--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-18/education-productivity-and-economic-growth-a-selective-review-of-the-evidence/" title: "Education, Productivity and Economic Growth: A Selective Review of the Evidence" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T07:31:36+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-13T07:31:36+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Spring 2009" ipm_keyword: - "Canada" - "economic growth" - "education" - "human capital" - "neoclassical growth model" - "post-secondary" - "productivity" - "returns to education" - "skills" ipm_research_theme: - "Policy and institutions" ipm_country_focus: - "Canada" - "International" - "OECD" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp" status: "publish" --- # Education, Productivity and Economic Growth: A Selective Review of the Evidence Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-18/education-productivity-and-economic-growth-a-selective-review-of-the-evidence/ # Education, Productivity and Economic Growth: A Selective Review of the Evidence [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-18-1-Coulombe-Tremblay.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: Coulombe, Serge, and Jean-François Tremblay. 2009. “Education, Productivity and Economic Growth: A Selective Review of the Evidence.” International Productivity Monitor, No. 18 (Spring 2009): 3–24. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-18/education-productivity-and-economic-growth-a-selective-review-of-the-evidence/ ## Authors: - Serge Coulombe Department of Economics, University of Ottawa - Jean-François Tremblay Department of Economics, University of Ottawa ## IPM Issue 18 Spring 2009 pp. 3–24 ## Related IPM articles [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/) [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/) [Appendix: Variable Definitions and Country/Sector Coverage for Regulatory Reform Analysis Gilbert Cette, Jimmy Lopez, Giuseppe Nicoletti, Océane Vernerey Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 1–18](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/appendix-variable-definitions-and-country-sector-coverage-for-regulatory-reform-analysis/) [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/) [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/) [Eroding Natural Capital: An Alternative Explanation for the Secular Decline in Productivity Growth Christina Caron Fall 2024 | IPM Issue 47 | pp. 109–147](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-47/eroding-natural-capital-an-alternative-explanation-for-the-secular-decline-in-productivity-growth/) [How Does Industrial Policy Impact Output, Hours and Productivity? 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/) ## Abstract ## Résumé EN FR Copy link Email LinkedIn We review a selection of the theoretical and empirical literature on human capital and growth that appear to provide the most relevant insights for policy development in the Canadian context. We first focus on the extension of the neo-classical growth model with the inclusion of human capital in an open economy framework, and discuss its empirical applications to the Canadian economy. We also examine other issues such as the returns to education and the distance from the technological frontier, the microeconomic versus macroeconomic return to education, and the quantity versus quality of education. Although the levels of investment in education and the overall quality of the educational system in Canada are fairly high, we argue that the returns of additional investments in post-secondary education could still be substantial since Canada is relatively close to the technology frontier. F ROM THE 1960 S TO THE 1980 S , economic Nous passons en revue une sélection de la littérature théorique et empirique sur le capital humain et la croissance qui semble fournir les éclairages les plus pertinents pour l’élaboration des politiques dans le contexte canadien. Nous nous concentrons d’abord sur l’extension du modèle de croissance néoclassique avec l’inclusion du capital humain dans un cadre d’économie ouverte, et examinons ses applications empiriques à l’économie canadienne. Nous examinons également d’autres questions telles que les rendements de l’éducation et la distance par rapport à la frontière technologique, le rendement microéconomique par rapport au rendement macroéconomique de l’éducation, et la quantité par rapport à la qualité de l’éducation. Bien que les niveaux d’investissement dans l’éducation et la qualité globale du système éducatif au Canada soient relativement élevés, nous soutenons que les rendements d’investissements supplémentaires dans l’enseignement postsecondaire pourraient encore être substantiels, étant donné que le Canada est relativement proche de la frontière technologique. [Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-18-1-Coulombe-Tremblay.pdf)