-and-international-competitiveness-economic-commentary-review/324795/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/productivity-costs-and-international-competitiveness-economic-commentary-review/324795.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Sage","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-28","2026-09-21",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":105},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",11,{"@type":107,"mainEntity":108},"FAQPage",[109,115,119],{"name":110,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":112},"What drove the improvement in U.S. international competitiveness in the period discussed?","Question",{"text":113,"@type":114},"The document links it primarily to the dollar’s depreciation in foreign-exchange markets since early 1985, which improved trade performance and cost competitiveness. It also highlights strong manufacturing productivity growth and slower compensation growth.","Answer",{"name":116,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":117},"How does the document define productivity?",{"text":118,"@type":114},"Productivity is defined as inputs (labor, capital, and materials) relative to outputs (goods and services). A common measure is labor productivity, or output per hour worked.",{"name":120,"@type":111,"acceptedAnswer":121},"Why did unit labor costs perform strongly during the current expansion?",{"text":122,"@type":114},"The document states that strong productivity growth combined with moderate labor compensation growth produced the best unit labor cost performance of any postwar expansion, with unit labor costs declining on average over the expansion.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":125,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":127,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":129,"site_id":62},324795,1790626115,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":132},{"doc_id":129,"user_id":133,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":134,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":135,"file_id":136,"file_url":137,"file_type":138,"file_size":139,"view_count":105,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":24,"language":140,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},687197207057,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_29158cc5080c5b710cf443261637dec0","Productivity,Costs,and InternationalCompetitiveness  \nby John J.Erceg and Theodore G.Bernard  \nAmerican competitivenessin wordmarkets has greatly improved in thecurrent business expansion.Thatimprovement has contributed to a ris-ng trend in merchandise net exportsand averitable boom in exports.Frommid-1986 to mid-1988,the merchan-dise trade deficit fell by about $63 bil-lion,adding substantially to the revi-val in manufacturing production andemployment since early 1987  \nThe improving trend in the trade bal-ance is generally attributed to the dol-lar's depreciation in foreign-exchangemarkets since early 1985.Often over-looked,however,is the improvementin US.manufacturing costs in recentyearsstemming from larger produc-tivity gains and from smaller increasesin unit labor costs relative to those ofour major trading partners.  \nThis Economic Commentary reviewsthe recent performance of the U.Smanufacturing sector relative both topast performance and to our majortrading partners.Although the effectsof dollar depreciation have been themajor factor inincreased US.costcompetitiveness in world markets,record improvement in manufactur-ing productivity growth and con-straint in compensation growth havealso been significant.  \n■ The Productivity SlowdownProductivity is a measure of inputs(labor,capital,and materials)relative  \nto outputs(goods and services).Acommon measure ofproductivity islabor productivity,or output per hourworked.  \nProductivity growth is vital to anation's standard of living,its inflation rate,and its ability to compete inworld markets.A variety of factorsinfluence long-term productivitygrowthparticularly the quality ofhuman capital (the education,train-ing,and experience of the workforce),production techniques,andproduct technology and innovation.Cyclical forces also affect growth:labor productivity rises during earlystages of economic expansionsbecause output increases faster thanhours worked,and declines duringeconomic contractions because labortends to be hoarded.  \nSince at least the early 1970s,slowproductivity growth has been asource of serious concern,especiallyamong public policymakersIn thenonfarm sector of the economy,laborproductivity rose at a 2.i percentaverage annual rate between 1948and 1973.It then slowed to a 0.3 percent annual rate of increase between1973 and 1982,before rising to a 1.9percent rate in the current expansion(see figure 1).  \nAnalysts cannot agree on any singlesource for the productivity slowdown  \nThe U.S.trade deficit has been on animproving trend recently,largely dueto changes in the exchange value ofthe dollar.Also associated with therising trend,however,is the come-back in manufacturing cost competi-tiveness,evidenced by moderation inlabor costs and by rapid growth inmanufacturing productivity.  \nin the 1970s,but a number of studiesindicate such factors as energy priceshcoxcks,slow capital formation,andlack of innovation.Also cited are ashift in the composition ofoutput fromhigh-to low productiviry sectors ofthe economy,greater numbers of un-skilled and inexperienced workers,and increased govenment regulationsaffecting safety and the environment.  \nProductivity growth has improved fromthe 1970s,but so far in this expan-sion,it stilllags the trend growth ofthe 1948-73period.The current expan-sion,now in its 72nd month,is thelongest peacetime expansion onrecord.Some analysts expected thatthe reversal of some of the factorsthat contributed to the productivityslowdown in the 1970s should alsocontribute to faster productivitygrowth in the 1980s.In the nonfarm,  \nnonmanufacturing sector of the econ-omy,however,productivity growthcontinues to lag the strong perfor-mance of the 1961-69 expansion andhas shown no signs of recovering toits longer-term trend rate of 1948-73  \n■ The Manufacturing Sector  \nWhile productivity growth in the nonfarm sector in the current expansionis only slightly improved from the1970s,manufacturing performance—including productivity,labor com·pensation,and unit l","cbCaij4xXdl4HgZb","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaij4xXdl4HgZb","pdf",1120555,"English","# The Productivity Slowdown\n## Measuring productivity and growth drivers\n## Evidence of slowdown and competing explanations\n# The Manufacturing Sector\n## Productivity, compensation, and unit labor costs","[{\"question\":\"What drove the improvement in U.S. international competitiveness in the period discussed?\",\"answer\":\"The document links it primarily to the dollar’s depreciation in foreign-exchange markets since early 1985, which improved trade performance and cost competitiveness. It also highlights strong manufacturing productivity growth and slower compensation growth.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the document define productivity?\",\"answer\":\"Productivity is defined as inputs (labor, capital, and materials) relative to outputs (goods and services). A common measure is labor productivity, or output per hour worked.\"},{\"question\":\"Why did unit labor costs perform strongly during the current expansion?\",\"answer\":\"The document states that strong productivity growth combined with moderate labor compensation growth produced the best unit labor cost performance of any postwar expansion, with unit labor costs declining on average over the expansion.\"}]","Productivity, Costs, and International Competitiveness - Economic Commentary Review | PDF",1789968890,13]