Japan-U.S. industry-level productivity comparisons, 1960–1979

Abstract

This article presents a comparison between patterns of growth in Japanese and U.S. industries during the period 1960–1979. During the period of rapid economic growth in Japan 1960–1970 annual growth rates of productivity in Japan were substantially higher than those in the United States. Since 1970, productivity growth rates have decreased in the Japanese economy and interindustry variation in productivity performance has increased dramatically. For 9 of 30 industries included in the study the productivity gap between Japan and the United States closed during the period 1960–1979. For 19 industries there remain some significant differences in productivity levels in 1979. J. Japan. Int. Econ., March 1987 1(1), pp. 1–30. Harvard University, Cambridge, MA; Keio University, Tokyo, Japan; and The World Bank, Washington, D.C.