1.The level of productivity differs quite a lot among countries, which serves a major driver of income differences (China, 13% of US for now, and 40% of US in 20 years) 2.Productivity growth differs even more among countries, with average of 1.33% per year for 1975-209 among the fast-growing one-fifth of countries, and -1.42% in the lowest-growing one-fifth countries; 3.Overall, productivity growth explains 68% of the variation in income growth and factor accumulation explains only 32% across countries. 4.How productivity is determined? TFP “a measure of our ignorance?”
Peter Bergen is CNN's national security analyst, a vice president at New America Foundation and professor of practice at Arizona State University. He is the author of "Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for bin Laden -- From 9/11 to Abbottabad." Emily Schneider is a research associate at New America. (CNN) -- In the many media stories about the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, much of the focus has rightly been on the thousands of foreign fighters ISIS has attracted, its brutal tactics and its robust social media presence. But an arguably even more important development has not received the attention it deserves: the group's widening influence across the Muslim world, driven by the numerous terrorist and insurgent organizations that have recently sworn loyalty to it.