--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-38/the-european-productivity-slowdown-were-bubble-sectors-the-culprit/" title: "The European Productivity Slowdown: Were Bubble Sectors the Culprit?" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T07:53:13+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-13T07:53:13+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Spring 2020" ipm_keyword: - "bubble sectors" - "construction" - "EU KLEMS" - "Europe" - "Fernald" - "finance" - "ICT" - "Inklaar" - "IT revolution" - "market services" - "productivity slowdown" ipm_research_theme: - "Productivity trends and comparisons" ipm_country_focus: - "Europe" - "International" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp" status: "publish" --- # The European Productivity Slowdown: Were Bubble Sectors the Culprit? Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-38/the-european-productivity-slowdown-were-bubble-sectors-the-culprit/ # The European Productivity Slowdown: Were Bubble Sectors the Culprit? [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-38-5-Fernald-Inklaar.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: Fernald, John, and Robert Inklaar. 2020. “The European Productivity Slowdown: Were Bubble Sectors the Culprit?” International Productivity Monitor, No. 38 (Spring 2020): 104–135. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-38/the-european-productivity-slowdown-were-bubble-sectors-the-culprit/ ## Authors: - John Fernald INSEAD; Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco - Robert Inklaar University of Groningen; The Conference Board ## IPM Issue 38 Spring 2020 pp. 104–135 ## Related IPM articles [De-industrialization and the Great Productivity Slowdown: What Comes Next? 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Using EU KLEMS data for 11 European countries, it finds that bubble sector expansion did drag on aggregate productivity, but only modestly — accounting for perhaps one-quarter of the slowdown. The broader productivity slowdown across all market sectors, especially ICT-related industries and market services, reflected a common global pattern consistent with the waning of the 1990s IT revolution rather than Europe-specific bubble dynamics. Cet article se demande si la croissance excessive des « secteurs de bulle » (construction et finance) dans l’Europe d’avant la crise explique le ralentissement subséquent de la productivité. À l’aide des données EU KLEMS pour 11 pays européens, il constate que l’expansion des secteurs de bulle a effectivement pesé sur la productivité globale, mais seulement modestement — représentant peut-être un quart du ralentissement. Le ralentissement de la productivité plus large dans tous les secteurs marchands, notamment les industries liées aux TIC et les services marchands, reflétait un schéma mondial commun cohérent avec l’estompement de la révolution informatique des années 1990 plutôt que des dynamiques de bulle propres à l’Europe. [Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-38-5-Fernald-Inklaar.pdf)