--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/research/exploring-the-linkages-between-productivity-and-social-development-in-market-economies/" title: "Exploring the Linkages between Productivity and Social Development in Market Economies" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-02T14:00:05+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-02T14:00:05+00:00" post_type: "research" summary: "" post_tag: - "Canada" - "education" - "health" - "IEWB" - "inequality" - "poverty reduction" - "productivity" - "social development" - "well-being" country_focus: - "Canada" province_region: - "National" research_theme: - "Economic Well-Being" - "Productivity and Economic Measurement" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/old-reports_hero_banner_bg.webp" status: "publish" --- # Exploring the Linkages between Productivity and Social Development in Market Economies Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/research/exploring-the-linkages-between-productivity-and-social-development-in-market-economies/ # Exploring the Linkages between Productivity and Social Development in Market Economies [Download full PDF report](https://csls.ca/pdf/csls2004-02.pdf) Cite this report × Cite this report as: Sharpe, Andrew. 2004. “Exploring the Linkages between Productivity and Social Development in Market Economies.” CSLS Research Report 2004-02. Ottawa: Centre for the Study of Living Standards. https://csls.ca/research/exploring-the-linkages-between-productivity-and-social-development-in-market-economies/ ## Author: - Andrew Sharpe Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) ## Report 2004-02 February 2004 70 pages ## Related research [Measuring the Appropriate Outcomes for Better Decision-Making: A Framework to Guide the Analysis of Health Policy Matthew Calver March 2016 | Report 2016-03 | 132 pages](https://csls.ca/research/measuring-the-appropriate-outcomes-for-better-decision-making-a-framework-to-guide-the-analysis-of-health-policy-2016-03/) [Living Standards Domain of the Canadian Index of Wellbeing Andrew Sharpe, Christopher Ross November 2011 | Report 2011-17 | 124 pages](https://csls.ca/research/living-standards-domain-of-the-canadian-index-of-wellbeing-2011-17/) [Productivity: Key to Economic Success Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) March 1998 | Report 1998-01 | 99 pages](https://csls.ca/research/productivity-key-to-economic-success/) [Apprenticeship in Canada: A Training System Under Siege? 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The first is a project exploring the linkages between productivity and social well-being involving researchers from around the world and culminating in the edited volume Toward a Social Understanding of Productivity. Contributions discuss both linkages from productivity to social well-being, as in the case of productivity’s role in improving fiscal balances; and from social wellbeing to productivity, as in the case of social and cultural factors surrounding the desire and capacity of families to invest in the education of children having powerful long-term consequences in a knowledge-driven economy. The second area is the Index of Economic Well-being developed by the Centre for the Study of Living Standards. Each of the four components – consumption, stocks of wealth, equality and economic security – are positively affected by productivity, and some in addition can in turn positively affect productivity. The third area is statistical research into the relationship between productivity and poverty in developing countries. It is found that this relationship is even stronger than that between economic growth and poverty reduction, and about as important as that between GDP per capita growth and poverty reduction. It is also found that the level of income inequality mediates the relationship between productivity growth and poverty reduction. The greater the level of inequality and any increase in inequality, the less an increase in productivity and income will reduce poverty. Cet article explore les liens entre la productivité et le développement social, en synthétisant les constats de projets entrepris par le Centre d’étude des niveaux de vie dans trois domaines connexes. Le premier est un projet explorant les liens entre la productivité et le bien-être social, réunissant des chercheurs du monde entier et ayant abouti à l’ouvrage collectif Toward a Social Understanding of Productivity. Les contributions traitent à la fois des liens allant de la productivité vers le bien-être social, comme dans le cas du rôle de la productivité dans l’amélioration des soldes budgétaires, et du bien-être social vers la productivité, comme dans le cas des facteurs sociaux et culturels entourant le désir et la capacité des familles d’investir dans l’éducation de leurs enfants, ce qui a des conséquences importantes à long terme dans une économie axée sur le savoir. Le deuxième domaine est l’Indice de bien-être économique élaboré par le Centre d’étude des niveaux de vie. Chacune des quatre composantes — consommation, stocks de richesse, égalité et sécurité économique — est positivement influencée par la productivité, et certaines peuvent à leur tour influencer positivement la productivité. Le troisième domaine est une recherche statistique sur la relation entre la productivité et la pauvreté dans les pays en développement. On constate que cette relation est encore plus forte que celle entre la croissance économique et la réduction de la pauvreté, et presque aussi importante que celle entre l’inégalité et la pauvreté. [Download full PDF report](https://csls.ca/pdf/csls2004-02.pdf)