A new report by the International Labour Office claims that the United States is the most productive country in the world. According to the report, "The acceleration of productivity growth in the US has outpaced that of many other developed economies." In the report, the U.S. is followed in productivity by Ireland, Luxembourg, Belgium, and France.
However, the report stats that Americans work more hours than any other workers in highly developed countries so if you look at productivity per hour worked, the most productive countries are Norway, the U.S., and France. I find this report surprising; I never would've guessed that the U.S. is so productive, especially compared to Pacific Rim countries, which don't even make the top five! What do you think?
Comments
Ireland, second? That’s just amazing. I think the huge tech sector in Ireland is what’s giving their productivity such a boost.
Figures can be presented, so that they read or say whatever result or spin is most appealing.
Propoganda is still regarded by some, as very important and reports from various sources can be slanted, to give the impression that the U.S. is always first [or very close to it],in almost any field and can be very misleading.
Many surveys lie. I live in Australia and a survey done last year said Australians were the most productive and hardest working people in the world. This came as a big surprise to most of us
Downunda. Most who were aware of this result
most definitely did not believe it. You’re right Matt,
what about the Japanese, Koreans , Taiwanese ,
Chinese and Singaporeans. I think they’re a bit more productive than Westerners, esp. the Chinese.
Wow, thanks for the information!!!
Your geography book is amazing!!!
thanks again!
I’m not surprised none of the Pacific Rim companies (mainly Japan) didn’t make it. Having worked for a Japanese company, they do work long hours, but mainly for peer-pressure reasons. Once in the office, people pace themselves for a longer work day and don’t necessarily work just as intensely as an American worker, who usually has time constraints like picking up kids from day care or trying to spend more time with family. Don’t forget that productivity is measured in terms of revenue per hours worked. Even if someone spends much longer in the office, they may not be efficient as someone that can do the same work in half the time. Those long hours could be filled with administrative busywork, marathon meetings with no clear agenda, inefficient solutions to problems, and so on…. (all of which I’ve witnessed). In my experience, when an American worker works long hours, it’s usually because they have to and are up against a deadline – meaning, the intensity is maintained during those long hours. Also, in the American workplace, many of us often having multiple responsibilities (ie., doing the equivalent of more than one person). I would wager that in Asia, many jobs have a more narrow set of responsibilities.
I own a small company in Japan, trust me, Japanese work long (not very productive)hours. What the average American can do in one day, a Japanese employee needs at least an extra 1.5 to 2 hours. I love Japan, it’s not very productive though.
If someone works more hours and he or she has thereby done more, than that person has a higher output over input, the input being one person. A faulty leap in logic is that greater productivity per hour worked equals greater production per worker. This is shown by that Norway is first in terms of productivity per hour worked, but in terms of how much value added each worker adds, Norway falls behind the harder working U.S.A. Then again, if some work very hard to hoard available work onto themselves, and take great pride in it with the only goal that they can have an extended productivity-zero retirement, then perhaps America, Japan, and Europe all fall down in terms of productivity.
Part of the reason American productivity is so high has to do with capital inputs. Not only do Americans work many hours, the amount of technology used in their industries, coupled with high education makes them produce efficiently. Brad Schiller in “Macroeconomics” explains this in better detail. It may seem like average propaganda but there are some logical reasons to come to this conclusion. Working long hours wont matter if you have poor equipment during the process. For this reason, firms in America invest heavily in cutting edge equipment. Further, America’s puritans roots stressed a hard work ethic and this has continued on for centuries. Americans take great pride in getting a lot done.
The disadvantages abound, such as depression, stress, high blood pressure, disconnection from the family etc. so it is a double-edged sword. But the way that were able to consume so much is directly related to how much we work. The common misconception is that cheap labor in Asia provides us with decadence, yet we have amassed wealth through work.
Just a century ago we were industrializing ourselves and have the same working conditions as those in sweat shops today. If the Chinese keep scooping up our treasure securities their living standards will continue to rise also. But they will have to put more capital into production to compete with American workers.