--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-33/productivity-measurement-in-global-value-chains/" title: "Productivity Measurement in Global Value Chains" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T07:42:40+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-13T07:42:40+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Fall 2017" ipm_keyword: - "global value chains" - "Groningen" - "GVC" - "input-output" - "KLEMS" - "methodology" - "production fragmentation" - "productivity measurement" - "WIOD" ipm_research_theme: - "Measurement and methodology" - "Trade" ipm_country_focus: - "China" - "Europe" - "International" - "United States" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp" status: "publish" --- # Productivity Measurement in Global Value Chains Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-33/productivity-measurement-in-global-value-chains/ # Productivity Measurement in Global Value Chains [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-33-10-Timmer.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: Timmer, Marcel. 2017. “Productivity Measurement in Global Value Chains.” International Productivity Monitor, No. 33 (Fall 2017): 182–193. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-33/productivity-measurement-in-global-value-chains/ ## Author: - Marcel Timmer Groningen Growth and Development Centre, University of Groningen ## IPM Issue 33 Fall 2017 pp. 182–193 ## 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/) [ONS Response to ‘Are UK Regional Productivity Disparities Really Narrowing?’ Richard Prothero Spring 2025 | IPM Issue 48 | pp. 85–89](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-48/ons-response-to-are-uk-regional-productivity-disparities-really-narrowing/) [Measuring Productivity: The Response of National Statistical Institutes to the OECD’s Productivity and Capital Manuals Nicholas Oulton Fall 2023 | IPM Issue 45 | pp. 200–225](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-45/measuring-productivity-the-response-of-national-statistical-institutes-to-the-oecds-productivity-and-capital-manuals/) [Capacity Utilization and Production Function Estimation: Implications for Productivity Analysis Jianmin Tang, Weimin Wang Fall 2023 | IPM Issue 45 | pp. 178–199](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-45/capacity-utilization-and-production-function-estimation-implications-for-productivity-analysis/) [The Falling Productivity in West Asian Arab Countries Since the 1980s: Causes, Consequences, and Cures Abdul Erumban Spring 2023 | IPM Issue 44 | pp. 89–119](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-44/the-falling-productivity-in-west-asian-arab-countries-since-the-1980s-causes-consequences-and-cures/) [Capital Measurement and Productivity Growth Across International Databases Reitze Gouma, Robert Inklaar Spring 2023 | IPM Issue 44 | pp. 67–88](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-44/capital-measurement-and-productivity-growth-across-international-databases/) [Productivity Growth and Spillovers across European and American Industries: A Global Value Perspective Based on EU KLEMS Weilin Liu, Qian Cheng, Robin Sickles Fall 2022 | IPM Issue 43 | pp. 86–109](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-43/productivity-growth-and-spillovers-across-european-and-american-industries-a-global-value-perspective-based-on-eu-klems/) [The China Effect on Manufacturing Productivity in the United States and Other High-income Countries Daniel Lind Spring 2022 | IPM Issue 42 | pp. 33–62](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-42/the-china-effect-on-manufacturing-productivity-in-the-united-states-and-other-high-income-countries/) [IPM Issue 42 Editors’ Overview Andrew Sharpe, Bart van Ark Spring 2022 | IPM Issue 42 | pp. 1–2](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-42/) [Is Egypt Really More Productive than the United States? The Data behind the Penn World Table Robert Inklaar, Pieter Woltjer Fall 2021 | IPM Issue 41 | pp. 118–137](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-41/is-egypt-really-more-productive-than-the-united-states-the-data-behind-the-penn-world-table/) ## Abstract ## Résumé EN FR Copy link Email LinkedIn Increasing fragmentation of production is posing new challenges to the measurement of productivity. Traditional approaches focus on firms, industries or countries as the unit of analysis. In this article we argue that studies of global value chains (GVCs) are needed. We introduce the GVC accounting approach as a complement to traditional KLEMS type productivity studies. We define cost shares and productivity growth and show how they can be empirically implemented using synthetic input-output tables. We discuss advantages of the new approach, provide caveats and outline new areas of research and statistics in order to better understand today’s global production systems. La fragmentation croissante de la production pose de nouveaux défis à la mesure de la productivité. Les approches traditionnelles se concentrent sur les entreprises, les industries ou les pays comme unité d’analyse. Dans cet article, nous soutenons que des études sur les chaînes de valeur mondiales (CVM) sont nécessaires. Nous présentons l’approche comptable des CVM comme un complément aux études de productivité traditionnelles de type KLEMS. Nous définissons les parts de coût et la croissance de la productivité et montrons comment elles peuvent être mises en œuvre empiriquement à l’aide de tableaux d’entrées-sorties synthétiques. Nous discutons des avantages de la nouvelle approche, formulons des mises en garde et exposons de nouveaux domaines de recherche et de statistiques pour mieux comprendre les systèmes de production mondiale d’aujourd’hui. [Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-33-10-Timmer.pdf)