--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-17/the-impact-of-labour-market-policies-on-productivity-in-oecd-countries/" title: "The Impact of Labour Market Policies on Productivity in OECD Countries" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T07:31:33+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-13T07:31:33+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Fall 2008" ipm_keyword: - "employment protection" - "industry-level" - "labour market policy" - "MFP" - "minimum wage" - "OECD" - "parental leave" - "productivity" - "unemployment benefits" ipm_research_theme: - "Policy and institutions" ipm_country_focus: - "International" - "OECD" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp" status: "publish" --- # The Impact of Labour Market Policies on Productivity in OECD Countries Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-17/the-impact-of-labour-market-policies-on-productivity-in-oecd-countries/ # The Impact of Labour Market Policies on Productivity in OECD Countries [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-17-1-Bassanini-Venn.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: Bassanini, Andrea, and Danielle Venn. 2008. “The Impact of Labour Market Policies on Productivity in OECD Countries.” International Productivity Monitor, No. 17 (Fall 2008): 3–15. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-17/the-impact-of-labour-market-policies-on-productivity-in-oecd-countries/ ## Authors: - Andrea Bassanini Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs, OECD - Danielle Venn Directorate for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs, OECD ## IPM Issue 17 Fall 2008 pp. 3–15 ## Related IPM articles [Is the SNA Still Useful? 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The Canadian Experience Tim Sargent Fall 2024 | IPM Issue 47 | pp. 39–53](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-47/how-does-industrial-policy-impact-output-hours-and-productivity-the-canadian-experience/) [Climate Change and Productivity — An Exploration Dirk Pilat Fall 2024 | IPM Issue 47 | pp. 54–86](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-47/climate-change-and-productivity-an-exploration/) ## Abstract ## Résumé EN FR Copy link Email LinkedIn We investigate the impact of labour market policies on labour and multifactor productivity with industry-level data. First and foremost, labour market policies can influence average measured productivity through their impact on employment. Other things equal, employment growth tends to be associated with lower average measured labour productivity growth as more low-skilled workers enter the workforce. However, policies can also have sizeable direct effects on individual productivity levels and/or growth by creating incentives for workers to invest in training, facilitating reallocation of resources to their most productive uses and generating or maintaining high-quality job matches. We find that employment protection legislation, minimum wages, parental leave and unemployment benefits influence productivity through multiple channels, over and above their impact on employment levels. GROWTH IN GDP PER CAPITA, one of the pri- Nous examinons l’impact des politiques du marché du travail sur la productivité du travail et la productivité multifactorielle à l’aide de données sectorielles. Avant tout, les politiques du marché du travail peuvent influer sur la productivité mesurée moyenne par leur impact sur l’emploi. Toutes choses étant égales par ailleurs, la croissance de l’emploi tend à être associée à une plus faible croissance de la productivité du travail mesurée en moyenne, à mesure que davantage de travailleurs peu qualifiés entrent dans la population active. Cependant, les politiques peuvent également avoir des effets directs importants sur les niveaux de productivité individuels et/ou la croissance en créant des incitations pour les travailleurs à investir dans la formation, en facilitant la réaffectation des ressources vers leurs usages les plus productifs et en générant ou maintenant des appariements emploi-travailleur de haute qualité. Nous constatons que la législation sur la protection de l’emploi, les salaires minima, le congé parental et les prestations de chômage influencent la productivité par de multiples canaux, au-delà de leur impact sur les niveaux d’emploi. [Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-17-1-Bassanini-Venn.pdf)