--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-37/frontier-firms-and-productivity-dispersion-in-canada/" title: "Frontier Firms and Productivity Dispersion in Canada" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T07:53:08+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-13T07:53:08+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Fall 2019" ipm_keyword: - "1991-2015" - "Canada" - "firm-level" - "frontier firms" - "laggard firms" - "manufacturing" - "productivity dispersion" - "Statistics Canada" - "technology diffusion" ipm_research_theme: - "Sectoral and firm-level dynamics" ipm_country_focus: - "Canada" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp" status: "publish" --- # Frontier Firms and Productivity Dispersion in Canada Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-37/frontier-firms-and-productivity-dispersion-in-canada/ # Frontier Firms and Productivity Dispersion in Canada [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-37-4-Gu.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: Gu, Wulong. 2019. “Frontier Firms and Productivity Dispersion in Canada.” International Productivity Monitor, No. 37 (Fall 2019): 96–119. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-37/frontier-firms-and-productivity-dispersion-in-canada/ ## Author: - Wulong Gu Micro-Economic Analysis Division, Statistics Canada ## IPM Issue 37 Fall 2019 pp. 96–119 ## 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/) [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/) [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? 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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/) [IPM Issue 46 Editors’ Overview Andrew Sharpe, Bart van Ark Spring 2024 | IPM Issue 46 | pp. 1–2](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-46/) ## Abstract ## Résumé EN FR Copy link Email LinkedIn This article uses firm-level data for Canadian manufacturing to analyze productivity of frontier firms (top percentile) versus non-frontier firms over 1991-2015. It finds that frontier firms have significantly higher and faster-growing productivity than non-frontier firms, and that the gap between the two groups widened over time. The productivity gap between frontier and non-frontier firms increased both in manufacturing and in the broader business sector. The results suggest that technology diffusion from frontier to non-frontier firms has been weak in Canada, contributing to aggregate productivity underperformance. Cet article utilise des données au niveau des entreprises pour le secteur manufacturier canadien afin d’analyser la productivité des entreprises de pointe (centile supérieur) par rapport aux entreprises non à la pointe sur la période 1991-2015. Il constate que les entreprises de pointe affichent une productivité significativement plus élevée et à croissance plus rapide que les entreprises non à la pointe, et que l’écart entre les deux groupes s’est creusé au fil du temps, tant dans le secteur manufacturier que dans l’ensemble du secteur des entreprises. Les résultats suggèrent que la diffusion technologique des entreprises de pointe vers les entreprises non à la pointe a été faible au Canada, contribuant à la sous-performance de la productivité globale. [Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-37-4-Gu.pdf)