I second Virginia Postrel’s recommendation on reading David Brooks’ column on FedEx and productivity. I think he is correct. I especially like the way he says
Over the next seven months, the politicos are going to argue about the economic merits of the Republican years versus the Democratic years. That’s a crime against intelligence.
The reality is that since about 1977, administrations from both parties have undertaken a series of policies, starting with deregulation, that have leveled the playing field and hence led to the period of intense business competition we enjoy today. That’s the environment that fosters innovation.
The Eric Brynjolfsson Technology Review column that Virginia also links to is a good and important read too. Brynjolfsson’s work on measuring productivity gains and their relation to the technological changes of the past two decades has fascinated me for years. I respect and admire Brynjolfsson’s work for a lot of reasons, including the fact that he actually goes to factories, warehouses, logistics centers, and so on, to see how real decision makers are implementing and adapting technological changes in their own ways.