'02 - '04 US productivity best for over 50 years

[el freako]

I agree with UR, it is widely recognized that using the median is the most suitable method of averaging wage data.

[el freako]

Re: Productivity vs. Standard of Living

Originally posted by pchang
Wage increases are not always the measure of increases in your standard of living. You could pay $2000 for a top of the line PC in 1995 and the same now in 2005. With inflation (~3%), the 1995 PC would cost $2680 in today's dollars. In addition, the 2005 PC is more than twice as capable than the 1995 PC. So, if your wage in 1995 was $15/hour and you received no raises to date, you would say that your buying power and thus, standard of living has decreased over 30% because of inflation. But, if we look at what you can buy with those dollars today vs. what you could buy in 1995, your standard of living (at least with respect to computers) would have gone up. Many things we buy today are much better (and at the same price) as earlier models. Many things (like food) are not. Thus, the standard of living calculation is much more complicated and there is no simple way to calculate the answer to the question: Are you better off now than you were four years ago?

The US uses a 'hedonic' deflator to capture these effects of increasing quality (the overall effect is to lower reported inflation in the US by around 0.5% a year).

So any method using national accounts deflators will already take account of the matters you raise.

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by Urban Ranger


Then it's very damning. The median is a much more reliable figure than the mean.

UR does some PWNage on the econ dude.

[pchang]

UR and Kid do some self pwnage because they don't read carefully.

[Kidlicious]

Originally posted by DanS


Hourly wages grew 4.2% in 2004, 4.1% in 2003, and 3.3% in 2002.

After subtracting inflation, hourly wages grew 1.5% in 2004, 1.7% in 2003, and 1.6% in 2002.

How do you get these numbers DanS?

The report again showed that wage growth wasn't keeping up with inflation. The seasonally adjusted average hourly wage rose 3 cents, or 0.2 percent, to $15.88 an hour, in line with economists' consensus forecast.

During the last 12 months, average hourly wages have risen 2.6 percent, while average weekly wages are up 2.3 percent. Both gains are less than the 3.3 percent increase in overall consumer prices during 2004.

Real wage declines in 2004

[DanS]

I don't know the modifications of the hourly earnings figure that the BLS uses from the one report to the other.

Edit: Ah, I see where the difference is. The one which you quote is real hourly wages. The one which the productivity report quotes is real hourly compensation, and includes health care, employer contributions to pensions, etc.

[Alexander's Horse]

Australia now has the best productivity in the world as measured by the OECD - a modern miracle.

[Kidlicious]

That just means that your economy is so primative that you haven't even reached the McJob stage of development.

[el freako]

Originally posted by Alexander's Horse
Australia now has the best productivity in the world as measured by the OECD - a modern miracle.

Eh? source for this?

Last time I did a measurement of OECD productivity (GDP per hour worked) Australia came in at 15% below the US, and way below France (22% above the US)

[Alexander's Horse]

El freako - couldn't find the reference but here's a couple links - we're certainly working the longest hours in the OECD, which is remarkable because Australia was once renowned for the opposite.

http://www.brainbox.com.au/members/b...256d8e0036338e!OpenDocument

http://www.economist.com/markets/displayStory.cfm?story_id=2009114