Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP16478
Authors: Timo Boppart; Huiyu Li
Abstract: Growth accounting suggests that the bulk of the post-2004 slowdown in output growth in the U.S. is attributed to a residual called TFP. In this paper we provide a tractable accounting framework with firm heterogeneity to link this residual to innovations, markup dispersion, and potential measurement errors. Theories of creative destruction offer rich testable predictions of how the quality upgrading of products, the process efficiency of different firms, and markup dispersion in the market interact and therefore constitute a key approach to shed light on the slowdown in TFP growth. Surveying the literature on measurement, we conclude that measurement errors is unlikely to explain the recent deceleration in TFP growth.
Keywords: growth accounting; development accounting; growth slowdown; measurement; innovation
JEL Codes: O31; O47; O51
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Firm heterogeneity (D21) | TFP (F16) |
| Innovations (O35) | TFP (F16) |
| Markup dispersion (Y60) | TFP (F16) |
| Firm-level dynamics (D25) | TFP (F16) |
| TFP growth (O49) | U.S. output growth (O49) |
| TFP (F16) | Innovations (O35) |
| TFP (F16) | Markup dispersion (Y60) |
| TFP (F16) | Allocative efficiency (D61) |
| Measurement errors (C20) | TFP growth (O49) |