Myths about productivity?

An interesting set of views and counter claims about productivity were found on Google:

  • It leads to higher wages:
    • It doesn’t
    • It needs collective bargaining, but unions have mostly lost their influence
  • It doesn’t result in fewer jobs:
    • In an ideal world, it would lead to increased output, increased market share and even increased number of jobs
    • It rarely works out that way
    • Most improvements are justified by labour-saving which is much easier and faster than penetrating new markets
  • It leads to better quality jobs:
    • The opposite is true
    • The staff that remain have to do the work of those laid off, and for the same pay
  • It stifles competition:
    • The UK, for instance, needs large capital expenditure to set up new productivity-competitive businesses
    • China does not, able to use cheap labour instead
  • It stifles innovation:
    • Retooling production lines can be very expensive
  • It freezes capital:
    • Capital which could be used for vital infrastructure say

 

You might ask which side of the fence you’re on with each claim

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