--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-38/productivity-performance-institutions-and-policy-a-review-article/" title: "Productivity Performance, Institutions, and Policy: A Review Article" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T07:53:15+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-13T07:53:15+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Spring 2020" ipm_keyword: - "agglomeration" - "frontier firms" - "institutions" - "intangibles" - "management practices" - "policy" - "productivity" - "regional" - "review article" - "UK Productivity Insights Network" ipm_research_theme: - "Policy and institutions" ipm_country_focus: - "International" - "OECD" - "United Kingdom" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp" status: "publish" --- # Productivity Performance, Institutions, and Policy: A Review Article Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-38/productivity-performance-institutions-and-policy-a-review-article/ # Productivity Performance, Institutions, and Policy: A Review Article [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-38-7-O_Mahony.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: O’Mahony, Mary. 2020. “Productivity Performance, Institutions, and Policy: A Review Article.” International Productivity Monitor, No. 38 (Spring 2020): 145–154. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-38/productivity-performance-institutions-and-policy-a-review-article/ ## Author: - Mary O’Mahony University of Birmingham ## IPM Issue 38 Spring 2020 pp. 145–154 ## Related IPM articles [Is the SNA Still Useful? A Review Article on The Measure of Progress: Counting What Really Matters Paul Schreyer Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 116–124](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/is-the-sna-still-useful-a-review-article-on-the-measure-of-progress-counting-what-really-matters/) [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/) [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/) [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/) [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/) [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/) [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/) [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 This review article evaluates recent comparative research on productivity institutions and policy effectiveness, covering evidence from the OECD Global Forum on Productivity, national productivity commissions, and the UK Productivity Insights Network. It highlights the growing consensus around frontier-laggard firm dynamics, the importance of management practices and intangible capital for productivity growth, and the role of regional agglomeration and place-based policy. The article emphasizes the need for better micro-data integration and a systems approach to productivity policy. Cet article de recension évalue les récentes recherches comparatives sur les institutions de productivité et l’efficacité des politiques, couvrant les données probantes du Forum mondial de l’OCDE sur la productivité, des commissions nationales de la productivité et du Réseau d’analyse de la productivité du Royaume-Uni. Il met en lumière le consensus croissant autour de la dynamique pointe-retardataires des entreprises, l’importance des pratiques de gestion et du capital immatériel pour la croissance de la productivité, et le rôle de l’agglomération régionale et des politiques axées sur les lieux. L’article souligne la nécessité d’une meilleure intégration des microdonnées et d’une approche systémique de la politique de productivité. [Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-38-7-O_Mahony.pdf)