The latest Research Briefing from Oxford
Economics claims that the U.S. manufacturing sector is
"the most competitive worldwide." Pretty strong statement
there. Reading the news (or here, or here, or here, etc.), one would find it hard to
believe, so let's dive deeper.
What are the actual statistics? All that follow is from the
March 14, 2016 Research Briefing issued by Oxford Economics (sorry,
no link, you have to buy it).
In the last 13 years, U.S. productivity growth has exceeded
competitors. Manufacturing output per employee is up 40% and is
significantly more productive than developing countries such as
India and China. "But labor costs in the US are so high!"
I can already hear someone bellowing. Turns out, wage growth in
places like China has far outpaced productivity growth to the point
that labor costs in the U.S. are not so high in comparison. Add in
the myriad of uncertainties over manufacturing in the developing
world (e.g. intellectual property
