---
canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-21/productivity-and-economic-growth-in-europe-a-comparative-industry-perspective/"
title: "Productivity and Economic Growth in Europe: A Comparative Industry Perspective"
author:
  name: "CSLS"
  url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/"
date_published: "2026-07-13T07:31:46+00:00"
date_modified: "2026-07-13T07:31:46+00:00"
post_type: "ipm"
summary: ""
ipm_issue_period:
  - "Spring 2011"
ipm_keyword:
  - "EU KLEMS"
  - "Europe"
  - "growth accounting"
  - "ICT"
  - "knowledge economy"
  - "labour productivity"
  - "market services"
  - "productivity"
  - "United States"
ipm_research_theme:
  - "Productivity trends and comparisons"
ipm_country_focus:
  - "Europe"
  - "International"
  - "United States"
featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp"
status: "publish"
---

# Productivity and Economic Growth in Europe: A Comparative Industry Perspective

Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-21/productivity-and-economic-growth-in-europe-a-comparative-industry-perspective/

# Productivity and Economic Growth in Europe: A Comparative Industry Perspective

[Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-21-1-Timmer-Inklaar-O_Mahony-van-Ark.pdf)

Cite this article

×
Cite this article as:

Timmer, Marcel, Robert Inklaar, Mary O’Mahony, and Bart van Ark. 2011. “Productivity and Economic Growth in Europe: A Comparative Industry Perspective.” International Productivity Monitor, No. 21 (Spring 2011): 3–23. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-21/productivity-and-economic-growth-in-europe-a-comparative-industry-perspective/

## Authors:

-
Marcel Timmer
Groningen Growth and Development Centre, University of Groningen

-
Robert Inklaar
University of Groningen; The Conference Board

-
Mary O’Mahony
University of Birmingham

-
Bart van Ark
University of Manchester / The Productivity Institute

## IPM Issue 21

Spring 2011 pp. 3–23

## Related IPM articles

[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/)
[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/)
[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/)
[De-industrialization and the Great Productivity Slowdown: What Comes Next?

Paul Fisher

Spring 2025 | IPM Issue 48 | pp. 115–138](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-48/de-industrialization-and-the-great-productivity-slowdown-what-comes-next/)

[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, drawing on the authors’ book Economic Growth in Europe, provides a comprehensive analysis of the Europe-U.S. productivity divergence since 1995 from both growth accounting and sectoral perspectives. It finds that contributions from the ‘knowledge economy’ — defined to include labour composition, ICT capital intensity, and MFP — to labour productivity growth fell in Europe while increasing in the United States. A much smaller contribution from market services (0.6 versus 1.8 percentage points per year in 1995-2007) is identified as the key sectoral difference. The article uses an updated EU KLEMS database including preliminary 2007-2009 crisis estimates.

Cet article, s’appuyant sur l’ouvrage des auteurs Economic Growth in Europe, fournit une analyse complète de la divergence de productivité Europe-États-Unis depuis 1995, à partir des perspectives de la comptabilité de la croissance et des secteurs. Il constate que les contributions de l’« économie du savoir » — définie comme comprenant la composition de la main-d’œuvre, l’intensité du capital en TIC et la PMF — à la croissance de la productivité du travail ont diminué en Europe tout en augmentant aux États-Unis. Une contribution bien plus faible des services marchands (0,6 contre 1,8 point de pourcentage par année en 1995-2007) est identifiée comme la principale différence sectorielle. L’article utilise une base de données EU KLEMS actualisée comprenant des estimations préliminaires pour la crise de 2007-2009.

[Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-21-1-Timmer-Inklaar-O_Mahony-van-Ark.pdf)
