Workers’ age and AI adoption
Numerous studies have analysed the effects of AI on productivity, growth and employment. Few of these focus on the factors that promote or hinder the
A view to a kill…ing of productivity: The allocative cost of war in Ukraine
Estimates of the cost of Russia’s war on Ukraine are dominated by what the war destroys. This column measures a second cost: the labour and
Small and stuck: Why European firms can’t scale
In 2008, the US stock market was worth $3 trillion more than the combined European stock market; in 2023, the gap was $34 trillion. This
Europe’s productivity is more dynamic than aggregate statistics suggest
Aggregate productivity growth in Europe has disappointed over the last two decades, fuelling concerns about competitiveness. This column argues that firm-level evidence points to a
Nine centuries of cultural change and the productivity of ideas
Economic historians have long placed culture at the centre of the rise of the West, but have lacked a measure of culture spanning the emergence
Japan’s productivity transformation: From within-firm stagnation to market-driven reallocation
Discussions on Japan’s ‘lost decades’ have long focused on sluggish demand and the survival of ‘zombie’ firms. However, new evidence from microdata suggests a fundamental
Japan’s productivity transformation: From within-firm stagnation to market-driven reallocation
Discussions on Japan’s ‘lost decades’ have long focused on sluggish demand and the survival of ‘zombie’ firms. However, new evidence from microdata suggests a fundamental
How the rise of AI matters for fiscal policy
Predictions of the effects of AI on the economy and society tend to focus on productivity growth, job losses, and shifts in the distribution of
Lifelong learning is becoming increasingly important in response to labour market transformations
As digital, environmental, and demographic transformations reshape labour markets, skills influence who benefits from these changes and who falls behind. This column presents the findings
Higher utilisation explains the recent surge in productivity growth
US labour productivity has accelerated since 2022. Output per hour grew around 2.5% per year from the end of 2022 to the start of 2026,
