Special Feature Distributed Computing Power: a Key to Productivity*

Productivity is the driving force of the economic growth that leads to improved living standards. However, if the United States continues the past pattern of 2% productivity growth per year, the gross national product per capita will grow at only 2.5% per year and unemployment will still be at 5.7% in 1990. On the other hand, a single percentage point increase in productivity–from 2% to 3%–could accelerate economic growth sufficiently to drive unemployment down to 3.4% by 1990; two percentage points could drive it down to 1%, if other factors do not intrude.