# The productivity slowdown

- kind: problem
- status: open
- year: 1987

**Statement.** Why has productivity growth in rich countries slowed since the 1970s, despite computing?

Solow noted in 1987 that computers appeared everywhere except in the productivity statistics. Explanations include measurement error, ideas getting harder to find, and slow diffusion of technology. Whether AI changes the trend is the live question.

## Sources

- [Wikipedia: Productivity paradox](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Productivity_paradox)

[Wealth and growth](/wiki/Space:economics.md) · [Society](/wiki/Continent:society.md)

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