--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-27/priorities-and-directions-for-future-productivity-research-the-need-for-historical-perspective/" title: "Priorities and Directions for Future Productivity Research: The Need for Historical Perspective" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T07:37:55+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-13T07:37:55+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Fall 2014" ipm_keyword: - "aggregate" - "firm-level" - "historical measurement" - "innovation" - "intangibles" - "Maddison" - "productivity research" - "World KLEMS" ipm_research_theme: - "Measurement and methodology" ipm_country_focus: - "International" - "OECD" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp" status: "publish" --- # Priorities and Directions for Future Productivity Research: The Need for Historical Perspective Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-27/priorities-and-directions-for-future-productivity-research-the-need-for-historical-perspective/ # Priorities and Directions for Future Productivity Research: The Need for Historical Perspective [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-27-4-van-Ark.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: van Ark, Bart. 2014. “Priorities and Directions for Future Productivity Research: The Need for Historical Perspective.” International Productivity Monitor, No. 27 (Fall 2014): 17–19. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-27/priorities-and-directions-for-future-productivity-research-the-need-for-historical-perspective/ ## Author: - Bart van Ark University of Manchester / The Productivity Institute ## IPM Issue 27 Fall 2014 pp. 17–19 ## Related IPM articles [The Challenges of Productivity Measurement — Review Article on The Measure of Economies: Measuring Productivity in an Age of Technological Change Chad Syverson Spring 2025 | IPM Issue 48 | pp. 139–143](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-48/the-challenges-of-productivity-measurement-review-article-on-the-measure-of-economies-measuring-productivity-in-an-age-of-technological-change/) [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/) [Are Intangibles Running out of Steam? 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It also makes the case for greater emphasis on historical measurement of productivity performance in the tradition of Angus Maddison. ECONOMISTS HAVE A WIDE RANGE of perspec- Cet article identifie trois priorités pour les futures recherches en productivité : les actifs immatériels, une meilleure compréhension de l’impact de l’innovation sur la productivité, et un rapprochement entre les mesures de productivité au niveau des entreprises et les mesures au niveau industriel et agrégé. Il plaide également pour une plus grande attention à la mesure historique de la performance de productivité dans la tradition d’Angus Maddison. [Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-27-4-van-Ark.pdf)