Lessons for Canada from International Productivity Experience

The objective of this paper is to develop a more comprehensive understanding, from a policy perspective, of key drivers of labour productivity in selected OECD countries and their impact on enhanced productivity performance. The paper first presents some general lessons from the productivity performance of OECD countries and international evidence of productivity drivers based on the OECD growth project and productivity studies by the McKinsey Global Institute. It then briefly discusses the productivity experience of six OECD countries considered of particular interest to Canada — the United States, Australia, Ireland, the United Kingdom, Finland, and Sweden — and comments on possible lessons for Canada from these experiences.