--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-28/why-isnt-productivity-more-popular-a-bargaining-power-approach-to-the-pay-productivity-linkage-in-canada/" title: "Why Isn’t Productivity More Popular? A Bargaining Power Approach to the Pay/Productivity Linkage in Canada" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T07:37:59+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-13T07:37:59+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Spring 2015" ipm_keyword: - "bargaining power" - "Canada" - "employment insurance" - "labour share" - "minimum wage" - "NAFTA" - "productivity" - "productivity agenda" - "unionization" - "wages" ipm_research_theme: - "Labour" ipm_country_focus: - "Canada" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp" status: "publish" --- # Why Isn’t Productivity More Popular? A Bargaining Power Approach to the Pay/Productivity Linkage in Canada Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-28/why-isnt-productivity-more-popular-a-bargaining-power-approach-to-the-pay-productivity-linkage-in-canada/ # Why Isn’t Productivity More Popular? A Bargaining Power Approach to the Pay/Productivity Linkage in Canada [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-28-3-Dufour-Russell.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: Dufour, Mathieu, and Ellen Russell. 2015. “Why Isn’t Productivity More Popular? A Bargaining Power Approach to the Pay/Productivity Linkage in Canada.” International Productivity Monitor, No. 28 (Spring 2015): 47–62. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-28/why-isnt-productivity-more-popular-a-bargaining-power-approach-to-the-pay-productivity-linkage-in-canada/ ## Authors: - Mathieu Dufour John Jay College (CUNY) - Ellen Russell Wilfrid Laurier University ## IPM Issue 28 Spring 2015 pp. 47–62 ## 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 Canadian real labour income has increasingly lagged behind productivity growth. This article employs a bargaining power approach to wage determination to explore the hypothesis that some public polices intended to promote productivity growth may have contributed to the erosion of worker bargaining power, thereby reducing workers’ capacity to benefit from productivity growth. We present an econometric analysis of several policies that supports this hypothesis. P ROMINENT CANADIANS (Carney 2010; Mul- Le revenu réel du travail canadien a de plus en plus pris du retard par rapport à la croissance de la productivité. Cet article emploie une approche fondée sur le pouvoir de négociation pour la détermination des salaires afin d’explorer l’hypothèse selon laquelle certaines politiques publiques destinées à promouvoir la croissance de la productivité peuvent avoir contribué à éroder le pouvoir de négociation des travailleurs, réduisant ainsi la capacité de ces derniers à bénéficier de la croissance de la productivité. Nous présentons une analyse économétrique de plusieurs politiques qui corrobore cette hypothèse. [Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-28-3-Dufour-Russell.pdf)