--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-41/is-egypt-really-more-productive-than-the-united-states-the-data-behind-the-penn-world-table/" title: "Is Egypt Really More Productive than the United States? The Data behind the Penn World Table" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T08:01:56+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-13T08:01:56+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Fall 2021" ipm_keyword: - "capital" - "cross-country" - "development accounting" - "Egypt" - "Groningen" - "mismeasurement" - "Penn World Table" - "productivity levels" - "TFP" - "United States" ipm_research_theme: - "Measurement and methodology" ipm_country_focus: - "Egypt" - "International" - "United States" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp" status: "publish" --- # Is Egypt Really More Productive than the United States? The Data behind the Penn World Table Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-41/is-egypt-really-more-productive-than-the-united-states-the-data-behind-the-penn-world-table/ # Is Egypt Really More Productive than the United States? The Data behind the Penn World Table [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-41-5-Inklaar-Woltjer.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: Inklaar, Robert, and Pieter Woltjer. 2021. “Is Egypt Really More Productive than the United States? The Data behind the Penn World Table.” International Productivity Monitor, No. 41 (Fall 2021): 118–137. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-41/is-egypt-really-more-productive-than-the-united-states-the-data-behind-the-penn-world-table/ ## Authors: - Robert Inklaar University of Groningen; The Conference Board - Pieter Woltjer University of Groningen; Wageningen University ## IPM Issue 41 Fall 2021 pp. 118–137 ## Related IPM articles [Efficiency Adjustment of Hours Worked: Two Possible Modifications of a Jorgensen Production Model Barbara Fraumeni Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 103–115](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/efficiency-adjustment-of-hours-worked-two-possible-modifications-of-a-jorgensen-production-model/) [Labour Productivity as a Measure of Technological Change Ulrich Kohli Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 64–81](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/labour-productivity-as-a-measure-of-technological-change/) [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/) [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? Paul Fisher Spring 2025 | IPM Issue 48 | pp. 115–138](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-48/de-industrialization-and-the-great-productivity-slowdown-what-comes-next/) [The UK Productivity Slowdown: A Review of Timing, Magnitude, and Drivers Josh Martin Spring 2025 | IPM Issue 48 | pp. 1–34](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-48/the-uk-productivity-slowdown-a-review-of-timing-magnitude-and-drivers/) [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/) [Are Intangibles Running out of Steam? Bart van Ark, Klaas de Vries, Abdul Erumban Spring 2024 | IPM Issue 46 | pp. 38–59](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-46/are-intangibles-running-out-of-steam/) [Cracking the Productivity Code: An International Comparison of UK Productivity John Van Reenen, Xuyi Yang Spring 2024 | IPM Issue 46 | pp. 60–82](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-46/cracking-the-productivity-code-an-international-comparison-of-uk-productivity/) ## Abstract ## Résumé EN FR Copy link Email LinkedIn A new feature in recent versions of the Penn World Table (PWT) is data on comparative levels of total factor productivity (TFP) across countries. TFP is defined as the efficiency with which inputs are transformed into outputs, and differences across countries can be due to factors such as better technology or better resource allocation. Yet, surprisingly, in PWT version 10.0, a number of low-income countries have a TFP level well above that of the United States. In this article we discuss the case of Egypt in 2017. PWT then reports a productivity level that is 23 per cent higher than that of the United States despite having an income level of only one fifth of the US level. We trace this anomalous outcome to the underlying data on comparative inputs. A fully satisfactory answer to the question in the title is elusive at this point, but the analysis highlights the data challenges that affect TFP level estimates, alongside more familiar modeling and measurement challenges. Une nouvelle caractéristique des versions récentes des Penn World Tables (PWT) est la disponibilité de données sur les niveaux comparatifs de productivité multifactorielle (PMF) entre les pays. La PMF est définie comme l’efficience avec laquelle les intrants sont transformés en extrants, et les différences entre les pays peuvent être dues à des facteurs tels qu’une meilleure technologie ou une meilleure allocation des ressources. Pourtant, étonnamment, dans la version 10.0 des PWT, un certain nombre de pays à faible revenu affichent un niveau de PMF bien supérieur à celui des États-Unis. Dans cet article, nous examinons le cas de l’Égypte en 2017, pour laquelle les PWT rapportent un niveau de productivité supérieur de 23 % à celui des États-Unis malgré un niveau de revenu de seulement un cinquième du niveau américain. Nous attribuons ce résultat anomal aux données sous-jacentes sur les intrants comparatifs. [Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-41-5-Inklaar-Woltjer.pdf)