--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-38/frontier-firms-technology-diffusion-and-the-productivity-slowdown-in-portugal/" title: "Frontier Firms, Technology Diffusion and the Productivity Slowdown in Portugal" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T07:53:10+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-13T07:53:10+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Spring 2020" ipm_keyword: - "2008-2016" - "firm-level" - "frontier firms" - "laggard firms" - "National Bank of Portugal" - "Portugal" - "productivity slowdown" - "reallocation" - "technology diffusion" ipm_research_theme: - "Sectoral and firm-level dynamics" ipm_country_focus: - "Europe" - "Portugal" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp" status: "publish" --- # Frontier Firms, Technology Diffusion and the Productivity Slowdown in Portugal Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-38/frontier-firms-technology-diffusion-and-the-productivity-slowdown-in-portugal/ # Frontier Firms, Technology Diffusion and the Productivity Slowdown in Portugal [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-38-2-Osterhold-Gouveia.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: Osterhold, Christian, and Ana Fontoura Gouveia. 2020. “Frontier Firms, Technology Diffusion and the Productivity Slowdown in Portugal.” International Productivity Monitor, No. 38 (Spring 2020): 29–49. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-38/frontier-firms-technology-diffusion-and-the-productivity-slowdown-in-portugal/ ## Authors: - Christian Osterhold National Bank of Portugal - Ana Fontoura Gouveia OECD ## IPM Issue 38 Spring 2020 pp. 29–49 ## Related IPM articles [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/) [De-industrialization and the Great Productivity Slowdown: What Comes Next? 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Frontier firms continued to improve productivity post-crisis, while laggard firms stagnated or declined, widening the productivity gap. Industries with stronger import competition from developing countries experienced greater reallocation toward more productive firms. The article finds that weak technology diffusion from frontier to laggard firms — rather than insufficient innovation at the frontier — explains much of Portugal’s post-crisis aggregate productivity underperformance. À l’aide de données administratives au niveau des entreprises portugaises (2008-2016), cet article documente la dynamique des entreprises de pointe et des entreprises à la traîne dans le secteur privé non financier du Portugal. Les entreprises de pointe ont continué d’améliorer leur productivité après la crise, tandis que les entreprises à la traîne ont stagné ou reculé, creusant l’écart de productivité. Les industries soumises à une concurrence accrue des importations des pays en développement ont connu une réaffectation plus importante vers des entreprises plus productives. L’article constate que la faible diffusion technologique des entreprises de pointe vers les entreprises à la traîne — plutôt qu’une innovation insuffisante à la frontière — explique une grande partie de la sous-performance de la productivité globale du Portugal après la crise. [Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-38-2-Osterhold-Gouveia.pdf)