Productivity accounts

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  • Stats in brief: 11-001-X201528112491
    Description: Release published in The Daily – Statistics Canada’s official release bulletin
    Release date: 2015-10-08

  • Articles and reports: 11F0027M2015098
    Description:

    Two sources of industry productivity growth are firm productivity improvements and the reallocation of productive resources from less productive to more productive firms. This paper studies the role of offshoring in improving industry productivity through these two channels, using a new Canadian manufacturing data base that links the Annual Survey of Manufactures and the Importer Register database at the commodity level. The database provides information on direct imports of intermediate inputs by firms. This allows us to estimate offshoring intensity in Canada at the firm level, and to differentiate those imports by region of origin.

    Release date: 2015-06-22

  • Articles and reports: 11F0027M2015097
    Description:

    Canada’s aggregate productivity performance has closely tracked changes in Canada’s trading environment. To gain a better understanding of the link, the Economic Analysis Division of Statistics Canada has conducted a set of studies that investigate whether and how changes in the trading environment, brought about by trade liberalization policies and exchange-rate movements, contributed to productivity growth. The firm-level analysis provides insights into the productivity dynamics that arise from within-industry growth and restructuring as resources are shifted from declining to growing industries. The paper provides an overview of the key Canadian empirical findings over the last two decades.

    Release date: 2015-06-16

  • Articles and reports: 15-206-X2015039
    Description:

    This paper generates updated estimates of depreciation rates to be used in the Canadian Productivity Accounts for the calculation of capital stock and the user cost of capital. Estimates are derived of depreciation profiles for a diverse set of assets, based on patterns of resale prices and retirement ages.

    A maximum likelihood technique is used to jointly estimate changes in the valuation of assets over the course of their service life, as well as the nature of the discard process used to dispose of assets to generate depreciation rates. This method is more efficient than others in producing estimates with less bias and higher efficiency.

    The earlier estimates that were derived for the period from 1985 to 2001 are compared with those for the latest period, from 2002 to 2010.

    Release date: 2015-01-26

  • Journals and periodicals: 15-206-X
    Description:

    This reference publication on productivity in Canada shows how productivity trends affect Canadian living standards and measures the relative productivity performance of Canada and other countries. Its articles cover productivity and related issues, and it illuminates the sources underlying economic growth in Canada.

    Release date: 2015-01-26

  • Articles and reports: 11F0027M2014095
    Description:

    This paper examines the investment performance of Canada and the United States, exploring similarities and differences in investments in fixed assets over the 1990-to-2011 period. This is a period when the two countries experienced different shocks. The United States suffered from a major decline in its housing markets after 2007 that did not hit Canada. The world-resource boom in the post-2000 period had a greater impact on Canada than it did on the United States. The Canada–United States exchange rate appreciated dramatically after 2003 thereby making imported machinery and equipment relatively less expensive in Canada.

    The comparison is primarily based on investment intensity, measured as the ratio of nominal dollar investment to nominal gross domestic product (GDP), but rates of growth of the volume of investment relative to the volume of GDP are also compared.

    Release date: 2014-10-21

  • Articles and reports: 15-206-X2014038
    Description:

    This paper provides an overview of the productivity program at Statistics Canada and a brief description of Canada’s productivity performance. The paper defines productivity and the various measures that are used to investigate different aspects of productivity growth. It describes the difference between partial productivity measures (such as labour productivity) and a more complete measure (multifactor productivity) and the advantages and disadvantages of each. The paper explains why productivity is important. It outlines how productivity growth fits into the growth accounting framework and how this framework is used to examine the various sources of economic growth. The paper briefly discusses the challenges that face statisticians in measuring productivity growth. It also provides an overview of Canada’s long-term productivity performance and compares Canada to the United States—both in terms of productivity levels and productivity growth rates.

