Thanks in large part to the use of cutting edge information technology, American business has realized impressive productivity gains over the past decade. Productivity in the U.S. economy is up 26 percent since 1994, outpacing both Japan and Germany.
“That kind of performance is unheard of, especially when you consider the U.S. economy was already in the lead,” said Michael Knetter, dean of the UW-Madison business school. But realizing the same kinds of productivity improvement in the public sector will prove much more challenging, he told business leaders Wednesday at a forum hosted by WTN Media.