Free Republic

Tiny sensors can track you for your own good—or, at least, your company's GOT rhythm? If so, you are likely to be more productive than your arrhythmic colleagues. That was one conclusion drawn from a study carried out recently by Benjamin Waber and Sandy Pentland of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Moreover, it did not apply only when the subject of the study was typing away furiously. It also held when he was sitting, wandering, fidgeting or chatting with his colleagues. Those who did so with measured regularity were more productive than those whose activity levels, though the same on...

Inflationary pressures were subdued, the data showed, with real hourly compensation falling -- a hopeful sign for the fight against inflation, but troubling for economic growth. Productivity in the nonfarm business sector rose a 2.2% annualized rate in the second quarter, a bit slower than the 2.7% rate that economists surveyed by MarketWatch had been looking for. See Economic Calendar. Unit labor costs -- a key gauge of inflationary pressures from labor markets -- rose 1.3% compared with the 1.6% rate expected by economists. Output rose an annualized 1.7% in the quarter, while hours worked dipped 0.5% and real hourly...

...The globalization paradigm has turned out to be very convenient for politicians. It allows them to blame foreigners for economic woes. It allows them to pretend that by rewriting trade deals, they can assuage economic anxiety... But there’s a problem with the way the globalization paradigm has evolved. It doesn’t really explain most of what is happening in the world. Globalization is real and important. It’s just not the central force driving economic change. Some Americans have seen their jobs shipped overseas, but global competition has accounted for a small share of job creation and destruction over the past few...

This is a series of slides done by the Chicago Federal Reserve. You can go through them quickly and see some interesting information. A summary of these slides is as follows: Manufacturing in the US has never been higher. Success in manufacturing is due to massive increases in productivity. Productivity has changed the nature of the workforce. The profit margin for manufacturing exceeds that of other industries. Future projections include increasing manufacturing output with fewer and fewer employees needed.

We know our objective: to prevent a first ballot victory by John McCain. I think we also know the only effective way to do this: campaigning for Mike Huckabee.Please go to mikehuckabee.com and/or to hucksarmy.com and get busy. There is an excellent way to make phone calls while on-line. Donations are always critical. There are voter guides for forwarding to those you know. The next rounds are critical, to see if we can maximize our potential, to shut McCain out.

...Fifteen years ago, Japan ranked fourth among the world's countries in gross domestic product per capita. It now ranks 20th. In 1994, its share of the world's economy peaked at 18 percent; in 2006, the number was below 10 percent... ...Japan's slide relative to other major economies is not a tabloid tale of suddenly squandered riches. It is rather an insidious petering out of growth, productivity and innovation -- and of political will to stop the slippage. The slide has dovetailed with another quietly insidious crisis -- the petering out of the population. Japan has the world's highest proportion of...

"Reports of the death of U.S. manufacturing have been greatly exaggerated." This is the opening line in a revealing and timely economic analysis aptly titled "Thriving in a Global Economy — The Truth About U.S. Manufacturing and Trade." =============================================================== The Good News is we're doomed! Part II 9/3/07 Early Tuesday morning I was tuned to Squawk on the Street on CNBC. Big economic report about to be released. During the wait, the ominous drumbeat from the TV box: 'Period of anxiety', 'period of uncertainty', 'period of fear', 'worst yet to come', 'credit collapse', 'credit crunch', 'subprime collapse', 'housing collapse', 'recession...

Worker Productivity Rebounds, Growing at the Fastest Pace in Nearly Two Years WASHINGTON (AP) -- Worker productivity rebounded, growing at the fastest pace in nearly two years, while wage pressures eased sharply in the spring -- developments that should reduce inflation worries. The Labor Department reported Thursday that productivity, the amount of output per hour of work, jumped to an annual growth rate of 2.6 percent in the April-June quarter, even better than the 1.8 percent increase that was originally reported. Wage pressures, as measured by unit labor costs, slowed to an annual growth rate of 1.4 percent, slower than...

U.S. worker productivity rebounded, growing at the fastest pace in nearly two years, while wage pressures eased sharply in the spring -- developments that should reduce inflation worries. The Labor Department reported Thursday that productivity, the amount of output per hour of work, jumped to an annual growth rate of 2.6 percent in the April-June quarter, even better than the 1.8 percent increase that was originally reported. Wage pressures, as measured by unit labor costs, slowed to an annual growth rate of 1.4 percent, slower than the initial estimate that labor costs were rising at a 2.1 percent rate. Rising...

