The Dynamics Behind Artificial Intelligence's Impact on Productivity Growth

Tobias Sytsma

Expert InsightsPublished Dec 2, 2025

This paper is a primer explaining what productivity is, why it is hard to measure, what history teaches us, and what policy can do. The author uses artificial intelligence (AI) as a case study to highlight how technology can affect different components of productivity growth, and he explains that AI’s economic impact may follow in the footsteps of other transformational technologies, such as electricity and the internet, which took time to fully play out in the economy.

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Sytsma, Tobias, The Dynamics Behind Artificial Intelligence's Impact on Productivity Growth. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2025. https://www.rand.org/pubs/perspectives/PEA4392-1.html.
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This work was sponsored by the Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation and Pershing Square Philanthropies and conducted by the Education and Employment Program of RAND Education, Employment, and Infrastructure.

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