Productivity: A Nation’s Means to Higher Standards of Life

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Recommended: The determinants of productivity

(Introduction) To say that productivity is an extremely important part of any economy is an understatement. It is absolutely crucial for a country, in order for its economy to thrive, to have a good rate of production. Production can be considered the epitome for the reason why some countries are poor and others are rich. A higher production means a larger quantity of goods and services and in turn a higher standard of living. If every nation could have a higher production rate then the world would be better off, but there are clear reasons as to why this desired effect hasn’t been achieved. For productivity to increase, an economy must have more physical capital (Stock of equipment and structures), human capital (Knowledge and skills workers have), natural resources (Inputs into production provided by nature), and technological knowledge (Society’s understanding of the best ways to produce goods and services) (Mankiw). A combination of all of these factors is necessary for productivity to rise, but many countries lack the abilities or resources needed to achieve this goal. As an example, the African continent is extremely poor. This is due to the fact that they have little money for school systems and capital, restricting both physical and human capital, and preventing further technological knowledge (Mankiw). The article summarized in the next paragraph is great example of what the factors of productivity are and how they work.

Author: Matt Richtel

Title: In Data Deluge, Multitaskers Go to Multiscreens

Publisher: New York Times

Date: Feb 7, 2012

(Article Summary)The first article I’ve found is specifically about physical capital. Office workers are constantly barraged with data and e-mail, along with having to use multipl...

... middle of paper ...

...tion like this could take place anywhere, including at home. I, in fact, could be using two monitors as I type, one to read the article and analyze it, and the other to actually type my essay. I would certainly be able to finish it faster, and my productivity would increase. Now that I understand productivity and its determinants, I can implement it into my daily life. In the workplace, I can also use my knowledge of productivity to an advantage, and perhaps maybe even a business of my own.

Works Cited

Mankiw, N. Gregory. "7/Production and Growth." Macroeconomics. 6th ed. Mason: Cengage Learning, 2012. 131+. Print.

Richtel, Matt. "In Data Deluge, Multitaskers Go to Multiscreens." The New York Times. NY Times, 7 Feb. 2012. Web. .

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