--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-10/productivity-trends-in-asia-since-1980/" title: "Productivity Trends in Asia Since 1980" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T06:53:24+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-13T06:53:24+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Spring 2005" ipm_keyword: - "Asia" - "Asian financial crisis" - "Asian NIEs" - "economic growth" - "Japan" - "labour productivity" - "productivity" - "Singapore" - "South Korea" - "Taiwan" - "TFP" ipm_research_theme: - "Productivity trends and comparisons" ipm_country_focus: - "Asia" - "India" - "Indonesia" - "International" - "Japan" - "Singapore" - "South Korea" - "Taiwan" - "Thailand" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp" status: "publish" --- # Productivity Trends in Asia Since 1980 Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-10/productivity-trends-in-asia-since-1980/ # Productivity Trends in Asia Since 1980 [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-10-5-Oguchi.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: Oguchi, Noriyoshi. 2005. “Productivity Trends in Asia Since 1980.” International Productivity Monitor, No. 10 (Spring 2005): 69–78. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-10/productivity-trends-in-asia-since-1980/ ## Author: - Noriyoshi Oguchi Department of Economics, Senshu University ## IPM Issue 10 Spring 2005 pp. 69–78 ## Related IPM articles [Efficiency Adjustment of Hours Worked: Two Possible Modifications of a Jorgensen Production Model Barbara Fraumeni Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 103–115](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/efficiency-adjustment-of-hours-worked-two-possible-modifications-of-a-jorgensen-production-model/) [The Relationship between Efficiencies Defenses for Mergers and TFP Growth Robin Shaban Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 82–102](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/the-relationship-between-efficiencies-defenses-for-mergers-and-tfp-growth/) [Labour Productivity as a Measure of Technological Change Ulrich Kohli Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 64–81](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/labour-productivity-as-a-measure-of-technological-change/) [Adult Skills and Productivity: New Evidence from PIAAC 2023 Dan Andrews, Balázs Égert, Christine de La Maisonneuve Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 41–63](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/adult-skills-and-productivity-new-evidence-from-piaac-2023/) [The Potential Impact of Pro-competitive Regulatory Reforms on Productivity and Growth in Canada Gilbert Cette, Jimmy Lopez, Giuseppe Nicoletti, Océane Vernerey Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 3–40](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/the-potential-impact-of-pro-competitive-regulatory-reforms-on-productivity-and-growth-in-canada/) [IPM Issue 49 Editors’ Overview Andrew Sharpe, Bart van Ark, Paul Schreyer Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 1–2](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/) [The UK Productivity Slowdown: A Review of Timing, Magnitude, and Drivers Josh Martin Spring 2025 | IPM Issue 48 | pp. 1–34](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-48/the-uk-productivity-slowdown-a-review-of-timing-magnitude-and-drivers/) [Appendix: UK Productivity Growth Rates Across Data Vintages and Studies Josh Martin Spring 2025 | IPM Issue 48 | pp. 65–73](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-48/appendix-uk-productivity-growth-rates-across-data-vintages-and-studies/) [Opportunities and Risks of Artificial Intelligence for Productivity Francesco Filippucci, Peter Gal, Katharina Laengle, Matthias Schief, Filiz Unsal Spring 2025 | IPM Issue 48 | pp. 1–26](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-48/opportunities-and-risks-of-artificial-intelligence-for-productivity/) [Using Ecosystem Accounting to Integrate the Environment in Measures of Multifactor Productivity Carl Obst Fall 2024 | IPM Issue 47 | pp. 87–108](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-47/using-ecosystem-accounting-to-integrate-the-environment-in-measures-of-multifactor-productivity/) ## Abstract ## Résumé EN FR Copy link Email LinkedIn This article examines labour productivity and total factor productivity trends in 12 Asian economies since 1980, drawing on data from the Asian Productivity Organization. It finds that while most Asian countries achieved strong economic growth in the 1980s and early 1990s led by the Asian NIEs, the 1997 financial crisis caused major disruptions and highlighted the importance of TFP growth for sustainable development. The article presents country-level TFP estimates and discusses whether Asian growth has been driven primarily by factor accumulation or genuine productivity improvement, finding significant variation across countries and periods. Cet article examine les tendances de la productivité du travail et de la productivité multifactorielle (PMF) dans 12 économies asiatiques depuis 1980, à l’aide de données de l’Organisation de productivité asiatique. Il constate que si la plupart des pays asiatiques ont réalisé une forte croissance économique dans les années 1980 et au début des années 1990, portée par les nouveaux pays industrialisés d’Asie, la crise financière de 1997 a provoqué de profondes perturbations et mis en évidence l’importance de la croissance de la PMF pour un développement durable. L’article présente des estimations de PMF par pays et examine si la croissance asiatique a été principalement portée par l’accumulation de facteurs ou par une véritable amélioration de la productivité, révélant des variations significatives entre les pays et les périodes. [Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-10-5-Oguchi.pdf)