--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-42/productivity-growth-in-construction-value-chains/" title: "Productivity Growth in Construction Value Chains" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T08:01:58+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-13T08:01:58+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Spring 2022" ipm_keyword: - "12 countries" - "construction" - "ETLA" - "EU KLEMS" - "Europe" - "Finland" - "ICT" - "patents" - "productivity" - "value chain" - "world input-output" ipm_research_theme: - "Sectoral and firm-level dynamics" ipm_country_focus: - "Europe" - "Finland" - "International" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp" status: "publish" --- # Productivity Growth in Construction Value Chains Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-42/productivity-growth-in-construction-value-chains/ # Productivity Growth in Construction Value Chains [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-42-1-Kuusi-Kulvik-Junnonen.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: Kuusi, Tero, Martti Kulvik, and Juha-Matti Junnonen. 2022. “Productivity Growth in Construction Value Chains.” International Productivity Monitor, No. 42 (Spring 2022): 3–32. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-42/productivity-growth-in-construction-value-chains/ ## Authors: - Tero Kuusi The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy (ETLA); Tampere University - Martti Kulvik The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy (ETLA); Tampere University - Juha-Matti Junnonen The Research Institute of the Finnish Economy (ETLA); Tampere University ## IPM Issue 42 Spring 2022 pp. 3–32 ## 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/) [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/) [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/) [Climate Change and Productivity — An Exploration Dirk Pilat Fall 2024 | IPM Issue 47 | pp. 54–86](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-47/climate-change-and-productivity-an-exploration/) [Could Domestic Industrial Policies, Even With Global Fragmentation, Revive Productivity? Catherine Mann Fall 2024 | IPM Issue 47 | pp. 3–19](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-47/could-domestic-industrial-policies-even-with-global-fragmentation-revive-productivity/) ## Abstract ## Résumé EN FR Copy link Email LinkedIn The construction industry has suffered from low productivity growth in recent decades. Motivated by the economic importance of the industry, we revisit the construction productivity puzzle by analyzing the construction value chains of 12 European countries using data from the World Input–Output, the EU KLEMS databases and complementary datasets. We decompose construction-related value added and productivity contributions to both the construction industry and the rest of the value chain and show that the traditional focus on the construction industry is adversely restrictive for understanding productivity growth in construction activities. There is a substantial contribution of construction-related value added generated in other industries, and the productivity growth in the value chains has, for the most part, been seen outside the construction industry. Furthermore, we show that there is a strong, long-term relationship between construction-related patents and the improvement of total factor productivity in the value chains, but the chains typically do suffer from low efficiency in the use of information technology. L’industrie de la construction souffre d’une faible croissance de la productivité depuis des décennies. Motivés par l’importance économique de l’industrie, nous revisitions l’énigme de productivité de la construction en analysant les chaînes de valeur de la construction de 12 pays européens à l’aide de données des bases de données mondiales des entrées-sorties et EU KLEMS. Nous décomposons les contributions à la valeur ajoutée et à la productivité liées à la construction, tant dans l’industrie de la construction que dans le reste de la chaîne de valeur, et montrons que l’accent traditionnel mis sur l’industrie de la construction seule est excessivement restrictif pour comprendre la croissance de la productivité dans les activités de construction. [Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-42-1-Kuusi-Kulvik-Junnonen.pdf)