    Release date: 2014-09-15

  • Articles and reports: 15-206-X2014037
    Description:

    This paper presents estimates of effective multifactor productivity (MFP) growth for Canada, the United States, Australia, Japan and selected European Union (EU) countries, based on the EU KLEMS productivity database and the World Input-Output Tables. Effective MFP growth captures the impact of the productivity gains in upstream industries on the productivity growth and international competitiveness of domestic industries, thereby providing an appropriate measure of productivity growth and international competitiveness in the production of final demand products such as consumption, investment and export products. A substantial portion of MFP growth, especially for small, open economies such as Canada’s, is attributable to gains in the production of intermediate inputs in foreign countries. Productivity growth tends to be higher in investment and export products than for the production of consumption products. Technical progress and productivity growth in foreign countries have made a larger contribution to production growth in investment and export products than in consumption products. The analysis provides empirical evidence consistent with the hypothesis that effective MFP growth is a more informative relevant indicator of international competitiveness than is standard MFP growth.

    Release date: 2014-09-09

  • Articles and reports: 15-206-X2014036
    Description:

    Leasing is an important means of gaining access to assets, of obtaining finance, and of reducing a lessee’s exposure to the risks inherent to asset ownership. A lease can be either a financial lease (capital lease) or an operating lease (capital rental). A financial lease is one where the legal owner of an asset (lessor) passes the economic ownership to the user of the asset (lessee), who then accepts the operating risks and receives the economic benefits from using the asset in a productive activity. Under an operating lease, the lessor is both the legal owner and the economic owner of the asset leased (rented), bearing the operating risks and receiving the economic benefits from the asset. The lessor transfers only the right to use the asset to the lessee.

    Leasing offers firms the possibility to acquire the right to use capital assets under terms that differ from those prevailing through other financial instruments. The recording of leased assets in the Canadian System of National Accounts is ownership-based rather than user-based. The separation of capital ownership, in particular legal ownership, from the use of capital assets poses challenges to productivity measurement. To obtain consistent productivity measures at an industry level, leased and rented capital assets must be reallocated from owners’ accounts to users’ accounts. By using the General Index of Financial Information (GIFI) corporate balance sheets and detailed input-output tables, this paper tests the robustness of existing practices of data collection on leased and rented capital.

    Release date: 2014-07-22

  • Articles and reports: 15-206-X2014035
    Description:

    This paper highlights revisions to multifactor productivity (MFP) growth and related variables in the business sector and in individual industries, which resulted from the historical revision of the Canadian System of National Accounts (CSNA) released October 1, 2012, revisions to the labour productivity accounts released October 12, 2012, and changes in the estimation of capital input that were made in order to improve its consistency in industry MFP growth estimates.

    The multifactor productivity program produces indexes of MFP and related measures (output, capital input, labour input and intermediate inputs) for the business sector, broad economic sub-sectors, and their constituent industries. The MFP program divides growth in labour productivity into its key determinants: capital intensity (changes in capital per hour worked), investment in human capital, and MFP, which includes technological change, organizational innovation and economies of scale.

    Release date: 2014-07-08
Data (27)

Data (27) (0 to 10 of 27 results)

Analysis (128)

Analysis (128) (30 to 40 of 128 results)

  • Articles and reports: 11-626-X2016057
    Description:

    This Economic Insights article addresses the extent to which immigrants contribute to economic growth. For the first time, the business ownership and job-creation activities of immigrants are addressed. A longer, more detailed study is also available.

    Release date: 2016-03-21

  • Stats in brief: 11-001-X201528112491
    Description: Release published in The Daily – Statistics Canada’s official release bulletin
    Release date: 2015-10-08

  • Articles and reports: 11F0027M2015098
    Description:

    Two sources of industry productivity growth are firm productivity improvements and the reallocation of productive resources from less productive to more productive firms. This paper studies the role of offshoring in improving industry productivity through these two channels, using a new Canadian manufacturing data base that links the Annual Survey of Manufactures and the Importer Register database at the commodity level. The database provides information on direct imports of intermediate inputs by firms. This allows us to estimate offshoring intensity in Canada at the firm level, and to differentiate those imports by region of origin.

    Release date: 2015-06-22

  • Articles and reports: 11F0027M2015097
    Description:

    Canada’s aggregate productivity performance has closely tracked changes in Canada’s trading environment. To gain a better understanding of the link, the Economic Analysis Division of Statistics Canada has conducted a set of studies that investigate whether and how changes in the trading environment, brought about by trade liberalization policies and exchange-rate movements, contributed to productivity growth. The firm-level analysis provides insights into the productivity dynamics that arise from within-industry growth and restructuring as resources are shifted from declining to growing industries. The paper provides an overview of the key Canadian empirical findings over the last two decades.

