This paper by Dean Parham, establishes six stylised facts about Australia's recent productivity performance and surveys the empirical literature to find reasons for a substantial improvement from the early 1990s.

The paper was invited for publication in The Economic Record and was expected to appear in the June 2004 issue. The paper was revised in December 2003.

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Contents

I Introduction

II   What is different about the 1990s productivity experience?
i   Over 1 percentage point more productivity growth
ii   Improved efficiency rather than additional capital deepening
iii   The productivity shift commenced in the early 1990s
iv   From international productivity growth laggard to frontrunner
v   New service industry contributors
vi   Contemporaneous growth in inputs and productivity

III   Explaining the productivity surge
i   The OECD Growth Project
ii   Studies of Australia’s productivity revival
iii   Openness, trade liberalisation and manufacturing productivity
iv   Technology, R&D and ICTs
v   Human capital
vi   Infrastructure
vii   Factor markets

IV Conclusion

Appendix 1 Existence, timing and size of a structural break

References

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