The ICOP Manufacturing Database: International Comparisons of Productivity Levels

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Abstract

This article describes the ICOP (International Comparisons of Output and Productivity) project’s methodology for constructing industry-of-origin international comparisons of manufacturing output and productivity using unit value ratios (UVRs) derived from manufacturing censuses. It presents benchmark results for over 30 countries at various stages of development. The article notes that when the more appropriate output-per-hour measure is used, the United States is no longer the manufacturing productivity leader, being surpassed by the Netherlands and Belgium.

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