ď ź 259
United States GDP per capita has exceeded the average of the upper half of OECD countries by 10% or more over the past few decades. Per capita output has begun to recover thanks to employment growth offsetting disappointing productivity growth. Income inequality remains higher than the OECD average, but has been declining recently. Greenhouse gas emissions remain among the highest compared to other OECD countries. Significant progress was made on reforming corporate income taxation in 2017. On other priorities progress has been more modest. Public infrastructure provision is insufficient and is contributing to congestion, urban sprawl, and environmental degradation, making actions to maintain existing and build new infrastructure desirable. Sizeable segments of the population lack opportunities to acquire and maintain skills valued by employers and find employment. These gaps could be bridged by measures to improve educational outcomes, facilitate retraining, and enhance employment flexibility for parents of young children. The US devotes more resources on healthcare than other OECD countries, with little apparent gain in health outcomes. Enhancing healthcare sector efficiency could put resources to better use. The burden of regulation, occupational licensing and zoning hinders the business environment and creates barriers to workers moving jobs. Growth performance, inequality and environment indicators: United States A. Growth Average annual growth rates (%) GDP per capita Labour utilisation of which: Labour force participation rate Employment rate1 Employment coefficient2 Labour productivity of which: Capital deepening Total factor productivity Dependency ratio
2002-08 1.5 -0.4 -0.1 0.0 -0.3 1.7 0.6 1.1 0.2
2012-18 1.6 0.8 -0.1 0.7 0.2 0.6 0.0 0.6 0.1
Level
Annual variation (percentage points)
2016 39.1 (31.7)*
2013-16 -0.2 (0)*
B. Inequality and environment
Gini coefficient3 Share of national disposable income held by the poorest 20%
GHG emissions per capita4 (tonnes of CO2 equivalent) GHG emissions per unit of GDP4 (kg of CO2 equivalent per USD) Share in global GHG emissions4 (%) * OECD simple average (weighted average for emissions data)
5.3 (7.6)*
0 (0)*
2016 17.9 (10.9)* 0.3 (0.3)* 12.9
Average of levels 2010-16 18.8 (11.3)* 0.4 (0.3)* 13.6
C. GDP per capita is among the highest in the OECD Per cent 20
Gap to the upper half of OECD countries5
GDP per capita
GDP per hour worked
15
10
5
0
Source: Panel A: OECD, Economic Outlook Database; Panel B: OECD, Income Distribution and National Accounts Databases; United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Database and International Energy Agency (IEA), Energy Database; Panel C: OECD, National Accounts and Productivity Databases. StatLink 2 https://doi.org/10.1787/888933955465
260
Policy indicators: United States A. Student performance is disappointing
B. Health expenditure is very high
Average of PISA scores in mathematics, science and reading, 2015
Percentage of GDP, 2017
525
20
500
15
475 10 450 5
425
400
UNITED STATES
Advanced economies
EU
UNITED STATES
Canada
Advanced economies
EU
0
Source: Panel A: OECD, PISA Database; Panel B: OECD, Health Database. StatLink 2 https://doi.org/10.1787/888933956339
Beyond GDP per capita: United States A. Inequality has decreased but remains higher than in other advanced economies Gini coefficient, 2016 or last available year¹ SVK, 24.1
ZAF, 63.0
UNITED STATES, 39.1
Advanced economies median, 29.7
Emerging economies median, 46.2
B. Exposure to fine particulate matter is low Percentage of population exposed to PM2.5, 20172 % UNITED STATES
Advanced economies
< 10 μg/m³ 10-35 μg/m³
Emerging economies
> 35 μg/m³
World 0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Source: Panel A: OECD, Income Distribution Database, World Bank, World Development Indicators Database and China National Bureau of Statistics; Panel B: OECD, Environment Database. Note: For the explanation of the sets of indicators above, please go to the metadata annex at the end of this chapter. StatLink 2 https://doi.org/10.1787/
261
United States: Going for Growth 2019 priorities Improve, maintain and rationalise infrastructure. Public infrastructure provision is not keeping pace with the evolving economy and the poor co-ordination of decisions across jurisdictions is contributing to congestion, urban sprawl, and environmental degradation.
Actions taken: No action taken. Plans have been announced to boost public spending and encourage private spending on infrastructure, although the legislative details and associated appropriations have not been developed.
Recommendations: Boost investment in, and maintenance of, infrastructure. Promote mass transit, and use federal programmes to encourage co-ordination across state and local jurisdictions. Implement user fees based upon distance travelled and congestion, to help fund transportation and to encourage users to internalise the broader costs of congestion, emissions such as carbon and particulate matter, and pavement damage. Expand federal programmes designed to improve access to fixed broadband.
Strengthen active labour market policies. Some displaced workers no longer possess skills that are in high demand by employers and are likely to suffer long bouts of unemployment or exit the labour market.
Actions taken: No action taken. The Department of Labor is working to expand the use of apprenticeships.
Recommendations: Expand funding for reskilling, building on programmes that, in the past, have shown effectiveness in facilitating reemployment.
Improve equality of opportunity and strengthen outcomes in education. Some segments of the population – including children from poor families, females with young children, and persons with criminal records – still lack opportunities to acquire skills valued highly by employers and to sustain employment.
Actions taken: Under the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act, peer reviews of plans developed by State education agencies in 2017 are underway.
Recommendations: Use targeted federal funding to reduce disparities in student opportunities and encourage States to be ambitious in lifting educational attainment. Require paid parental leave and improve access to quality childcare to help reduce wage gaps and improve career prospects. Expand earned income tax credits. Reduce pre-screening for employment to increase the employability of those with criminal records.
Improve the efficiency of the health care sector. The US devotes a much larger share of its resources to healthcare than other OECD countries, and these resources can be used more productively.
Actions taken: In 2017 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has taken steps to increase competition in the market for prescription drugs and facilitate entry of low-cost alternatives.
Recommendations: Continue to conduct pilot programmes of Medicare provider payment systems, utilise research by the Patient-Centered Outcome Research Institute and others that compares the effectiveness of different prescription drugs and treatments. Ensure that cost-saving measures thus identified are rolled out, and monitor their impact. Monitor developments in the increase of coverage.
262 ď ź *
Reduce the burden of regulation, zoning and licencing. Regulatory burdens and federal, state and local government restrictions hinder the business environment. ď&#x201A;ˇ
*
Recommendations: Privatise state-owned utilities and transport authorities. Ease restrictions in services trade. Encourage state and local governments to deregulate occupational licensing and recognise credentials granted in other states. Use seed money to encourage states and localities to remove zoning restrictions or move to multi-use zoning.
New policy priorities identified in Going for Growth 2019 (with respect to Going for Growth 2017). No action can be reported for new priorities.