"In advanced economies like the United States, innovation has long been recognized as a central force for increasing socioeconomic prosperity and improving human health. Today, U.S. government policy seeks to promote innovation through a suite of mechanisms, from tax credits in the private...

We document that, after remaining almost constant for almost 30 years, real labor productivity at U.S. restaurants surged over 15% during the COVID pandemic. This surge has persisted even as many conditions have returned to pre-pandemic levels. Using mobile phone data tracking visits and...

Aggregate data show a large and decades-long decline in construction sector productivity. This decline in such a large sector has had a material effect on secular productivity growth for the economy as a whole. Prior work has focused on the role of potential measurement problems in construction,...