CSLS Conference on the Canada-U.S. Manufacturing Productivity Gap

Despite the extensive structural reforms the Canadian economy underwent in the 1990s, there had been no narrowing of the gap in manufacturing labour productivity levels between Canada and the United States; indeed the gap had widened, with important implications for Canadian competitiveness and relative living standards. To address slower manufacturing productivity growth and lower productivity levels in Canada, the CSLS organised this international conference, coordinated by Andrew Sharpe (CSLS), Richard Harris (Simon Fraser University) and Jeffrey Bernstein (Carleton University). Fifteen papers by Canadian, American and European productivity experts were presented, with discussion by leading economists, covering the size of the gap, the competitiveness of Canadian manufacturing, measurement problems, the contribution of trade specialization patterns, small business, the innovation gap, and case studies of the auto assembly and chemicals industries. Panels of senior business leaders and policy makers addressed manufacturers’ perspectives and policy levers, with Dale Jorgenson among the distinguished speakers.