Not beyond output–input: evidence on service productivity change from input–output models

Abstract

This paper utilizes data from a series of seven regional input–output models for Washington State to document labor productivity change from 1963 through 2002. The paper documents broad contours of structural change in the Washington State economy, and changes in the level of labor needed to deliver a constant level of final demand, given changes in interindustry structure and labor requirements. The paper also decomposes changes in the level of labor demand due to productivity change, technical input–output relations, and changes in final demand. Service industries are found to be prominent sources of labor productivity improvement.