    Release date: 2015-06-16

  • Articles and reports: 15-206-X2015039
    Description:

    This paper generates updated estimates of depreciation rates to be used in the Canadian Productivity Accounts for the calculation of capital stock and the user cost of capital. Estimates are derived of depreciation profiles for a diverse set of assets, based on patterns of resale prices and retirement ages.

    A maximum likelihood technique is used to jointly estimate changes in the valuation of assets over the course of their service life, as well as the nature of the discard process used to dispose of assets to generate depreciation rates. This method is more efficient than others in producing estimates with less bias and higher efficiency.

    The earlier estimates that were derived for the period from 1985 to 2001 are compared with those for the latest period, from 2002 to 2010.

    Release date: 2015-01-26

  • Journals and periodicals: 15-206-X
    Description:

    This reference publication on productivity in Canada shows how productivity trends affect Canadian living standards and measures the relative productivity performance of Canada and other countries. Its articles cover productivity and related issues, and it illuminates the sources underlying economic growth in Canada.

    Release date: 2015-01-26

  • Articles and reports: 11F0027M2014095
    Description:

    This paper examines the investment performance of Canada and the United States, exploring similarities and differences in investments in fixed assets over the 1990-to-2011 period. This is a period when the two countries experienced different shocks. The United States suffered from a major decline in its housing markets after 2007 that did not hit Canada. The world-resource boom in the post-2000 period had a greater impact on Canada than it did on the United States. The Canada–United States exchange rate appreciated dramatically after 2003 thereby making imported machinery and equipment relatively less expensive in Canada.

    The comparison is primarily based on investment intensity, measured as the ratio of nominal dollar investment to nominal gross domestic product (GDP), but rates of growth of the volume of investment relative to the volume of GDP are also compared.

    Release date: 2014-10-21

  • Articles and reports: 15-206-X2014038
    Description:

    This paper provides an overview of the productivity program at Statistics Canada and a brief description of Canada’s productivity performance. The paper defines productivity and the various measures that are used to investigate different aspects of productivity growth. It describes the difference between partial productivity measures (such as labour productivity) and a more complete measure (multifactor productivity) and the advantages and disadvantages of each. The paper explains why productivity is important. It outlines how productivity growth fits into the growth accounting framework and how this framework is used to examine the various sources of economic growth. The paper briefly discusses the challenges that face statisticians in measuring productivity growth. It also provides an overview of Canada’s long-term productivity performance and compares Canada to the United States—both in terms of productivity levels and productivity growth rates.

    Release date: 2014-09-15

  • Articles and reports: 15-206-X2014037
    Description:

    This paper presents estimates of effective multifactor productivity (MFP) growth for Canada, the United States, Australia, Japan and selected European Union (EU) countries, based on the EU KLEMS productivity database and the World Input-Output Tables. Effective MFP growth captures the impact of the productivity gains in upstream industries on the productivity growth and international competitiveness of domestic industries, thereby providing an appropriate measure of productivity growth and international competitiveness in the production of final demand products such as consumption, investment and export products. A substantial portion of MFP growth, especially for small, open economies such as Canada’s, is attributable to gains in the production of intermediate inputs in foreign countries. Productivity growth tends to be higher in investment and export products than for the production of consumption products. Technical progress and productivity growth in foreign countries have made a larger contribution to production growth in investment and export products than in consumption products. The analysis provides empirical evidence consistent with the hypothesis that effective MFP growth is a more informative relevant indicator of international competitiveness than is standard MFP growth.

    Release date: 2014-09-09

  • Articles and reports: 15-206-X2014036
    Description:

    Leasing is an important means of gaining access to assets, of obtaining finance, and of reducing a lessee’s exposure to the risks inherent to asset ownership. A lease can be either a financial lease (capital lease) or an operating lease (capital rental). A financial lease is one where the legal owner of an asset (lessor) passes the economic ownership to the user of the asset (lessee), who then accepts the operating risks and receives the economic benefits from using the asset in a productive activity. Under an operating lease, the lessor is both the legal owner and the economic owner of the asset leased (rented), bearing the operating risks and receiving the economic benefits from the asset. The lessor transfers only the right to use the asset to the lessee.

