--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-15/product-market-regulation-and-productivity-convergence-oecd-evidence-and-implications-for-canada/" title: "Product Market Regulation and Productivity Convergence: OECD Evidence and Implications for Canada" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T06:53:59+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-13T06:53:59+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Fall 2007" ipm_keyword: - "Canada" - "competition" - "convergence" - "ICT" - "OECD" - "product market regulation" - "productivity" - "regulatory reform" - "technology diffusion" ipm_research_theme: - "Policy and institutions" ipm_country_focus: - "Canada" - "Europe" - "OECD" - "United States" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp" status: "publish" --- # Product Market Regulation and Productivity Convergence: OECD Evidence and Implications for Canada Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-15/product-market-regulation-and-productivity-convergence-oecd-evidence-and-implications-for-canada/ # Product Market Regulation and Productivity Convergence: OECD Evidence and Implications for Canada [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-15-1-Conway-Nicoletti.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: Conway, Paul, and Giuseppe Nicoletti. 2007. “Product Market Regulation and Productivity Convergence: OECD Evidence and Implications for Canada.” International Productivity Monitor, No. 15 (Fall 2007): 3–24. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-15/product-market-regulation-and-productivity-convergence-oecd-evidence-and-implications-for-canada/ ## Authors: - Paul Conway Economics Department, OECD - Giuseppe Nicoletti Economics Department, OECD ## IPM Issue 15 Fall 2007 pp. 3–24 ## Related IPM articles [Is the SNA Still Useful? 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The results indicate that regulations that restrict competition slow the process of adjustment through which best practice production techniques diffuse across borders and new technologies are incorporated into the production process. This effect is reflected in cross-country differences in ICT investment and speeds of catch up of sectoral productivity, which are significantly influenced by differences in product market regulation. Thus, persisting cross-country differences in product market regulation can partially explain the recent observed divergence of labour productivity in OECD countries, given the emergence of new general purpose technologies over the 1990s. In the case of Canada, the results suggest that remaining regulatory barriers to competition in a few key non-manufacturing sectors may have prevented the economy from benefiting to the full extent from high productivity growth rates in the United States and other productivity leaders. O NE OF THE ECONOMIC PARADOXES of the Dans cet article, nous examinons l’effet de la réglementation des marchés de produits sur la diffusion internationale des chocs de productivité. Les résultats indiquent que les réglementations qui restreignent la concurrence ralentissent le processus d’ajustement par lequel les techniques de production exemplaires se diffusent à travers les frontières et les nouvelles technologies sont intégrées dans le processus de production. Cet effet se reflète dans les différences entre pays dans l’investissement en TIC et les vitesses de rattrapage de la productivité sectorielle, qui sont significativement influencées par les différences dans la réglementation des marchés de produits. Ainsi, les différences persistantes entre pays dans la réglementation des marchés de produits peuvent partiellement expliquer la divergence observée de la productivité du travail dans les pays de l’OCDE, compte tenu de l’émergence de nouvelles technologies à usage général dans les années 1990. Dans le cas du Canada, les résultats suggèrent que les obstacles réglementaires résiduels à la concurrence dans quelques secteurs non manufacturiers clés pourraient avoir empêché l’économie de bénéficier pleinement de ces technologies. [Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-15-1-Conway-Nicoletti.pdf)