TL;DRAbstract
Chapter 2 has established that services played a dominant role in the changing patterns of comparative labour productivity performance at the aggregate level. In particular, over the long run, Britain was overtaken at the aggregate level because of a loss of labour productivity leadership in services. It was also pointed out in chapter 2, however, that many economists and economic historians worry about measurement issues in services. This chapter therefore takes a more disaggregated look at productivity performance in services, focusing on market services, where the problems of measuring output independently of inputs are less important. The patterns are reassuring, showing that the British loss of productivity leadership in services reflects changes within the main market sectors, and is not just some statistical artefact arising from changes in the importance of non-market services, where measurement problems are most severe.
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Chapter 2 has established that services played a dominant role in the changing patterns of comparative labour productivity performance at the aggregate level. In particular, over the long run, Britain was overtaken at the aggregate level because of a loss of labour productivity leadership in services. It was also pointed out in chapter 2, however, that many economists and economic historians worry about measurement issues in services. This chapter therefore takes a more disaggregated look at productivity performance in services, focusing on market services, where the problems of measuring output independently of inputs are less important. The patterns are reassuring, showing that the British loss of productivity leadership in services reflects changes within the main market sectors, and is not just some statistical artefact arising from changes in the importance of non-market services, where measurement problems are most severe.
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