How energy, and its cost, enter the `productivity equation¿

Energy use, economic growth, and average labor productivity are closely related to one another, and an analysis of these relationships in the United States shows that the next decade is Likely to be one of reduced rate of growth of labor productivity, accompanied by a lowered rate of economic growth. These reductions can be traced to the fourfold increase in petroleum prices in late 1973 and early 1974.