--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/issue-6/why-are-americans-more-productive-than-canadians/" title: "Why are Americans More Productive than Canadians?" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T05:42:50+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-13T06:41:26+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Spring 2003" ipm_keyword: - "Canada" - "capital intensity" - "high-tech" - "human capital" - "innovation" - "labour productivity" - "productivity gap" - "R&D" - "TFP" - "United States" 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" --- # Why are Americans More Productive than Canadians? Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/issue-6/why-are-americans-more-productive-than-canadians/ # Why are Americans More Productive than Canadians? [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-6-2-Sharpe.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: Sharpe, Andrew. 2003. “Why are Americans More Productive than Canadians?” International Productivity Monitor, No. 6 (Spring 2003): 19–37. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/issue-6/why-are-americans-more-productive-than-canadians/ ## Author: - Andrew Sharpe Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) ## IPM Issue 6 Spring 2003 pp. 19–37 ## Related IPM articles [Efficiency Adjustment of Hours Worked: Two Possible Modifications of a Jorgensen Production Model Barbara Fraumeni Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 103–115](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/efficiency-adjustment-of-hours-worked-two-possible-modifications-of-a-jorgensen-production-model/) [Labour Productivity as a Measure of Technological Change Ulrich Kohli Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 64–81](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/labour-productivity-as-a-measure-of-technological-change/) [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/) [Appendix: Variable Definitions and Country/Sector Coverage for Regulatory Reform Analysis Gilbert Cette, Jimmy Lopez, Giuseppe Nicoletti, Océane Vernerey Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 1–18](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/appendix-variable-definitions-and-country-sector-coverage-for-regulatory-reform-analysis/) [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/) [IPM Issue 49 Editors’ Overview Andrew Sharpe, Bart van Ark, Paul Schreyer Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 1–2](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/) [De-industrialization and the Great Productivity Slowdown: What Comes Next? 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The article systematically evaluates explanatory factors including capital intensity, innovation and R&D expenditure, high-tech sector size, human capital at the top end of the labour market, and economies of scale and scope. It concludes that Canada’s lower capital intensity and innovation gap are the primary drivers of the persistent productivity level gap. Cet article examine l’écart à long terme dans les niveaux agrégés de productivité du travail entre les États-Unis et le Canada, estimant que la production totale par heure au Canada représentait 89 % du niveau américain en 2002 selon les données d’heures des enquêtes auprès des ménages, ou 81 % selon les données des enquêtes auprès des établissements. L’article évalue systématiquement les facteurs explicatifs, notamment l’intensité du capital, les dépenses en innovation et R-D, la taille du secteur de haute technologie, le capital humain aux échelons supérieurs du marché du travail, et les économies d’échelle et de gamme. Il conclut que la plus faible intensité capitalistique du Canada et son écart d’innovation sont les principaux moteurs de l’écart de niveau de productivité persistant. [Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-6-2-Sharpe.pdf)