This presentation focuses on the current and future economic growth potential of Europe, China, Japan, the United States, and Canada using a “sources of growth” perspective, putting emphasis on the contributions of labour, capital and productivity to growth. The latest productivity estimates by The Conference Board will be discussed from both a cyclical and a structural perspective. An explicit link between the short and long run growth potential is made by comparing levels of actual output with potential output, including the discussion of different growth scenarios until 2015.

Bart van Ark is Vice-President and Chief Economist of The Conference Board. He leads a team of 20-plus economists who produce a portfolio of widely watched economic indicators and growth forecasts, as well as in-depth global economic research. A Dutch national, he is the first non-U.S. chief economist in The Conference Board's 90-year history. Van Ark is an internationally recognized expert in international comparative studies of economic performance, productivity, and innovation.

Van Ark obtained his master's and Ph.D. degrees in economics from the University of Groningen, where he has been a professor since 2000. He holds the university's chair in Economic Development, Technological Change and Growth. He also was director of the Groningen Growth and Development Centre, a research group of economists and economic historians examining long-run economic growth and international comparisons of economic performance for Europe, Asia, and North and South America. Van Ark has been extensively published in national and international journals, including the Journal of Economic Perspectives, Economic Policy, the Review of Income and Wealth and the Brookings Papers on Economic Activity.