For Group Study and Analysis: Divide the class into three groups to examine
multifactor productivity data for the private business sector, the private nonfarm
business sector, and the manufacturing sector. (Be sure to tell each group to read
the “Sources and footnotes” discussion following the multifactor productivity
tables so that they will know how the sectors are defined.) Have each group iden-
tify periods when multifactor productivity growth was particularly fast or slow.
Then compare notes. Does the sector one looks at make a big difference when
evaluating periods of largest and smallest growth in multifactor productivity?