--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/issue-1/productivity-convergence-among-oecd-countries-the-postwar-experience/" title: "Productivity Convergence among OECD Countries: The Postwar Experience" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-10T09:12:32+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-13T06:38:05+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Fall 2000" ipm_keyword: - "catch-up hypothesis" - "education" - "investment" - "OECD" - "postwar growth" - "productivity convergence" - "R&D" - "real GDP per worker" ipm_research_theme: - "Productivity trends and comparisons" ipm_country_focus: - "OECD" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp" status: "publish" --- # Productivity Convergence among OECD Countries: The Postwar Experience Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/issue-1/productivity-convergence-among-oecd-countries-the-postwar-experience/ # Productivity Convergence among OECD Countries: The Postwar Experience [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-1-4-Wolff.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: Wolff, Edward. 2000. “Productivity Convergence among OECD Countries: The Postwar Experience.” International Productivity Monitor, No. 1 (Fall 2000): 17–22. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/issue-1/productivity-convergence-among-oecd-countries-the-postwar-experience/ ## Author: - Edward Wolff New York University, Department of Economics ## IPM Issue 1 Fall 2000 pp. 17–22 ## 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/) [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/) [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/) [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/) [Employment, Output and Productivity Adjustment During the Great Recession: The Role of Managerial Quality Gilbert Cette, Jimmy Lopez, Jacques Mairesse, Giuseppe Nicoletti Spring 2024 | IPM Issue 46 | pp. 101–108](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-46/employment-output-and-productivity-adjustment-during-the-great-recession-the-role-of-managerial-quality/) [IPM Issue 47 Editors’ Overview Andrew Sharpe, Bart van Ark Fall 2024 | IPM Issue 47 | pp. 1–2](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-47/) [Data Appendix: International Comparison of UK Productivity John Van Reenen, Xuyi Yang Spring 2024 | IPM Issue 46 | pp. 38–82](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-46/data-appendix-international-comparison-of-uk-productivity/) [Appendix: Investment/Value Added Shares and Capital Stock Growth by Country Bart van Ark, Klaas de Vries, Abdul Erumban Spring 2024 | IPM Issue 46 | pp. 66–82](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-46/appendix-investment-value-added-shares-and-capital-stock-growth-by-country/) ## Abstract ## Résumé EN FR Copy link Email LinkedIn This article examines postwar productivity convergence among OECD countries, documenting strong catch-up from 1950 to 1990 — with the coefficient of variation in real GDP per worker falling by more than half — before convergence stalled in the 1990s. Regression analysis shows initial productivity levels, investment rates, R&D intensity, and secondary school enrollment all significantly explain differences in productivity growth. The article concludes that convergence ended in the 1990s partly due to sluggish European and Japanese growth and the narrowing of the productivity gap with the United States, which itself was accelerating. Cet article examine la convergence de la productivité des pays de l’OCDE depuis la guerre, documentant un fort rattrapage de 1950 à 1990 — le coefficient de variation du PIB réel par travailleur ayant été réduit de plus de moitié — avant que la convergence ne s’essouffle dans les années 1990. L’analyse de régression montre que les niveaux initiaux de productivité, les taux d’investissement, l’intensité de la R-D et le taux de scolarisation au secondaire expliquent de manière significative les différences de croissance de la productivité. L’article conclut que la convergence a pris fin dans les années 1990 en partie en raison de la faible croissance européenne et japonaise et du rétrécissement de l’écart de productivité avec les États-Unis, qui connaissaient eux-mêmes une accélération. [Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-1-4-Wolff.pdf)