## Post-pandemic Productivity Dynamics in the United States

_IMF Working Papers, June 21, 2024_

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## Bibliographic details
- Authors: Mai Dao, Josef Platzer
- Published: June 21, 2024
- Series: IMF Working Papers
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9798400279713.001

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### Summary findings
- Labor productivity experienced large swings since 2020, driven by both compositional and within-industry effects, and has since returned to its pre-pandemic trend.
- Industry-level panel regressions indicate measures of labor market churn are associated with higher productivity growth both in the cross-section and over time.
- Sectors with higher investment in digitalization, particularly in teleworkable industries, experience higher productivity growth on average.
- Business formation has increased since the pandemic, but its impact on productivity dynamics will likely need more time to be reflected in the data.

### Empirical evidence and drivers
- Labor market churn:
  - Associated with higher productivity growth in cross-sectional comparisons.
  - Associated with higher productivity growth over time within industries.
- Digitalization and teleworkability:
  - Higher investment in digitalization correlates with higher average productivity growth.
  - Teleworkable industries show particularly strong links between digital investment and productivity gains.
- Business formation:
  - Increase in business formation observed since the pandemic.
  - Measurable effects on aggregate productivity dynamics are expected to emerge only with additional time and data.

### Methodology notes
- Analysis uses industry-level panel regressions to identify associations between productivity growth and labor market churn, digitalization investment, and other industry characteristics.
- Distinctions are made between compositional effects (changes in industry shares) and within-industry effects (productivity changes inside industries).

### Key statistics and publication metadata
- Publication date: June 21, 2024
- Pages: 32
- Volume: 2024
- Issue: 124
- Series: Working Paper No. 2024/124
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.5089/9798400279713.001
- Stock No: WPIEA2024124
- ISBN: 9798400279713
- ISSN: 1018-5941
- Authors: Mai Dao, Josef Platzer

*Post-pandemic Productivity Dynamics in the United States — Mai Dao and Josef Platzer; IMF Working Paper No. 2024/124 (June 21, 2024).*

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_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/publications/wp/issues/2024/06/21/post-pandemic-productivity-dynamics-in-the-united-states-550866_