Competitiveness: It has become fashionable to assert that the United States is slipping from its position as the world's top economy. But a new report on productivity suggests the declinists' obits are premature. Those who see America's vibrant economy starting to fade no doubt feel vindicated by the recent slump in housing and our topsy-turvy stock market. And yes, these developments are worrisome. But when you look at what really matters — long-term wealth creation through gains in output per worker — it's clear the doubters are all wet. Indeed, the U.S. still stands head and shoulders above the competition....

GENEVA — American workers stay longer in the office, at the factory or on the farm than their counterparts in Europe and most other rich nations, and they produce more per person over the year. They also get more done per hour than everyone but the Norwegians, according to a U.N. report released Monday, which said the United States "leads the world in labor productivity." The average U.S. worker produces $63,885 of wealth per year, more than their counterparts in all other countries, the International Labor Organization said in its report. Ireland comes in second at $55,986, followed by Luxembourg...

GENEVA — American workers stay longer in the office, at the factory or on the farm than their counterparts in Europe and most other rich nations, and they produce more per person over the year. They also get more done per hour than everyone but the Norwegians, according to a U.N. report released Monday, which said the United States "leads the world in labor productivity." The average U.S. worker produces $63,885 of wealth per year, more than their counterparts in all other countries (SNIP) America's increased productivity "has to do with the ICT (information and communication technologies) revolution, with the...

GENEVA - American workers stay longer in the office, at the factory or on the farm than their counterparts in Europe and most other rich nations, and they produce more per person over the year. They also get more done per hour than everyone but the Norwegians, according to a U.N. report released Monday, which said the United States "leads the world in labor productivity." The average U.S. worker produces $63,885 of wealth per year, more than their counterparts in all other countries, the International Labor Organization said in its report. Ireland comes in second at $55,986, followed by Luxembourg...

WASHINGTON - The productivity of American workers slowed sharply in the first three months of this year but wage pressures eased as well, providing evidence that inflation is being restrained. ADVERTISEMENT The Labor Department reported that the amount of output per hour of work for nonfarm businesses rose at annual rate of 1 percent in the January-March quarter. . .

Norwegians have the highest job loyalty in Europe, and all of the Nordic countries are happy at work. The European Employee Index (EEI) survey carried out by Danish consultancy Ennova, covered 20 European nations. The EEI showed that besides being loyal, in terms of job enjoyment Norwegians were second only to Danes. "We are part of a Nordic tradition of cooperative relations in the work place that is completely unique in an international context," said *Even Bolstad, head of HR Norway, Ennova's cooperative partner in the survey. "The five Nordic nations are all in the top ten in all categories...

The job market has remained strong even as the economy has weakened. Put the two trends together, and one conclusion is that companies can't squeeze as much blood, sweat and tears from workers as before, so they keep hiring additional ones. ...The Labor Department reports April jobs figures today, and economists think it was another month of good news on the employment front, even though economic growth seems weak. Economists estimate businesses added 110,000 nonfarm jobs to U.S. payrolls, the 27th month in a row of job growth in excess of 100,000. The unemployment rate is expected to rise to...

The U.S. economy continues to bang out new products and more efficient methods for making goods and services. Little good evidence has been offered to explain why the process of accelerated innovation that began in the 1990s should dissipate now. Productivity will continue to surge in the months ahead. Coupled with a one percent annual growth in the labor force, the economy can grow 3 percent a year with the right mix of fiscal and monetary policies. Overall, corporate profits in 2007 will be better than expected, and the stock market should soon regain its footing. The recent shocks from...

People have a harder time coming up with alternative solutions to a problem when they are part of a group, new research suggests. Scientists exposed study participants to one brand of soft drink then asked them to think of alternative brands. Alone, they came up with significantly more products than when they were grouped with two others. < snip > “When a group gets together, they can miss out on good options,” study team member H. Shanker Krishnan told LiveScience. This could mean ordering from a pizza place advertised on television even if there’s a better option, or making a...

Okay, I'll admit it. I'm a hater. This world is full of things I HATE! I hate SUVs. I hate cell phones. I hate Blackberrys! Not the sweet and juicy kind that grow on vines. No, I'm referring to the ubiquitous annoying kind that are attached to the hands of self-important biz nerds. These are people SO critical to the success of their respective enterprises they can't be out of communication range for even one second. Curiously, this phenomenon is most evident among the job descriptions whose decisions are the least vital and the most subjective. Are you listening all...

