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Articles 1 - 6 of 6
Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences
Measuring Manufacturing: How The Computer And Semiconductor Industries Affect The Numbers And Perceptions, Susan N. Houseman, Timothy J. Bartik, Timothy J. Sturgeon
Measuring Manufacturing: How The Computer And Semiconductor Industries Affect The Numbers And Perceptions, Susan N. Houseman, Timothy J. Bartik, Timothy J. Sturgeon
Susan N. Houseman
Growth in U.S. manufacturing’s real value-added has exceeded that of aggregate GDP, except during recessions, leading many to conclude that the sector is healthy and that the 30 percent decline in manufacturing employment since 2000 is largely the consequence of automation. The robust growth in real manufacturing GDP, however, is driven by one industry segment: computers and electronic products. In most of manufacturing, real GDP growth has been weak or negative and productivity growth modest. The extraordinary real GDP growth in computer-related industries reflects prices for computers and semiconductors that, when adjusted for product quality improvements, are falling rapidly. Productivity …
Outsourcing, Offshoring, And Productivity Measurement In U.S. Manufacturing, Susan N. Houseman
Outsourcing, Offshoring, And Productivity Measurement In U.S. Manufacturing, Susan N. Houseman
Susan N. Houseman
I discuss reasons why manufacturing productivity statistics should be interpreted with caution in light of the recent growth of domestic and foreign outsourcing and offshoring. First, outsourcing and offshoring are poorly measured in U.S. statistics, and poor measurement may impart a significant bias to manufacturing and, where offshoring is involved, aggregate productivity statistics. Second, companies often outsource or offshore work to take advantage of cheap (relative to their output) labor, and such cost savings are counted as productivity gains, even in multifactor productivity calculations. This fact has potentially important implications for the interpretation of productivity statistics. Whether, for instance, productivity …
Manufacturers' Outsourcing To Employment Services, Matthew Dey, Susan N. Houseman, Anne E. Polivka
Manufacturers' Outsourcing To Employment Services, Matthew Dey, Susan N. Houseman, Anne E. Polivka
Susan N. Houseman
We estimate the effects of manufacturers' use of employment services—comprised primarily of temporary help and professional employer organizations—on measured employment and labor productivity in manufacturing between 1989 and 2004. A major contribution of the paper is the construction of panel data on employment by occupation and industry from the Occupational Employment Statistics program. We use these data to document the dramatic rise of production and other manual occupations within the employment services sector and, in conjunction with information from the Contingent Worker Supplements, to estimate the number of employment services workers assigned to manufacturing over the period. Although measured employment …
Measuring Offshore Outsourcing And Offshoring: Problems For Economic Statistics, Susan N. Houseman
Measuring Offshore Outsourcing And Offshoring: Problems For Economic Statistics, Susan N. Houseman
Susan N. Houseman
No abstract provided.
Outsourcing And Offshoring: Problems For Price And Productivity Measurement, Susan N. Houseman
Outsourcing And Offshoring: Problems For Price And Productivity Measurement, Susan N. Houseman
Susan N. Houseman
No abstract provided.
Outsourcing To Staffing Services: How Manufacturers' Use Of Staffing Agencies Affects Employment And Productivity Measurement, Matthew Dey, Susan N. Houseman, Anne E. Polivka
Outsourcing To Staffing Services: How Manufacturers' Use Of Staffing Agencies Affects Employment And Productivity Measurement, Matthew Dey, Susan N. Houseman, Anne E. Polivka
Susan N. Houseman
No abstract provided.