Productivity Growth through Digital Progress?

The article by Prof. Radermacher, published in Inclusive Productivity, deals with the core of progress. As the title “We need progress in the physical world – not more storage space in the data realm” already suggests, Prof. Radermacher addresses the differences between productivity in the physical and the digital sense

Major leaps in productivity have been achieved through groundbreaking inventions in the fields of electric supply, the automobile industry, and aviation. A great deal has also changed and developed in the IT sector in recent years. Nevertheless, this has not led to the same significant increases in productivity as the aforementioned inventions once did.

In his article, the professor explains that the likely reason for this lies in the redistribution that comes with new technologies. When new inventions cause one company’s business to be taken over by another, this does not increase overall productivity – the same or similar work is simply carried out by someone else.

Another consequence of digitalization is the increase in bureaucratic, transparency, and documentation requirements. Many people do not even read the documents they are asked to sign – either because the content is too complex or because it would take too much time. According to Prof. Radermacher, this additional bureaucracy is “often not value-creating, but rather value-destroying.”

Further on, the professor emphasizes that we must use resources more wisely. Humanity must also not underestimate the “problems of a full world.” Finally, Prof. Radermacher outlines which kinds of progress in the physical world would be necessary to achieve productivity gains comparable to those of the past.

You can find the full article here.

Image source: Simedblack (pixabay)