The median hourly wage for American workers has declined 2 percent since 2003, after factoring in inflation. The drop has been especially notable, economists say, because productivity -- the amount that an average worker produces in an hour and the basic wellspring of a nation's living standard -- has risen steadily over the same period. -- "Real Wages Fail to Match a Rise in Productivity" by Steven Greenhouse and David Leonhardt, The New York Times, August 28th, 2006 We decreased the size of our workforce, beginning last summer, by approximately 200 positions. In September, we announced the elimination of another...

WASHINGTON - Even though he's not running for re-election this year, President Bush knows just what he would focus on if he were: the economy and taxes. As Republicans face an increasingly tough political outlook, in part because of Bush's sagging approval ratings, the president offered some advice Monday to GOP candidates in the midterm elections. "If I were a candidate ... I'd say, 'Look at what the economy has done. It's strong. We've created a lot of jobs. ... I'd be telling people that the Democrats will raise your taxes. That's what they said. I'd be reminding people that...

The Committee of 100 survey that I have mentioned here in the past asked the question of American opinion leaders - What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear "China?" 4. Human/religious/civil rights - 16% (This is the percentage of the US population that are treehuggers and activists.) 3. Communism - 16% (They think this means everyone eating off of the same table and sharing the car.) 2. Population - 40% (Finally someone realizes that China has something the rest of the world doesn't - the largest population in the world) and.... 1. Economic growth -...

Venezuela, the world's fifth-largest oil exporter, has struck a $2bn deal to buy about 100,000 barrels a day of crude oil from Russia until the end of the year. Venezuela has been forced to turn to an outside source to avoid defaulting on contracts with "clients" and "third parties" as it faces a shortfall in production, ... --- SNIP--- Under President Hugo Chávez, PDVSA's oil output has declined by about 60 per cent, a trend analysts say has accelerated in the past year because of poor technical management.

by Edward Hudgins ehudgins@objectivistcenter.org Governments often get their wealth-destroying, morally depraved ideas from our often misnamed institutes of "higher learning." The latest that's popping up in bulletins, newsletters, and probably soon in legislation is from a 2005 study on "The Economics of Workaholism," co-authored by Joel Slemrod of the University of Michigan and Daniel Hammermesh of the University of Texas in Austin. The study starts by stating that "Economists have recently re-considered whether a range of individual behaviors are self-destructive, and possibly addictive, and have proposed that it may be Pareto-superior to tax them in order to induce people to...

There are many things to like about work — the collegiality, the productivity, the paycheck — but few people would include meetings in the list. Monotonous, time-consuming, often pointless, meetings can be to workdays what speed bumps are to main thoroughfares: annoying, well-intentioned impediments to progress. Now researchers have examined how an endless series of meetings can affect employees' sense of well-being and job satisfaction. In a report published recently in the Journal of Applied Psychology, researchers found that more people acknowledge meetings as a positive part of their days at work than they would ever publicly admit. The results...

<p>Failure in the classroom is often tied to lack offunding, poor teachersor other ills. Here's athought: Maybe it's thefailed work ethic of todays kids. That's what I'm seeing in my school. Until reformers see this reality, little will change.</p> <p>Last month, as I averaged the second-quarter grades for my senior English classes at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Va., the same familiar pattern leapt out at me.</p>

In 2001, the stock market meltdown and a brief recession threw cold water on the widely held belief that the U.S. economy, juiced by a technological revolution, had entered a new era of limitless, inflation-free growth. But today, as bubble-era books like "Dow 36,000" collect dust on library shelves, evidence is mounting that there may be a New Economy after all. In the late 1990s, growth in labor productivity - the amount of output per hour per worker - kicked into a higher gear. From 1996 through 1999, it grew at a blistering annual rate of 2.5 percent, compared with...

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Productivity of the U.S. nonfarm business sector surged at a 4.7% annual rate in the third quarter, the fastest rate in two years, the Labor Department said Tuesday. The fresh numbers are a revision to month-old numbers that showed productivity rose at a 4.1% pace. Unit labor costs - a gauge of wage-push inflationary pressures - fell at 1% annual pace in the quarter, revised down from a 0.5% decrease. Economists expected productivity to be revised to a 4.5% annual pace, based on revisions to output and hours worked already reported. Productivity has increased 3.1% in the...

