Technology, Productivity and Public Policy*

The poor productivity performance of the UK and the EU when compared with the US has been a major driver of policy reforms over the past decade. This paper considers what the evidence suggests about why we have lagged behind the US, considering among other factors the importance of globalisation and outsourcing, the role for public policy intervention and what the key drivers of growth are likely to be for the future. Copyright 2007 Institute for Fiscal Studies.