--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-36/education-intensity-and-the-sources-of-and-prospects-for-u-s-economic-growth/" title: "Education Intensity and the Sources of, and Prospects for, U.S. Economic Growth" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T07:52:51+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-13T07:52:51+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Spring 2019" ipm_keyword: - "BEA" - "capital" - "education" - "growth accounting" - "growth prospects" - "industry educational intensity" - "KLEMS" - "labour quality" - "TFP" - "United States" ipm_research_theme: - "Policy and institutions" ipm_country_focus: - "United States" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp" status: "publish" --- # Education Intensity and the Sources of, and Prospects for, U.S. Economic Growth Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-36/education-intensity-and-the-sources-of-and-prospects-for-u-s-economic-growth/ # Education Intensity and the Sources of, and Prospects for, U.S. Economic Growth [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-36-8-Jorgenson-Ho-Samuels.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: Jorgenson, Dale, Mun Ho, and Jon Samuels. 2019. “Education Intensity and the Sources of, and Prospects for, U.S. Economic Growth.” International Productivity Monitor, No. 36 (Spring 2019): 161–186. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-36/education-intensity-and-the-sources-of-and-prospects-for-u-s-economic-growth/ ## Authors: - Dale Jorgenson Department of Economics, Harvard University - Mun Ho Resources for the Future - Jon Samuels U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis ## IPM Issue 36 Spring 2019 pp. 161–186 ## Related IPM articles [Efficiency Adjustment of Hours Worked: Two Possible Modifications of a Jorgensen Production Model Barbara Fraumeni Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 103–115](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/efficiency-adjustment-of-hours-worked-two-possible-modifications-of-a-jorgensen-production-model/) [Labour Productivity as a Measure of Technological Change Ulrich Kohli Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 64–81](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/labour-productivity-as-a-measure-of-technological-change/) [The Relationship between Efficiencies Defenses for Mergers and TFP Growth Robin Shaban Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 82–102](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/the-relationship-between-efficiencies-defenses-for-mergers-and-tfp-growth/) [IPM Issue 49 Editors’ Overview Andrew Sharpe, Bart van Ark, Paul Schreyer Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 1–2](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/) [De-industrialization and the Great Productivity Slowdown: What Comes Next? 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Bart van Ark, Klaas de Vries, Abdul Erumban Spring 2024 | IPM Issue 46 | pp. 38–59](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-46/are-intangibles-running-out-of-steam/) [Cracking the Productivity Code: An International Comparison of UK Productivity John Van Reenen, Xuyi Yang Spring 2024 | IPM Issue 46 | pp. 60–82](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-46/cracking-the-productivity-code-an-international-comparison-of-uk-productivity/) ## Abstract ## Résumé EN FR Copy link Email LinkedIn We identify a new mechanism whereby education impacts economic growth: industry educational intensity. We define educational intensity as the share of an industry’s workforce with a college degree and above and use this new classification to build estimates of the sources of U.S. economic growth from the bottom up across industries. We find that that since 1995, the contribution of education intensive industries to aggregate value added growth exceeds that of non-education intensive industries and that this difference was driven by larger contributions of capital, labour, and TFP growth in these industries. The shift toward educationally intensive industries has not been enough to revive aggregate labour productivity and GDP growth over the medium term; we find that growth over the next ten years will be restrained by slower growth in capital and labour quality. Nous identifions un nouveau mécanisme par lequel l’éducation affecte la croissance économique : l’intensité éducative des industries. Nous définissons l’intensité éducative comme la part des travailleurs d’une industrie ayant un diplôme universitaire ou supérieur, et utilisons cette nouvelle classification pour construire des estimations des sources de la croissance économique américaine par le bas, entre les industries. Nous constatons que depuis 1995, la contribution des industries à forte intensité éducative à la croissance de la valeur ajoutée globale dépasse celle des industries à faible intensité éducative, et que cette différence a été portée par des contributions plus importantes du capital, de la main-d’œuvre et de la croissance de la PMF dans ces industries. [Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-36-8-Jorgenson-Ho-Samuels.pdf)