Productivity isn’t everything, but in the long run, it is almost everything” claimed economist Paul Krugman. Driven by lifechanging technologies, productivity – the average level of output for each hour worked – improved dramatically across the developed world throughout the 20th century. But since the 2008 financial crisis, despite computerisation and the internet, productivity growth in many countries has been low, static, or even falling; threatening living standards and social unrest.Has something gone fundamentally wrong and will the 20th century prove to be a unique event? Is tech itself the problem, encouraging pointless activity, or would we be more productive if we worked less? More radically, is the mistake to focus on narrow definitions of productivity and output in the first place, and should we instead change how we value our activities and our time?Yale Law School Professor Daniel Markovits, Chief Economics Commentator at the FT, Martin Wolf, Head of Research at Theos, Madeleine Pennington and Labour Party politician, Angela Eagle, debate how we think about productivity and how we use our lives.

Hilary Lawson hosts.