I would like to add another possible way to interpret this. (caveat: I am suggesting stuff that I read in the blog of an Italian economist, I hope I am not misr

I would like to add another possible way to interpret this. (caveat: I am suggesting stuff that I read in the blog of an Italian economist, I hope I am not misrepresenting him). What if Productivity was driven by demand? Do we "produce" stuff (or offer services) without any expectation to sell it to someone? If something is selling like hotcakes the producers of such item will do all they can to increase productivity, and competitors will try to create a similar product which either costs less or offers more features (or both) in order to capture the unfulfilled demand. Ok, assuming this is reasonable, what happens when demand, in general terms, starts to lag (due to a long economic stagnation/crisis)? (Another symptom that could help strenghten my argument: Hanjin built a large shipping fleet expecting to need it to ship stuff around and cope to increasing demand... and now: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-05/south-korean-shipping-collapse-leaves-freight-stranded/7814768 http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-09-05/south-korean-shipping-... )