Template-type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Andrew Sharpe Author-Email: csls@csls.ca Title: Editor's Overview Abstract: This the inaugural issue of the International Productivity Monitor, a new publication produced by the Ottawa-based Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS). The objective of the Monitor is to focus atttention on the importance of productivity for improving living standards and quality of life. We will be publishing twice a year articles from leading researchers on productivity issues, trends and developments in Canada and other countries. The Monitor will also serve as a vehicle for an international exchange of ideas and information on productivity topics. The first issue of the Monitor contains eight articles on a wide range of productivity topics. There are the new economy and trend productivity growth in Canada, the renaissance of service sector productivity in the United States, a regional comparison of U.S-Canada standards of living, the postwar productivity convergence experience among OECD countries, price cap regulation and productivity growth, and finally a symposium of three articles on the measurement and interpretation of total factor productivity. In addition to the hard-copy version of the Monitor, which is available in English and French, all articles are available on-line at the CSLS website (www.csls.ca). Moreover, unabridged versions of many of the articles are also posted. Classification-JEL: D24, C80, J24, O31, O47, O50, O51, O57 Keywords: Productivity, Living Standards, Research, Canada, Trends, Developments, New Economy, Growth, Productivity Growth, United States, Convergence, OECD, Price, Price Cap, Regulation, Measurement, Interpretation, Total Factor Productivity, TFP, 1990s. Acceleration, Labour, Labor, Labor Productivity, Service Sector, Output, IT, ICT, Information Technology, Regional, Investment, Education, Statistics, Industry Journal: International Productivity Monitor Pages: 1-2 Volume: 1 Year: 2000 Month: Fall File-URL: http://www.csls.ca/ipm/1/overview-e.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf File-Size: 211 KB File-URL: http://www.csls.ca/ipm/2/overview-f.pdf File-Function: version en francais, pp:1-2 File-Format: Application/pdf File-Size: 211 KB Handle: RePEc:sls:ipmsls:v:1:y:2000:0 Template-type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Andrew Sharpe Author-Email: csls@csls.ca Author-Name: Leila Gharani Title: The New Economy and Trend Productivity Growth in Canada Abstract: Thist article by Andrew Sharpe and Leila Gharani from the Centre for the Study of Living Standards examines the factors behind slow productivity growth in Canada in the second half of the 1990s, in marked contrast to the acceleration of productivity in the United States, and discusses the prospects for trend productivity in Canada over the next decade or two. It concludes that the balance of evidence now favours an acceleration of trend labour productivity growth to the 2-2.5 per cent per year range, as the factors accounting for the U.S. productivity boom finally spill over into Canada. Classification-JEL: J24, O40, O47, O51, O32, J21 Keywords: Productivity, Growth, Canada, United States, Productivity Trends, Acceleration, Post-1995, 1990s, Employment, Labor, Labour, Information Technology, ICT, Investment, NAIRU Journal: International Productivity Monitor Pages: 3-5 Volume: 1 Year: 2000 Month: Fall File-URL: http://www.csls.ca/ipm/1/sharpe-1-e.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf File-Size: 216 KB File-URL: http://www.csls.ca/ipm/1/sharpe-1-f.pdf File-Function: version en francais, pp:3-5 File-Format: Application/pdf File-Size: 239 KB Handle: RePEc:sls:ipmsls:v:1:y:2000:1 Template-type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Andrew Sharpe Author-Email: csls@csls.ca Title: The Productivity Renaissance in the U.S. Service Sector Abstract: This article, which is closely related to the previous article, is also by Andrew Sharpe of the Centre for the Study of Living Standards. It points out that there now appears to be a renaissance in productivity growth in the U.S. service sector, with output per worker growing five times faster in the 1995-98 period than in the 1981-95 period. This development appears to reflect the impact of the massive investments in information technologies, which finally now seem to be producing large productivity gains in a wide range of service industries. Classification-JEL: O51, O47, O32, J24 Keywords: Productivity, Growth, United States, Service Sector, Labor Productivity, Labour, Information Technology, Investment, Acceleration, Data Sources, Service Sector, Measurement Journal: International Productivity Monitor Pages: 6-8 Volume: 1 Year: 2000 Month: Fall File-URL: http://www.csls.ca/ipm/1/sharpe-2-e.