A Note on Productive Learning

Cowling M | Working Paper WP4 | Institute for Employment Studies | Jan 2007

We use a standard production function to identify the impact of learning-by-doing on the productivity of labour, human capital and physical capital.

Using data from a representative sample of 1,000 UK businesses, we observe that learning effects on labour and human capital productivity are highest when firms are very young.

By contrast, learning has the greatest effect on the productivity of physical capital the older a firm becomes.