--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-39/investment-trends-and-productivity-growth-a-cross-country-comparison-of-g-7-countries/" title: "Investment Trends and Productivity Growth: A Cross-Country Comparison of G-7 Countries" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T07:53:17+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-13T07:53:17+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Fall 2020" ipm_keyword: - "2000-2018" - "Canada" - "capital deepening" - "cross-country" - "France" - "G-7" - "Germany" - "investment" - "Italy" - "Japan" - "productivity" - "UK" - "United States" ipm_research_theme: - "Productivity trends and comparisons" ipm_country_focus: - "Canada" - "G-7" - "International" - "OECD" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp" status: "publish" --- # Investment Trends and Productivity Growth: A Cross-Country Comparison of G-7 Countries Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-39/investment-trends-and-productivity-growth-a-cross-country-comparison-of-g-7-countries/ # Investment Trends and Productivity Growth: A Cross-Country Comparison of G-7 Countries [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-39-3-Tang-Wang.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: Tang, Jianmin, and Weimin Wang. 2020. “Investment Trends and Productivity Growth: A Cross-Country Comparison of G-7 Countries.” International Productivity Monitor, No. 39 (Fall 2020): 33–52. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-39/investment-trends-and-productivity-growth-a-cross-country-comparison-of-g-7-countries/ ## Authors: - Jianmin Tang Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada - Weimin Wang Micro-Economic Policy Analysis Branch, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada ## IPM Issue 39 Fall 2020 pp. 33–52 ## 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/) [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/) [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/) [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/) [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/) [De-industrialization and the Great Productivity Slowdown: What Comes Next? 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An Investigation into Recent Productivity Data Revisions Fokke Reitze Gouma, Philip McCann, Raquel Ortega-Argilés Spring 2025 | IPM Issue 48 | pp. 63–84](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-48/are-uk-regional-productivity-disparities-really-narrowing-an-investigation-into-recent-productivity-data-revisions/) [Online Supplementary Material: UK Regional Productivity Data Fokke Reitze Gouma, Philip McCann, Raquel Ortega-Argilés Spring 2025 | IPM Issue 48 | pp. 15–19](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-48/online-supplementary-material-uk-regional-productivity-data/) ## Abstract ## Résumé EN FR Copy link Email LinkedIn This article examines investment trends and their relationship to productivity growth in G-7 countries for 2000-2010 and 2011-2018. It finds that investment growth — particularly in non-residential capital — has been persistently weak in most G-7 countries since the Great Recession, and that this investment weakness is closely linked to the productivity growth slowdown. Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the UK, and the U.S. all showed declining or stagnant investment rates in the latter period, though the severity and composition varied. The article discusses demand-side and supply-side explanations. Cet article examine les tendances d’investissement et leur relation avec la croissance de la productivité dans les pays du G7 pour les périodes 2000-2010 et 2011-2018. Il constate que la croissance de l’investissement — en particulier dans le capital non résidentiel — a été durablement faible dans la plupart des pays du G7 depuis la Grande Récession, et que cette faiblesse de l’investissement est étroitement liée au ralentissement de la croissance de la productivité. Le Canada, la France, l’Allemagne, l’Italie, le Japon, le Royaume-Uni et les États-Unis ont tous affiché des taux d’investissement en baisse ou stagnants dans la dernière période, bien que la gravité et la composition aient varié. 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