October 19, 2012 – A new report on Canada’s productivity has stirred up a lot of debate. The paper by Erwin Diewert, a leading Canadian economist and world-renowned productivity expert, says productivity has actually been rising and has bounced back strongly from the recession. This is contrary to official figures that show that productivity has been slipping badly since the 1970s.
In a Globe and Mail article published today, Barrie McKenna and Tavia Grant discuss the new report and ask MLI’s Philip Cross to weigh in. According to Cross, it’s not that the official numbers are necessarily flawed, but the figures are at least open to question. He adds, “Whereas Statscan doesn’t like any questions about this, I think it’s good that a leading expert like Erwin asks these questions.”
Click here to read the article.
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