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf File-Size: 123 KB File-URL: http://www.csls.ca/ipm/1/sharpe-2-f.pdf File-Function: version en francais, pp:6-8 File-Format: Application/pdf File-Size: 239 KB Handle: RePEc:sls:ipmsls:v:1:y:2000:2 Template-type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Raynald Létourneau Author-Email: letourneau.raynald@ic.gc.ca Author-Name: Martine Lajoie Title: A Regional Perspective on the Canada-US Standard of Living Comparisons Abstract: This article by Raynauld Letourneau and Martine Lajoie of Industry Canada provides a detailed regional analysis of levels of living standards, measured as output per capita, and productivity (output per worker) for the 1995-97 period, the most recent data currently available. They find that all regions and provinces of Canada trail the U.S. average in both living standards and productivity and that the productivity gap is the main factor behind the living standard gap. Classification-JEL: J24, O47, O51, O57, R11 Keywords: Regional Analysis, Living Standards, Productivity, Post-1995, Canada, United States, Productivity Gap, Province, State, Regional, Comparison, Labor Productivity, Employment, Data Sources, Income Journal: International Productivity Monitor Pages: 9-16 Volume: 1 Year: 2000 Month: Fall File-URL: http://www.csls.ca/ipm/1/letourneau-e.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf File-Size: 286 KB File-URL: http://www.csls.ca/ipm/1/letourneau-f.pdf File-Function: version en francais, pp:9-16 File-Format: Application/pdf File-Size: 288 KB Handle: RePEc:sls:ipmsls:v:1:y:2000:3 Template-type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Edward N. Wolff Title: Productiivity Convergence among OECD Countries: The Postwar Experience Abstract: This article by Edward N. Wolff of New York University examines trends in convergence in OECD countries toward U.S. productivity levels during the postwar period and finds strong evidence for this phenomenon up to 1990, with rapid growth in investment, education, and R&D in OECD countries accounting for the catch-up. The process of convergence seems to have ended in the 1990s, reflecting slower growth in OECD countries, a diminishing of the forces behind the convergence process given the narrowing of the productivity gap with the United States, and perhaps most important, the acceleration of productivity in the United States. Classification-JEL: O57, O47, O24, O10, D24 Keywords:OECD, United States, Productivity, Investment, Education, R&D, Convergence, Growth, Acceleration, Technology, Innovation, Trade Journal: International Productivity Monitor Pages: 17-22 Volume: 1 Year: 2000 Month: Fall File-URL: http://www.csls.ca/ipm/1/wolff-e.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf File-Size: 226 KB File-URL: http://www.csls.ca/ipm/1/wolff-f.pdf File-Function: version en francais, pp:17-22 File-Format: Application/pdf File-Size: 227 KB Handle: RePEc:sls:ipmsls:v:1:y:2000:4 Template-type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Jeffrey I. Bernstein Author-Email: jeff.bernstein@carleton.ca Title: Price Cap Regulation and Productivity Growth Abstract: This article by Jeffrey I. Bernstein of Carleton University and the NBER discusses the use of total factor productivity for price setting in regulated industries. He argues that the longterm, industry-wide productivity experience that is not subject to strategic manipulation by regulated firms should be the productivity growth rate used to develop the appropriate offset factor for price cap regulation. Classification-JEL: D24, D40, D62, O31, O32, O33, O38, O47, R38 Keywords: Total Factor Productivity, Price Setting, Regulation, Growth, Price Cap, Trends, Targets, Prices, Input, Incentives Journal: International Productivity Monitor Pages: 23-28 Volume: 1 Year: 2000 Month: Fall File-URL: http://www.csls.ca/ipm/1/bernstein-e.