Only several years after the fact was a trend break in productivity recognized as likely to have occurred in 1973. And even today our understanding of the forces contributing to the slowdown is not entirely satisfactory.
BIS Review 60/1998  -5-  As inflation accelerated as the 1970s continued, critics blamed the Federal Reserve’s operating procedures for placing too little weight on money growth and too much on interest rates in the conduct of policy. In response, the Federal Reserve in late 1979 put added emphasis on monetary growth targets.