4. Which of the following is used to measure productivity?

Question

A. Worker output per unit of time

B. Output per capita

C. Employment per dollar of GDP

D. Inflation per unit output

Answer 1

Productivity of what? "productivity" is like "efficiency" - it is a ratio of output to input. But there can be many different outputs and there are usually many different inputs. Until you specify which output and which input, the term is meaningless.

For example, in factories, one frequently distinguishes between the productivity of labor and the productivity of capital. In agriculture, one is also concerned with yield per unit acre.

And even when the input is "labor", are you interested in output per unit working time? output per unit elapsed time? output per unit labor cost?

The values are all different! (For example, in terms of output per hour worked, the U.S. is behind France. In terms of productivity per employee-week, the U.S. is ahead. This is because U.S. employees work more hours per week, then the French, which compensates for their lower output per hour.)

Similarly for the outputs: sometimes the measure is in units produced and sometimes it is in financial terms (dollars per unit input, etc.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Productivity

When looking at social systems, economists often use output per capita. This gives societies where women work higher (apparent?) productivities.

When looking at the management within a factory, accuntants and factory managers will look at output per worker per hour.

When deciding whether to relocate the factory, the question will become output per labor-dollar. (If the workers abroad are 1/4 the cost per hour, it may still make sense to move even if the foreign are only half as productive on a per hour basis.)