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf File-Size: 231 KB File-URL: http://www.csls.ca/ipm/1/bernstein-f.pdf File-Function: version en francais, pp:23-29 File-Format: Application/pdf File-Size: 178 KB Handle: RePEc:sls:ipmsls:v:1:y:2000:5 Template-type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Richard G. Lipsey Author-Email: rlipsey@sfu.ca Author-Name: Kenneth Carlaw Author-Email: k.carlaw@econ.canterbury.ac.nz Title: What Does Total Factor Productivity Measure? Abstract: In this article, as part of the symposium on total factor productivity, Richard G. Lipsey of Simon Fraser University and Kenneth Carlaw of the University of Canterbury in New Zealand provide a trenchant critique of the concept of total factor productivity. They conclude that "the degree of confusion surrounding TFP, particularly the assumption that low TFP numbers imply a low degree of technological dynamism, would seem to us to justify dropping the measure completely from all discussions of long term economic growth". Classification-JEL: D24, B41, O31, O47, E13 Keywords: Total Factor Productivity, Technology, Growth, Measurement, Economic Concept, Innovation, GPT, Natural Resources, Neoclassical Growth Model, Technological Change, Definitions Journal: International Productivity Monitor Pages: 31-40 Volume: 1 Year: 2000 Month: Fall File-URL: http://www.csls.ca/ipm/1/lipsey-carlaw-e.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf File-Size:260 KB File-URL: http://www.csls.ca/ipm/1/lipsey-carlaw-f.pdf File-Function: version en francais, pp:31-40 File-Format: Application/pdf File-Size: 260 KB Handle: RePEc:sls:ipmsls:v:1:y:2000:6 Template-type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Timothy C. Sargent Author-Email: Sargent.TimothyC@fin.gc.ca Author-Name: Edgard R. Rodriguez Title: Labour or Total Factor Productivity: Do We Need to Choose? Abstract: . In this article, as part of the symposium on total factor productivity, Timothy C. Sargent and Edgard R. Rodriquez of Finance Canada discuss the issue of the choice between labour and total factor productivity. They conclude that both measures have uses. For periods of less than a decade, labour productivity is the preferred measure, but for longer periods total factor productivity is superior. When capital stock estimates are of poor quality, it is better to use labour productivity. Classification-JEL: D24, O40, O47, O41, C80, E13 Keywords: Total Factor Productivity, Labor Productivity, Productivity, Labour, Measurement, Capital Stock, Neoclassical Model, Growth, Data, Comparison, Growth Model Journal: International Productivity Monitor Pages: 41-44 Volume: 1 Year: 2000 Month: Fall File-URL: http://www.csls.ca/ipm/1/sargent-e.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf File-Size: 224 KB File-URL: http://www.csls.ca/ipm/1/sargent-f.pdf File-Function: version en francais, pp:41-44 File-Format: Application/pdf File-Size: 226 KB Handle: RePEc:sls:ipmsls:v:1:y:2000:7 Template-type: ReDIF-Article 1.0 Author-Name: Erwin Diewert Author-Email: csls@csls.ca Title: The Challenge of Total Factor Productivity Abstract: In this article, as part of the symposium on total factor productivity, Erwin Diewert of the University of British Columbia provides a comprehensive discussion of what is needed to develop reliable measures of total factor productivity in terms of output and the different classes of inputs. He concludes that the current system of industry statistics in all advanced countries has not kept up with the evolution of the economy from primary and manufacturing production to the production of services and that if we want accurate measures of total factor productivity at the industry level, statistical agencies must be given additional resources. Classification-JEL: B41, C80, D24, E20, O30, O47 Keywords: Measurement, Total Factor Productivity, Output, Input, Classification, Industry Statistics, Manufacturing, Services, Data Collection, Data Requirements, Growth, Labor, Labour, Capital, Inventories, land, resources, innovation, infrastructure, price index Journal: International Productivity Monitor Pages: 45-52 Volume: 1 Year: 2000 Month: Fall File-URL: http://www.csls.ca/ipm/1/diewert-e.pdf File-Format: Application/pdf File-Size: 259 KB File-URL: http://www.csls.ca/ipm/1/diewert-f.pdf File-Function: version en francais, pp:45-52 File-Format: Application/pdf File-Size: 240 KB Handle: RePEc:sls:ipmsls:v:1:y:2000:8