Productivity Growth in the Nordic Countries : An Appraisal of Analysis, Data and Methodological Information

• Format: Book
• Language: English
• Published: Copenhagen : Nordic Council of Ministers 2005
• Subjects: työelämä; elinkeinoelämä; työympäristö; työoikeus; kansantalous ja valtion talousarvio; Arbejdsliv; Erhvervsliv; Arbejdsmiljø; Arbejdsret; Samfundsøkonomi og statsbudget; Atvinnulíf; Vinnuumhverfi; Vinnuréttur; Þjóðhagfræði og fjárlög ríkisins; Arbeidsliv; Næringsliv; Arbeidsmiljø; Arbeidsrett; Samfunnsøkonomi og statsbudsjett; Norway; Iceland
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:norden:org:diva-1183; https://doi.org/10.6027/TN2005-549

Even small increases in a country's growth rate can result in large changes in living standards over just one generation. This key insight, which often seems to be forgotten by policymakers, is an important reason why the field of economic growth continues to be a large research field. This report provides an overview of the development of labor productivity in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) since the early 1980s. It also examines if data are consistent with predictions of traditional theories of growth. The analysis shows, for example, that the real wage per employee is positively related to the level of labor productivity - a finding suggesting that changes in relative standards of living have been driven by parallel changes in relative productivity.