What performance-enhancing stimulants mean for economic growth
Could America’s Adderall shortage have harmed its productivity?
Towards the end of last year America began running short of medicines used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (adhd), including Adderall (an amphetamine) and Ritalin (a central-nervous-system stimulant). Nine in ten pharmacies reported shortages of the medication, which tens of millions of Americans use to help improve focus and concentration. Around the same time, something intriguing happened: American productivity, a measure of efficiency at work, dropped. In the first quarter of 2023, output per hour fell by 3%.
This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Buzzkill”
Finance & economics May 27th 2023
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- What performance-enhancing stimulants mean for economic growth
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