Manorialism, commonly, is recognized to have been founded by robbery and usurpation; a ruling class established itself by force, and then compelled the peasantry to work for the profit of their lords. But no system of exploitation,including capitalism, has ever been created by the action of a free market. Capitalism was founded on an act of robbery as massive as feudalism. It has been sustained to the present by continual state intervention to protect its system of privilege, without which its survival is unimaginable. The current structure of capital ownership and organization of production in our so-called "market" economy, reflects...

<p>Many of the most unhappy, unproductive - and potentially destructive - employees can be found in the executive suite. These top dogs may put in the time, but not the heart. They are common to most companies and number in the thousands.</p>

There are those for whom "Star Wars" is just a movie. For others, it's a destination to a galaxy far, far away - from the office. With all the buildup and hype, some workplace experts are anticipating a flood of absenteeism in the wake of the opening of "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith," the latest installment in the trilogy, which opened in theaters at 12:01 a.m. today. That's because the epic science fiction series hasn't just attracted fans, it's created fanatics. People like Renee Link, 30, who five years ago requested time off for future "Star...

Workplace experts predict a rise in absenteeism today because of the opening of the last Star Wars movie. Click here for the rest of the story.

Friday was the day Star Wars fans have been anticipating for years. Many Hoosiers flocked to the opening of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. It looks like some wookies may have played hooky. It's promising to be the best among the recent trio of Star Wars flicks. While it will rake in plenty at the box office, analysts say it'll cost the economy more than $600 million. Plenty of people took the day off to see the new Star Wars movie. News 8 found people who went to the opening of Revenge of the Sith, but did...

French to Protest Lost National Holiday By JAMEY KEATEN, Associated Press Writer Sun May 15, 5:41 PM ET PARIS - A French government plan to scrap an annual springtime holiday in favor of a "Day of Solidarity" with the elderly seemed like a good idea when the law was passed — and the extra work day was far in the future. ADVERTISEMENT But the end to a coveted day off — which would normally fall on Monday — has not gone down well among the leisure-loving French, and now a spectrum of workers across the country was preparing to stay...

Testosterone has a bad reputation. The public image of it is closely linked to the idea of dumb aggression, to the caveman. But this is a far from complete image. In recent years new research is starting to show that it would be more accurate to associate this much maligned hormone with Newton, Da Vinci, Einstein and Edison than the rough and brutal Neanderthal. Testosterone, it seems, could be the true driver of our civilisations. Satoshi Kanazawa at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, studied the biographies of 280 scientists and plotted their intellectual achievements against their ages. He discovered...

A recent survey conducted by Microsoft corp finds that workers average only three productive days per week and lays the blame on among other things, unproductive staff meetings.69% of the 38,000 people surveyed considered meetings to be an unproductive use of time. A shocking finding indeed!The Microsoft Office Personal Productivity Challenge (PPC), which drew responses from more than 38,000 people in 200 countries, rated workers' individual productivity based on their responses to 18 statements about work-related practices.Survey participants revealed some interesting conclusions about the nature of productivity in their workplace, including these (U.S. findings are in parentheses): People work an...

More good economic news on Thursday. U.S. productivity growth was revised to 2.1% from 0.8% a month ago, according to the Labor Department. In all of 2004, productivity increased 4 percent, capping three years of extraordinary productivity gains, the best in more than 50 years. In a separate report, the Labor Department said first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell by 1,000 to 310,000 last week. The four-week average of new claims dropped to 307,000, a four-year low. Finally, as merchants reported their retail sales results Thursday, a broad range of companies beat Wall Street sales forecasts, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc.,...

2004 rate of 4.1 percent caps three-year surge. WASHINGTON - The productivity of American workers, the critical component for rising living standards, increased by 4.1 percent in 2004, capping a remarkable three-year period in which worker efficiency climbed at the fastest pace in a half century.

BERLIN (Reuters) - A trouble-free start to new cuts in German jobless benefits is unlikely to embolden the government to make further major economic reforms before the next general election in 2006, political analysts say. There is consensus that the "Agenda 2010" measures already enacted by Social Democrat Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder will not be enough to cure the country's economic ills, but most expect little more than talk on future plans in 2005. "I could imagine the courage to reform could return if the labour market reforms proved very successful, very quickly. But I don't see that, given the economic...

...Nonfarm payrolls added 337,000 jobs in October -- almost double expectations. Revisions also added 113,000 more new jobs for the months of August and September, meaning that the economy has generated 2.1 million jobs in the past year.... Both outlays for heavy machinery and business construction now look perky and, given the huge amounts of cash that companies are sitting on, capital spending should continue to post gains.... The good jobs news might also be due in part to slowing third-quarter productivity growth -- to 1.9%.... Although real growth of 3.7% was slower than expected, any growth over 3.5% will...

