Greg Ip of WSJ has written an excellent piece – Beyond
the Internet, Innovation Struggles
He notes:
“The buzz over how
smartphones have changed so many things obscures how many more they haven’t.
Techno-optimists argue that ride-sharing app Uber is improving car rides in
ways not captured by productivity data. But economists at
J.P. Morgan note that Americans spend about 10 times as much on air travel as
on taxi and livery cabs, and productivity statistics don’t capture ways in
which the quality of air travel has deteriorated: Economy class seats are about
2 inches narrower than in the 1990s, rows are 2 to 5 inches closer together,
planes are fuller and delays more frequent. Jetliners may carry passengers more
safely and cheaply but don’t reach their destination any faster. Boeing’s
state-of-the-art 787 Dreamliner is no faster than the 707, which entered service
in 1958.”
Related -
The slowdown is US productivity growth continues to persist – http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-08-11/why-dismal-pay-growth-may-be-here-to-stay