Productivity Levels in Germany, Japan, and the United States: Differences and Causes

THIS PAPER EXPLORES the comparative productivity performance in manufacturing of three countries-Germany, Japan, and the United Statessince 1950.1 The productivity level estimates are based on the industryof-origin approach, making use of detailed information from censuses of manufactures for each country. Comparative measures of sectoral productivity levels have a vast array of applications in, for example, the study of structural change, technological progress, comparative advantage, and competitiveness and in the analysis of catch-up and convergence. Since the late nineteenth century the United States has led the world economy in per capita income and productivity.2 Many countries, in particular those in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), have converged on the U.S. productivity level since World War II. It has been suggested frequently that the U.S. productivity