The State of Working America By Tim Worstall I'm alerted by economist Arnold Kling to a report from the Economic Policy Institute on "The State of Working America 2004/2005." My previous experience with their particular fount of economic illogic made me want to read further. That's what I'm here for folks, doing the boring stuff so you don't have to. What the EPI wants to show is that cutting working hours leads to higher productivity and that there is thus not a trade-off to be made between work and leisure. We can have both in violation of our second thing...

The U.S. economy slowed in the second quarter. Annualized growth is 3 percent, that is still considerably higher than the growth rate for the euro zone, where gross domestic product increased by no more than 2-2.4 percent in the second quarter. A quick glance at these quarterly figures may buttress a prevalent stereotype: that Europe lags far behind the United States. But on closer examination, the economic situation in the euro zone is not as bad as these numbers might indicate. In particular, Europeans generally enjoy more free time and are prepared to forgo extra income in return. But productivity...

Days fall into a natural rhythm for early risers But for night owls, life is more a series of chaotic events, study reveals Thursday, August 05, 2004 BY ANGELA STEWART Star-Ledger Staff The early bird catches the worm. And among humans, the early bird has a distinct advantage over the night owl when it comes to staying on schedule, according to a study released yesterday. So-called morning people are better able to maintain regular work and school routines because their body clocks make it easier for them to arrive on time and hassle free. They also find it easier to...

The secret behind the new economy isn't information technology but old-fashioned competition and managerial innovation. As companies attempt to cope with an economic downturn and the United States fights a war on terrorism, many wonder whether the long-term health of the US economy will be undermined. The answer depends on what happens to the productivity growth rate—the main determinant of how fast the economy can grow. At issue is whether the near doubling of US productivity growth rates during the late 1990s, from 1.4 percent (1972–95) to 2.5 percent (1995–2000), can continue. Our yearlong research[1] indicates that many of the...

"This story of positive structural changes in the American economy -- the very rapid growth of potential output -- is the big story about the economy during the past four years. It's important both at the macro level -- why is output-per-man-hour 20 percent higher than it was five years ago? -- and at the micro level -- how are people today doing their jobs and being 30 percent more productive than their predecessors of a decade ago? The news media aren't covering this well. Yet it's the really big story about the economy in the Twenty-First century." -- Brad...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. Rowe Furniture Inc. vows not to fall to imports. All it needs is a faster way to make sofas and chairs. For Bruce Birnbach, the dining room may be the scariest part of the house. It's not that he's insecure about his table manners. It's just that for Birnbach, the president and COO of Rowe Furniture Inc., the dining room represents a vision of a future he's struggling desperately to avoid. Since January 2001, at least 49 U.S. plants specializing in wood furniture -- think dining tables and bedroom sets --...

WASHINGTON – The productivity of America's workers in the opening quarter of 2004 grew at a brisk 3.8 percent annual rate, faster than previously thought. Labor costs moved up.

France May Reform 35-Hour Workweek Monday May 17, 2:27 pm ET By Laurence Frost, AP Business Writer French President Chirac Hints at Changes to France's 35-Hour Workweek PARIS (AP) -- French President Jacques Chirac gave his backing Monday for moves to water down the country's 35-hour workweek, setting the stage for a showdown with France's powerful trade unions. Speaking to reporters, Chirac said employers and labor groups could be asked to agree on "legal changes" to the rules on working time put in place under the last Socialist government. "I've never been convinced of the positive effect of the 35-hour...

<p>May 6 (Bloomberg) -- The number of Americans filing initial claims for jobless benefits dropped to 315,000 last week, the fewest since October 2000, a government report showed.</p> <p>Initial applications fell by 25,000 in the week that ended Saturday from 340,000, the Labor Department said in Washington. The number of people continuing to collect state jobless benefits declined to 2.935 million in the week that ended April 24, the lowest since June 2001. The statistics are reported with a one- week lag to initial claims.</p>

We're More Productive. Who Gets the Money? By BOB HERBERT It's like running on a treadmill that keeps increasing its speed. You have to go faster and faster just to stay in place. Or, as a factory worker said many years ago, "You can work 'til you drop dead, but you won't get ahead." American workers have been remarkably productive in recent years, but they are getting fewer and fewer of the benefits of this increased productivity. While the economy, as measured by the gross domestic product, has been strong for some time now, ordinary workers have gotten little more...