--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-26/can-the-canada-u-s-ict-investment-gap-be-a-measurement-issue/" title: "Can the Canada-U.S. ICT Investment Gap be a Measurement Issue?" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T07:37:51+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-13T07:37:51+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Fall 2013" ipm_keyword: - "BEA" - "Canada" - "ICT investment" - "industry structure" - "measurement" - "productivity gap" - "software" - "Statistics Canada" - "United States" ipm_research_theme: - "Technology and innovation" ipm_country_focus: - "Canada" - "United States" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp" status: "publish" --- # Can the Canada-U.S. ICT Investment Gap be a Measurement Issue? Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-26/can-the-canada-u-s-ict-investment-gap-be-a-measurement-issue/ # Can the Canada-U.S. ICT Investment Gap be a Measurement Issue? [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-26-4-Rai-Sharpe.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: Rai, Vikram, and Andrew Sharpe. 2013. “Can the Canada-U.S. ICT Investment Gap be a Measurement Issue?” International Productivity Monitor, No. 26 (Fall 2013): 63–85. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-26/can-the-canada-u-s-ict-investment-gap-be-a-measurement-issue/ ## Authors: - Vikram Rai Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) - Andrew Sharpe Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) ## IPM Issue 26 Fall 2013 pp. 63–85 ## 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/) [Accounting for the Decline of Canada’s Real GDP Per Capita since Mid-2022 Philip Smith Spring 2024 | IPM Issue 46 | pp. 83–100](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-46/accounting-for-the-decline-of-canadas-real-gdp-per-capita-since-mid-2022/) [IPM Issue 47 Editors’ Overview Andrew Sharpe, Bart van Ark Fall 2024 | IPM Issue 47 | pp. 1–2](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-47/) ## Abstract ## Résumé EN FR Copy link Email LinkedIn In 2011, business sector investment per worker in information and communications technology (ICT) in Canada was only 57.8 per cent of the U.S. level, indicating an ICT investment per worker gap of 42.2 percentage points. Numerous explanations have been advanced to explain this gap, one of which is that the ICT investment data from Statistics Canada and the Bureau of Economic Analysis are not strictly comparable. We compare the methodology used to measure ICT investment in Canada and the United States and find that issues related to measurement account for approximately 4 percentage points (10 per cent) of the gap. The gap is concentrated in the software component of ICT investment (90 per cent) and in a small number of ICT-intensive industries, in particular information and cultural industries. The article concludes that the Canada-U.S. ICT investment per worker gap is largely the result of industry-specific factors that affect software investment. I N 2011, BUSINESS SECTOR INVESTMENT per En 2011, l’investissement par travailleur dans le secteur des entreprises en technologies de l’information et des communications (TIC) au Canada ne représentait que 57,8 % du niveau américain, indiquant un écart d’investissement en TIC par travailleur de 42,2 points de pourcentage. De nombreuses explications ont été avancées pour expliquer cet écart, dont l’une est que les données sur l’investissement en TIC de Statistique Canada et du Bureau of Economic Analysis ne sont pas strictement comparables. Nous comparons la méthodologie utilisée pour mesurer l’investissement en TIC au Canada et aux États-Unis et constatons que les enjeux liés à la mesure expliquent environ 4 points de pourcentage (10 %) de l’écart. L’écart est concentré dans la composante logiciels de l’investissement en TIC (90 %) et dans un petit nombre d’industries à forte intensité de TIC, notamment les industries de l’information et de la culture. 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