Engines of Growth in the U.S. Economy

Abstract

There is good reason to believe that R&D influences on TFP growth in other sectors are indirect.For R&D to spill over, it must first be successful in the home sector.Indeed, observed spillovers conform better to TFP growth than to R&D in the upstream sectors.Sectoral TFP growth rates are thus interrelated.Solving the intersectoral TFP equation resolves overall TFP growth into sources of growth.The solution essentially eliminates the spillovers and amounts to a novel decomposition of TFP growth.The top 10 sectors are designated engines of growt led by computers and office machinery.The results are contrasted to the standard, Domar decomposition of TFP growth.Spillovers;input-output;sources of growth