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UK Growth and Productivity in an International Perspective: Evidence from EU KLEMS

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 March 2020

Mary O'Mahony  and
Catherine Robinson
Mary O'Mahony
Affiliation:
University of Birmingham and National Institute of Economic and Social Research
Catherine Robinson*
Affiliation:
National Institute of Economic and Social Research
*
e-mail: k.robinsons@niesr.ac.uk
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Abstract

The productivity performance of the UK relative to its major competitors has been a concern for much of the postwar period. There is a general perception that, in recent years, its position has improved, however, most work stops short of the period in question. Newly constructed data from the EU KLEMS productivity and growth accounts database provides an insight into UK productivity performance and that of its major competitors. This paper provides an overview of recent UK performance relative to France, Germany and the US and finds that the UK has seen a rise in output and employment growth since 1995. Growth has been particularly strong in ICT producing sectors and market service sectors. With this in mind, there are perhaps some grounds for optimism for the future of productivity growth in the UK.

Keywords

Productivityindustry growth: international comparisonsD24F43J24O47O57
Type
Articles
Information
National Institute Economic Review , Volume 200 , 01 April 2007 , pp. 79 - 86
Copyright
Copyright © 2007 National Institute of Economic and Social Research

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Footnotes

We gratefully acknowledge the EU KLEMS consortium in the construction of the EU KLEMS database. Results for Germany were provided by Bernd Görzig and Martin Gornig at DIW and for France by Laurence Nayman at CEPII. Particular thanks go also to Mari Kangasniemi, Ana Rincon-Aznar and Peter Loveridge at NIESR for their contribution.

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