--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/issue-6/towards-a-social-understanding-of-productivity-a-review-article/" title: "Towards a Social Understanding of Productivity: A Review Article" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T05:43:03+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-13T06:41:27+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Spring 2003" ipm_keyword: - "Canada" - "Europe" - "growth theory" - "living standards" - "productivity" - "review article" - "social policy" - "social progress" - "United States" ipm_research_theme: - "Well-being and living standards" ipm_country_focus: - "Canada" - "Europe" - "International" - "United States" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp" status: "publish" --- # Towards a Social Understanding of Productivity: A Review Article Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/issue-6/towards-a-social-understanding-of-productivity-a-review-article/ # Towards a Social Understanding of Productivity: A Review Article [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-6-7-Madrick.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: Madrick, Jeff. 2003. “Towards a Social Understanding of Productivity: A Review Article.” International Productivity Monitor, No. 6 (Spring 2003): 72–74. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/issue-6/towards-a-social-understanding-of-productivity-a-review-article/ ## Author: - Jeff Madrick Editor, Challenge: The Magazine of Economic Affairs; Economics Columnist, New York Times ## IPM Issue 6 Spring 2003 pp. 72–74 ## Related IPM articles [Is the SNA Still Useful? 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Paul Fisher Spring 2025 | IPM Issue 48 | pp. 115–138](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-48/de-industrialization-and-the-great-productivity-slowdown-what-comes-next/) [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/) ## Abstract ## Résumé EN FR Copy link Email LinkedIn This review article examines the volume Towards a Social Understanding of Productivity, edited by Andrew Sharpe, France St.-Hilaire, and Keith Banting. The reviewer finds the volume valuable for addressing neglected questions about the relationship between productivity growth and social progress — including the extent to which social factors drive productivity, and whether rising productivity necessarily improves social conditions. Essays highlighted include Richard Harris on social policy and productivity, Tony Fisher and Doug Hostland on Canada’s long-term productivity and living standards, and Bart van Ark on the divergence between GDP per capita in Europe, Canada, and the United States despite similar productivity levels. Cet article de recension examine l’ouvrage collectif Towards a Social Understanding of Productivity, sous la direction d’Andrew Sharpe, France St.-Hilaire et Keith Banting. Le recenceur juge l’ouvrage précieux pour aborder des questions négligées sur la relation entre la croissance de la productivité et le progrès social — notamment dans quelle mesure les facteurs sociaux stimulent la productivité, et si la hausse de la productivité améliore nécessairement les conditions sociales. Parmi les essais mis en lumière figurent ceux de Richard Harris sur la politique sociale et la productivité, de Tony Fisher et Doug Hostland sur la productivité et le niveau de vie à long terme au Canada, et de Bart van Ark sur la divergence entre le PIB par habitant en Europe, au Canada et aux États-Unis malgré des niveaux de productivité similaires. [Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-6-7-Madrick.pdf)