Wednesday, 22 May 2024 | Start: 06:00 PM | End: 08:00 PM
Oesterreichische Nationalbank, Kassensaal, 1st floor
Otto-Wagner-Platz 3, 1090 Wien
Bart van Ark
Abstract
We are living in a world of rapid technological change and slow productivity growth. While we see a new generation of digital technologies emerging, productivity has not responded as yet. In fact, over the past two decades average productivity growth for advanced economies has slowed to the lowest rate since World War 2.
It feels as if we are reliving the productivity paradox of the 1980s, when Nobel prize winner Robert Solow famously stated: “we see computers everywhere except in the productivity statistics”. So maybe we should just be a bit more patient for the broad-based productivity effects of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics to appear.
However, despite the hype there is no guarantee that we will see productivity growth trajectory strengthening once again. Technological change needs to be embedded in a conducive economic, political and social environment to translate into widespread innovation and productivity growth, that is, into a more efficient way of transforming resources to create better outcomes. A new productivity narrative is needed that focuses on how it can support inclusive and sustainable growth.
In this talk, Professor Bart van Ark, will discuss
- Why does productivity matter, historically and today? Can we still measure it well?
- Why has productivity growth slowed? What has it meant for people, firms and places?
- How to revive productivity growth? Is the productivity paradox different this time?
- Why must productivity support inclusive and sustainable growth?
- What is the role of pro-productivity policies and how should it be organised?