Making Sense of the Productivity Slowdown

The Peterson Institute for International Economics held a conference on "Making Sense of the Productivity Slowdown" on November 16, 2015.

David J. Stockton chaired the first panel, focused on understanding the US productivity slowdown. Participants included John Fernald, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco; Jaana Remes, McKinsey Global Institute; and Peter Orszag, of Citigroup.

Jacob Funk Kirkegaard chaired the second panel, which featured experts on comparative national perspectives on the slowdown, including Kyoji Fukao, Hitotsubashi University, on Japan; Marcel Fratzscher, German Institute for Economic Research (DIW Berlin), on Germany; Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan, University of Maryland, on Southern Europe [PDF]; Chang-Tai Hsieh, University of Chicago, on China; and Sir David Ramsden, HM Treasury, on the United Kingdom.

Lawrence H. Summers of Harvard University delivered the keynote address "Reflections on the Productivity Slowdown."

Marcus Noland, executive vice president and director of studies at the Institute, chaired the concluding panel on "What Are the Next Questions to Address?" Panelists included Daniel Andrews, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development; Jeremy Bentham, Royal Dutch Shell; John van Reenen, London School of Economics; and Adam S. Posen, PIIE.