Tag: productivity

AI

Economist: What happened to the artificial-intelligence revolution?

Colin Henderson

So far the technology has had almost no economic impact Jul 2nd 2024| San Francisco Move to san francisco and it is hard not to be swept up by mania over artificial intelligence (ai). Advertisements tell you about how the tech will revolutionise your workplace. In bars people speculate about when the world will “get agi”, or when machines will become more advanced than humans. The five big tech firms—Alphabet, Amazon, Apple, Meta and Microsoft, all of which have either headquarters or outposts nearby—are investing vast sums. This year they are budgeting an estimated $400bn for capital expenditures, mostly on … Continue reading Economist: What happened to the artificial-intelligence revolution?

Economy

Canadian Banks have a Productivity Gap relative to the US

Colin Henderson

Following up on the previous post covering the Bank of Canada’s view that Canadian Banks do not have a productivity gap [pdf 19 pages] relative to US Banks, here is the basis for that contention within a 2006 report. The conclusion copied here in whole is in my view, woefully misleading and contradictory. It reads to me like someone with political motivations has turned facts into something that meets policy objectives. Analysis to follow. This work examines the efficiency and productivity of Canadian and U.S. banks in three ways. First, we compare key performance ratios and find that (i) the … Continue reading Canadian Banks have a Productivity Gap relative to the US

Economy1 Comment

Financial markets did not detect the deterioration of structural productivity trends in the early 2000s early enough

Colin Henderson

A fascinating analysis of economic conditions prior to 2007, sugesting that dropping productivity and the concurrent increase in asset prices contributed at least in part to the economic crisis, yet was not picked up by the market. Productivity and the crisis: Revisiting the fundamentals | Vox Most narratives of the crisis start with problems in the financial sector that then spilled over into the real economy. This column looks at the real side first and shows that labour productivity growth declined significantly in the years prior to the crisis, particularly in the US construction sector. Financial markets may have failed … Continue reading Financial markets did not detect the deterioration of structural productivity trends in the early 2000s early enough

AI1 Comment

Deloitte report | “The Shift Index: Recession masking long-term competitive challenges”

Colin Henderson

Deloitte put out some good stuff, but this one is superlative.  The context here is is for planners thinking about the future and wondering how to think about the future.  That context is hard to achive with so much information, and so much new information every day.  For example we have all seen and heard the Iran/ Twitter discussion, and impacts here and here.  We have seen government influence Twitter to keep the ‘people influence’ moving.  We see internet advancing rapidly, Google supposedly taking over advertising, yet Facebook with over 200M users, actively resisting advertising.  We see online banking growing … Continue reading Deloitte report | “The Shift Index: Recession masking long-term competitive challenges”