The Digital Productivity Paradox: A Novel Framework for Understanding the Asymmetric Distribution of Technological Benefits
Year: 2025
Type: dissertation
Abstract: This thesis addresses one of the most significant paradoxes in contemporary economics: the Digital Productivity Paradox, wherein unprecedented technological advancement in digital technologies, artificial intelligence, and automation has coincided with stagnating or declining productivity growth in most developed economies since the 1970s. This phenomenon challenges fundamental assumptions about the relationship between technological progress and economic growth that have underpinned economic theory for centuries. This research introduces the Asymmetric Digital Dividend Theory, a novel theoretical framework that explains the Digital Productivity Paradox through four interconnected mechanisms: (1) Digital Capital Concentration, which creates winner-take-all market structures; (2) Labor Displacement-Devaluation Spiral, where automation displaces workers into lower-productivity sectors; (3) Measurement Distortion Effect, where traditional metrics fail to capture digital value creation; and (4) Inequality Amplification Feedback Loop, where concentrated digital gains reduce aggregate demand and productive investment. The central hypothesis posits that digital technologies create asymmetric value distribution that concentrates benefits among capital owners while simultaneously displacing and devaluing human labor, leading to a net negative effect on aggregate productivity when measured through traditional metrics. This framework demonstrates that the paradox is not merely a measurement problem but represents a fundamental structural transformation of the economy that existing economic models fail to capture. Through comprehensive analysis of productivity data from 167 countries spanning 1950-2018, digital adoption indices, and inequality measures, this thesis provides empirical evidence supporting the theoretical framework. The research reveals that countries with higher digital adoption rates experience greater inequality and slower productivity growth, contradicting traditional economic assumptions about technology's universally beneficial effects. The thesis contributes to economic theory by challenging neoclassical assumptions about symmetric factor returns and competitive markets, demonstrating their inadequacy in digital economies. It offers policy implications including digital dividend redistribution mechanisms, alternative productivity metrics, and human capital revaluation strategies. This work provides a foundation for rethinking economic policy in the digital age and offers solutions to break the inequality-productivity feedback loop that perpetuates economic stagnation.
Author: Tan, Kwan Hong
Institution: Singapore University of Social Sciences
Language: English
Subfield: Economics and Econometrics
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7117365274
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