Productivity

• May 20, 2002

  Trends in Productivity Growth in Canada

  Bank of Canada Review - Spring 2002 Allan Crawford

  This article describes the major trends in the growth of labour productivity in Canada since the early 1960s and summarizes our current knowledge about the causes of the historical patterns. Particular attention is given to the period since the mid-1990s during which productivity growth has been significantly higher in the United States than in Canada. The author reviews the empirical evidence on the contribution of information and communication technology to the recent difference between Canadian and U.S. rates of productivity growth. Other determinants of a country's productivity performance, such as human capital formation and openness to international trade, are also examined. The article concludes with an assessment of the prospects for an increase in the trend rate of productivity growth in Canada over the coming years.

  Content Type(s): Publications, Bank of Canada Review articles Topic(s): Productivity

• Restructuring in the Canadian Economy: A Survey of Firms

  Staff Working Paper 2002-8 Carolyn Kwan

  The regional offices of the Bank conducted a survey of 140 Canadian companies (representing all non-government sectors of the economy) to study the effects of restructuring (defined as a major change in the way firms do business).

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Labour markets, Productivity, Regional economic developments JEL Code(s): O, O5, O51

• Contribution of ICT Use to Output and Labour-Productivity Growth in Canada

  Staff Working Paper 2002-7 Hashmat Khan, Marjorie Santos

  There is ample evidence that information and communication technologies (ICT) contributed significantly to the surge in output and labour-productivity growth in the United States in the late 1990s.

  Content Type(s): Staff research, Staff working papers Topic(s): Productivity JEL Code(s): O, O4, O5