Digital Concrete: Productivity in Infrastructure Construction (ESCoE DP 2022-21)

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Digital Concrete: Productivity in Infrastructure Construction (ESCoE DP 2022-21)

By Rehema Msulwa

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Construction is a large sector of the UK economy and official statistics show that construction productivity has flatlined despite adoption of advances in digital technology and increased outsourcing. We examine the evolution of the UK infrastructure construction industry and the scope for its digitization, describing the changing industry structure and the range of digital technologies being adopted. We consider the implications of technological innovation for productivity, both actual and measured. We focus on two possible explanations for this particular piece of the productivity puzzle: time lags and different potential sources of mismeasurement.