Do Technology-Intensive Activities Drive Industrial Labor Productivity Levels?

Abstract

This article analyzes the contribution of technology-intensive activities to the increase in aggregate labor productivity in the industrial sector for a set of 28 countries, dividing 150 industrial classes into four groups based on their degree of technology content (High, Medium-High, Medium-Low, and Low). After decomposing the evolution of labor productivity with a statistical method, it was found that these activities did not contribute significantly to the increase in the efficiency indicator. These exercises also corroborate the absence of a global structural change in the industry that would drive levels of aggregate labor productivity.

Keywords

• Industry
• Structural Change
• Productivity
• Technology Change
• Economic Development