Manufacturing Myths
30 March 2006
Editor, The Boston Globe
Dear Editor:
Jan Goriansky repeats many myths about Wal-Mart ("We Pay a Price for Lower Prices," March 30). Perhaps the most egregious is the claim that "Wal-Mart has caused manufacturing jobs to disappear as fast as you can say 'China.'"
In fact, U.S. manufacturing jobs have been replaced not by workers abroad but, rather, by machines here at home. This mechanization greatly improved worker productivity: today's manufacturing worker in America produces nearly 350 percent more output per hour than did his counterpart in 1962, the year Wal-Mart was founded. One result is that, although service-sector output has increased substantially over this same period, the share of GDP accounted for by manufacturing output is today barely unchanged from its share back then.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
Editor, The Boston Globe
Dear Editor:
Jan Goriansky repeats many myths about Wal-Mart ("We Pay a Price for Lower Prices," March 30). Perhaps the most egregious is the claim that "Wal-Mart has caused manufacturing jobs to disappear as fast as you can say 'China.'"
In fact, U.S. manufacturing jobs have been replaced not by workers abroad but, rather, by machines here at home. This mechanization greatly improved worker productivity: today's manufacturing worker in America produces nearly 350 percent more output per hour than did his counterpart in 1962, the year Wal-Mart was founded. One result is that, although service-sector output has increased substantially over this same period, the share of GDP accounted for by manufacturing output is today barely unchanged from its share back then.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
Posted by Don Boudreaux on
Tuesday December 12, 2006 at 12:58pm