--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/issue-5/productivity-issues-in-canada-a-review-article/" title: "Productivity Issues in Canada: A Review Article" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T05:42:48+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-13T06:41:25+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Fall 2002" ipm_keyword: - "Canada" - "CSLS" - "ICT" - "innovation" - "labour productivity" - "living standards" - "productivity" - "review article" ipm_research_theme: - "Productivity trends and comparisons" ipm_country_focus: - "Canada" - "United States" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp" status: "publish" --- # Productivity Issues in Canada: A Review Article Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/issue-5/productivity-issues-in-canada-a-review-article/ # Productivity Issues in Canada: A Review Article [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-5-6-Stewart.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: Stewart, Ian. 2002. “Productivity Issues in Canada: A Review Article.” International Productivity Monitor, No. 5 (Fall 2002): 78–81. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/issue-5/productivity-issues-in-canada-a-review-article/ ## Author: - Ian Stewart Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) ## IPM Issue 5 Fall 2002 pp. 78–81 ## Related IPM articles [Is the SNA Still Useful? 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The reviewer praises the volume’s 25 papers — 10 of which survey international literature — as an essential reference for productivity scholars. Key conclusions highlighted include: accurate measurement is critical; Canada lost significant ground to the United States in the 1990s; Canada needs to close its innovation gap; ICT-producing industries contributed to productivity growth but there is no clear evidence of a pick-up in ICT-using industries; and governments play an important role in fostering productivity growth. Cet article de recension examine l’ouvrage collectif Productivity Issues in Canada, sous la direction de Someshwar Rao et Andrew Sharpe (série de recherche d’Industrie Canada). Le recenceur salue les 25 articles du volume — dont 10 passent en revue la littérature internationale — comme une référence incontournable pour les chercheurs spécialisés dans la productivité. Les principales conclusions mises en lumière comprennent : l’exactitude de la mesure est primordiale; le Canada a perdu beaucoup de terrain par rapport aux États-Unis dans les années 1990; le Canada doit combler son écart d’innovation; les industries productrices de TIC ont contribué à la croissance de la productivité, mais aucune indication nette d’une reprise dans les industries utilisatrices de TIC n’est observée; et les gouvernements jouent un rôle important dans la promotion de la croissance de la productivité. [Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-5-6-Stewart.pdf)