---
canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/issue-8/the-oecd-productivity-database-an-overview/"
title: "The OECD Productivity Database: An Overview"
author:
  name: "CSLS"
  url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/"
date_published: "2026-07-13T05:43:12+00:00"
date_modified: "2026-07-13T06:41:32+00:00"
post_type: "ipm"
summary: ""
ipm_issue_period:
  - "Spring 2004"
ipm_keyword:
  - "capital services"
  - "GDP per hour worked"
  - "hours worked"
  - "international comparisons"
  - "labour productivity"
  - "measurement"
  - "multi-factor productivity"
  - "OECD Productivity Database"
ipm_research_theme:
  - "Measurement and methodology"
ipm_country_focus:
  - "International"
  - "OECD"
featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp"
status: "publish"
---

# The OECD Productivity Database: An Overview

Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/issue-8/the-oecd-productivity-database-an-overview/

# The OECD Productivity Database: An Overview

[Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-8-6-Pilat-Schreyer.pdf)

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Cite this article as:

Pilat, Dirk, and Paul Schreyer. 2004. “The OECD Productivity Database: An Overview.” International Productivity Monitor, No. 8 (Spring 2004): 59–65. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/issue-8/the-oecd-productivity-database-an-overview/

## Authors:

-
Dirk Pilat
Economic Analysis and Statistics Division, OECD

-
Paul Schreyer
OECD

## IPM Issue 8

Spring 2004 pp. 59–65

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## Abstract

## Résumé

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This article describes the newly launched OECD Productivity Database, made publicly available in March 2004, which provides internationally comparable estimates of labour productivity (GDP per hour worked) for 26 OECD countries, as well as capital services and multi-factor productivity for 14 countries. The article explains the data sources and measurement choices underlying the database — including GDP from the OECD Annual National Accounts, hours worked from the OECD Employment Outlook, and capital services estimates — and outlines the methodological challenges involved in ensuring cross-country comparability of hours-worked data.

Cet article décrit la base de données de productivité de l’OCDE nouvellement lancée, rendue publique en mars 2004, qui fournit des estimations internationalement comparables de la productivité du travail (PIB par heure travaillée) pour 26 pays de l’OCDE, ainsi que des services du capital et des estimations de productivité multifactorielle pour 14 pays. L’article explique les sources de données et les choix méthodologiques sous-jacents à la base de données — notamment le PIB tiré des Comptes nationaux annuels de l’OCDE, les heures travaillées tirées des Perspectives de l’emploi de l’OCDE et les estimations des services du capital — et présente les défis méthodologiques liés à la garantie de la comparabilité internationale des données sur les heures travaillées.

[Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-8-6-Pilat-Schreyer.pdf)
