3 ms·
page 17 of http://www.sfu.ca/~kawasaki/Elbaum.pdf http://www.sfu.ca/~kawasaki/Elbaum.pdf : In Japan between 1956 and 1976 the real cost of steel fell by so
by 0xDEADFED5 3y ago
page 17 of http://www.sfu.ca/~kawasaki/Elbaum.pdf http://www.sfu.ca/~kawasaki/Elbaum.pdf :
In Japan between 1956 and 1976 the real cost of steel fell by some 39%. Although wages increased
more than 10-fold, gains in labor productivity more than compensated, so that real unit labor costs fell
by 16.3%, accounting for about 5 of the 39% drop in real costs. The rest of the 39% was due to a decline
in unit materials and energy costs.
- petermcneeley 3y agoThis does not tell us what the wages were compared to Americans at that time. It is very easy to have a 10 fold increase in wages if people are making $2 a day.
- 0xDEADFED5 3y agoit's a pretty interesting paper, it probably answers your questions. paragraph preceding my last quote: In the US between 1956 and 1976, while the dollar depreciated by 17.8%, the real domestic cost of producing steel grew by 37%. Although steel had historically been a materials-intensive sector, by 1956 in the US, labor and materials each accounted for about the same share of unit input costs. Each also grew in real terms by roughly the same rate from 1956 to 1976: unit labor costs by 35% and unit material costs by 38%. Each therefore made like contributions to a loss in US comparative advantage in steelmaking. The main reason for the rise in unit material costs was a 48% increase of the real price of iron ore and (with our 1976 end date falling in the aftermath of the 1973 oil price shock) a near dou- bling of the real price of coke.