What has rise of finance bought? Not greater fixed investment
Fixed investment and finance sector value-added as shares of GDP, 1948–2009
| Finance | Fixed investment | |
|---|---|---|
| 1948 | 4.31% | 14.00% |
| 1949 | 5.04% | 14.00% |
| 1950 | 4.74% | 14.60% |
| 1951 | 4.57% | 15.60% |
| 1952 | 5.00% | 15.90% |
| 1953 | 5.20% | 15.80% |
| 1954 | 5.63% | 15.70% |
| 1955 | 5.41% | 15.70% |
| 1956 | 5.50% | 15.00% |
| 1957 | 5.69% | 14.70% |
| 1958 | 6.30% | 14.40% |
| 1959 | 6.35% | 15.00% |
| 1960 | 6.69% | 15.40% |
| 1961 | 6.85% | 16.50% |
| 1962 | 6.63% | 17.20% |
| 1963 | 6.38% | 16.50% |
| 1964 | 6.37% | 15.70% |
| 1965 | 6.23% | 14.90% |
| 1966 | 6.28% | 14.50% |
| 1967 | 6.52% | 14.30% |
| 1968 | 6.79% | 14.40% |
| 1969 | 6.84% | 14.60% |
| 1970 | 7.37% | 13.50% |
| 1971 | 7.61% | 14.00% |
| 1972 | 7.55% | 14.30% |
| 1973 | 7.37% | 14.30% |
| 1974 | 7.30% | 14.40% |
| 1975 | 7.30% | 14.50% |
| 1976 | 7.37% | 14.30% |
| 1977 | 7.64% | 14.50% |
| 1978 | 7.92% | 14.90% |
| 1979 | 7.76% | 14.90% |
| 1980 | 7.46% | 15.00% |
| 1981 | 7.04% | 15.40% |
| 1982 | 7.26% | 15.70% |
| 1983 | 7.91% | 15.60% |
| 1984 | 7.48% | 15.50% |
| 1985 | 8.18% | 15.60% |
| 1986 | 9.12% | 15.70% |
| 1987 | 9.35% | 15.40% |
| 1988 | 9.31% | 15.20% |
| 1989 | 9.45% | 15.10% |
| 1990 | 9.63% | 15.10% |
| 1991 | 10.57% | 15.00% |
| 1992 | 11.06% | 14.20% |
| 1993 | 10.91% | 13.70% |
| 1994 | 10.33% | 13.60% |
| 1995 | 10.91% | 14.00% |
| 1996 | 10.99% | 14.60% |
| 1997 | 11.44% | 14.70% |
| 1998 | 11.13% | 14.90% |
| 1999 | 11.67% | 14.60% |
| 2000 | 11.53% | 14.80% |
| 2001 | 12.44% | 14.50% |
| 2002 | 12.93% | 14.10% |
| 2003 | 13.28% | 14.10% |
| 2004 | 13.36% | 13.80% |
| 2005 | 13.86% | 13.70% |
| 2006 | 13.65% | 13.80% |
| 2007 | 12.42% | 13.90% |
| 2008 | 10.04% | 13.90% |
| 2009 | 11.43% | 14.10% |
Note: Finance is intended to increase the ability of companies to make fixed investments. Since it is not, we should ask why we are directing so much money to the financial sector.
Source: EPI analysis of Bureau of Economic Analysis data. Adapted with permission from Josh Bivens, Failure by Design: The Story behind America's Broken Economy, Economic Policy Institute/ILR Press, 2011.
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