The report plausibly argues that our unexpected ability to get unemployment down to 30-year lows without inflation is also an indirect result of the productivity boom.

Far from an economic disaster, the result was a productivity boom.

The bobos have ignited the productivity boom and redefined affluence.

The big story is that lowering tariffs set off a productivity boom.

The last productivity boom came to an abrupt halt with the horrors of the 1970's, when high oil prices helped to choke off economic growth and slow investment.

The productivity boom is fading and resistance to the China effect is rising.

It is thus plausible, though not provable, that this latest bad patch is a rebound from a productivity boom after World War II.

And for the American economy, the recent productivity boom has been a competitive advantage.

But since 2000, the declines have slowed to about 10 percent - roughly where they were before the big productivity boom.

Mr. Zandi added that investment in technology, though strong, was not as strong as it was when the productivity boom took off.