Sectoral Contributions to Labour Productivity Growth

Addressing Canada’s slow productivity growth has become a public policy priority. However, this paper argues that declines or slower growth in aggregate labour productivity should not automatically be interpreted as a deterioration in living standards. Improvements in an economy’s terms of trade als...

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Main Author: Bev Dahlby
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: University of Calgary 2025-03-01
Series:The School of Public Policy Publications
Online Access:https://www.policyschool.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/FP-11-LabProdGrowth-Final.pdf
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author Bev Dahlby
author_facet Bev Dahlby
author_sort Bev Dahlby
collection DOAJ
description Addressing Canada’s slow productivity growth has become a public policy priority. However, this paper argues that declines or slower growth in aggregate labour productivity should not automatically be interpreted as a deterioration in living standards. Improvements in an economy’s terms of trade also play a crucial role in advancing living standards. Low rates of productivity growth may, in some cases, result from welfare-enhancing reallocations of labour into sectors with lower labour productivity.
format Article
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institution DOAJ
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publishDate 2025-03-01
publisher University of Calgary
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spelling doaj-art-3f320819b8a0453f86391e0ca6dab7592025-08-20T03:14:58ZengUniversity of CalgaryThe School of Public Policy Publications2560-83122560-83202025-03-011809128http://dx.doi.org/10.55016/ojs/sppp.v18i1.80463Sectoral Contributions to Labour Productivity GrowthBev Dahlby0University of CalgaryAddressing Canada’s slow productivity growth has become a public policy priority. However, this paper argues that declines or slower growth in aggregate labour productivity should not automatically be interpreted as a deterioration in living standards. Improvements in an economy’s terms of trade also play a crucial role in advancing living standards. Low rates of productivity growth may, in some cases, result from welfare-enhancing reallocations of labour into sectors with lower labour productivity.https://www.policyschool.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/FP-11-LabProdGrowth-Final.pdf
spellingShingle Bev Dahlby
Sectoral Contributions to Labour Productivity Growth
The School of Public Policy Publications
title Sectoral Contributions to Labour Productivity Growth
title_full Sectoral Contributions to Labour Productivity Growth
title_fullStr Sectoral Contributions to Labour Productivity Growth
title_full_unstemmed Sectoral Contributions to Labour Productivity Growth
title_short Sectoral Contributions to Labour Productivity Growth
title_sort sectoral contributions to labour productivity growth
url https://www.policyschool.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/FP-11-LabProdGrowth-Final.pdf
work_keys_str_mv AT bevdahlby sectoralcontributionstolabourproductivitygrowth