--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/issue-5/what-have-two-decades-of-british-economic-reform-delivered-in-terms-of-productivity-growth/" title: "What Have Two Decades of British Economic Reform Delivered in Terms of Productivity Growth?" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T05:42:47+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-13T06:41:24+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Fall 2002" ipm_keyword: - "economic reform" - "GDP per capita" - "labour market" - "living standards" - "privatization" - "productivity" - "Thatcher" - "unions" - "United Kingdom" ipm_research_theme: - "Policy and institutions" - "Productivity trends and comparisons" ipm_country_focus: - "France" - "Germany" - "OECD" - "United Kingdom" - "United States" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp" status: "publish" --- # What Have Two Decades of British Economic Reform Delivered in Terms of Productivity Growth? Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/issue-5/what-have-two-decades-of-british-economic-reform-delivered-in-terms-of-productivity-growth/ # What Have Two Decades of British Economic Reform Delivered in Terms of Productivity Growth? [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-5-3-Card-Freeman.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: Card, David, and Richard Freeman. 2002. “What Have Two Decades of British Economic Reform Delivered in Terms of Productivity Growth?” International Productivity Monitor, No. 5 (Fall 2002): 41–52. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/issue-5/what-have-two-decades-of-british-economic-reform-delivered-in-terms-of-productivity-growth/ ## Authors: - David Card Department of Economics, University of California Berkeley; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); London School of Economics; Harvard University; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) - Richard Freeman Department of Economics, University of California Berkeley; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER); London School of Economics; Harvard University; National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) ## IPM Issue 5 Fall 2002 pp. 41–52 ## 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/) [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/) [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/) [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 This article examines the impact of two decades of market-oriented economic reforms in the United Kingdom on productivity and living standards. It finds that while the UK arrested its relative decline in GDP per capita and labour productivity relative to Germany, France, and the U.S., it did not experience an American-style new economy boom. The authors estimate that reforms in union-management relations, privatization, profit and share ownership, and self-employment increased UK productivity growth by approximately 0.35 percentage points per year over 1979–1999, accounting for about one quarter of the pick-up in productivity relative to the prior period. Cet article examine l’impact de deux décennies de réformes économiques axées sur le marché au Royaume-Uni sur la productivité et le niveau de vie. Il constate que si le Royaume-Uni a enrayé son déclin relatif en matière de PIB par habitant et de productivité du travail par rapport à l’Allemagne, à la France et aux États-Unis, il n’a pas connu le boom de la nouvelle économie à l’américaine. Les auteurs estiment que les réformes dans les relations syndicales-patronales, la privatisation, la participation aux bénéfices et à l’actionnariat, et le travail indépendant ont accru la croissance de la productivité au Royaume-Uni d’environ 0,35 point de pourcentage par année sur la période 1979-1999, représentant environ le quart de la reprise de la productivité par rapport à la période précédente. [Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-5-3-Card-Freeman.pdf)