Why the U.S.’s productivity downturn might not be as bad as it looks

Many would agree that the key to economic growth, in the U.S. and elsewhere, has long been productivity — how many widgets produced per hour worked.

Many would also agree that the U.S. is suffering from a downturn in productivity. But Neil Irwin, senior economics correspondent for The New York Times, thinks it may be time to rethink the supposed productivity “slump.”

Kai Ryssdal spoke with Irwin about his piece “Maybe We’ve Been Thinking About the Productivity Slump All Wrong.”

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