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Productivity Trends in the Construction Sector in Canada: A Case of Lagging Technical Progress

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Author Info
Centre for the Study of Living Standards ()
Abstract

Both labour and total factor productivity growth in the total and residential construction sectors in Canada have been negative over the past two decades. This report provides a detailed examination of output, employment, and productivity trends in the construction sector in Canada and by province, with particular attention to the residential construction sector. It puts forth a number of variables to explain these trends and tests these explanations in a regression model. In addition, the report looks at other potential explanatory factors for which time series are not available, with particular reference to measurement issues and technical change; discusses the micro- and macro-economic environment affecting productivity performance in the construction sector; examines the prospects for productivity growth in the construction sector; and makes a number of recommendations for future work. The major conclusion is that lagging technical progress appears to lie at the root of the construction sector’s poor productivity performance. In addition, measurement problems have also likely contributed to the poor measured productivity performance in the sector.

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File URL: http://www.csls.ca/reports/cmhc-f.pdf
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Publisher Info
Paper provided by Centre for the Study of Living Standards in its series CSLS Research Reports with number 01cp.

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Date of creation: Nov 2001
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Handle: RePEc:sls:resrep:01cp

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Related research
Keywords: Canada; Construction; Construction Industry; Productivity; Productivity Growth; Measurement Error; Output Measurement; Technology; Innovation; Residential Construction; Housing;

Find related papers by JEL classification:
L74 - Industrial Organization - - Industry Studies: Primary Products and Construction - - - Construction
J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity
D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Capital and Total Factor Productivity; Capacity
O32 - Economic Development, Technological Change, and Growth - - Technological Change - - - Management of Technological Innovation and R&D

References listed on IDEAS
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  1. Allen, Steven G, 1985. "Why Construction Industry Productivity Is Declining," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 67(4), pages 661-69, November. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
    Other versions:
  2. Martin Neil Baily & Robert M. Solow, 2001. "International Productivity Comparisons Built from the Firm Level," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 15(3), pages 151-172, Summer. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Richard G. Lipsey & Kenneth Carlaw, 2000. "What Does Total Factor Productivity Measure?," International Productivity Monitor, Centre for the Study of Living Standards, vol. 1, pages 31-40, Fall. [Downloadable!]
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This page was last updated on 2009-11-22.

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