    Leasing offers firms the possibility to acquire the right to use capital assets under terms that differ from those prevailing through other financial instruments. The recording of leased assets in the Canadian System of National Accounts is ownership-based rather than user-based. The separation of capital ownership, in particular legal ownership, from the use of capital assets poses challenges to productivity measurement. To obtain consistent productivity measures at an industry level, leased and rented capital assets must be reallocated from owners’ accounts to users’ accounts. By using the General Index of Financial Information (GIFI) corporate balance sheets and detailed input-output tables, this paper tests the robustness of existing practices of data collection on leased and rented capital.

    Release date: 2014-07-22
Reference (24)

Reference (24) (0 to 10 of 24 results)

  • Notices and consultations: 13-605-X
    Description: This product contains articles related to the latest methodological, conceptual developments in the Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts as well as the analysis of the Canadian economy. It includes articles detailing new methods, concepts and statistical techniques used to compile the Canadian System of Macroeconomic Accounts. It also includes information related to new or expanded data products, provides updates and supplements to information found in various guides and analytical articles touching upon a broad range of topics related to the Canadian economy.
    Release date: 2024-02-29

  • Surveys and statistical programs – Documentation: 15-206-X2013031
    Description:

    This paper describes the evolution of the Multifactor Productivity Program launched at Statistics Canada in 1987 and the improvements made in multifactor productivity measurement since then. The improvements were made in response to developments in the economic literature, better data sources, and the needs of the user community. The paper also summarizes research that uses alternate data and methodologies to assess the accuracy of the Multifactor Productivity Program and to provide insights into areas that traditional international multifactor productivity programs omit. Finally, the paper outlines future directions that are being contemplated to further improve the measurement of productivity at Statistics Canada.

    Release date: 2013-05-28

  • Surveys and statistical programs – Documentation: 13-605-X201200311728
    Description:

    This report highlights the revisions to the quarterly estimates of labour productivity and associated variables in the business sector resulting from the historical revision of the national gross domestic product by income and by expenditure accounts (NIEA) released on October 1st, 2012.

    Release date: 2012-10-12

  • Surveys and statistical programs – Documentation: 15-206-X2010027
    Description:

    Measures of productivity are derived by comparing outputs and inputs. The System of National Accounts (SNA) in Canada provides a useful framework for organizing the information required for comparisons of this type. Integrated systems of economic accounts provide coherent, consistent alternate estimates of the various concepts that can be used to measure productivity.

    Release date: 2010-06-29

  • Surveys and statistical programs – Documentation: 15-206-X2008018
    Description:

    Official data from statistical agencies are not always ideal for cross-country comparisons because of differences in data sources and methodology. Analysts who engage in cross-country comparisons need to carefully choose among alternatives and sometimes adapt data especially for their purposes. This paper develops comparable capital stock estimates to examine the relative capital intensity of Canada and the United States.

    To do so, the paper applies common depreciation rates to Canadian and U.S. assets to come up with comparable capital stock estimates by assets and by industry between the two countries. Based on common depreciation rates, it finds that capital intensity is higher in the Canadian business sector than in the U.S. business sector. This is the net result of quite different ratios at the individual asset level. Canada has as higher intensity of engineering infrastructure assets per dollar of gross domestic product produced. Canada has a lower intensity of information and communications technology (ICT) machinery and equipment (M&E). Non-ICT M&E and building assets intensities are more alike in the two countries.

    However, these results do not control for the fact that different asset-specific capital intensities between Canada and the United States may be the result of a different industrial structure. When both assets and industry structure are taken into account, the overall picture changes somewhat. Canada's business sector continues to have a higher intensity of engineering infrastructure and about the same intensity of building assets; however, it has a deficit in M&E that goes beyond ICT assets.

    Release date: 2008-07-10

  • Surveys and statistical programs – Documentation: 15-206-X2008017
    Description:

    This paper provides an overview of the productivity program at Statistics Canada and a brief description of Canada's productivity performance. The paper defines productivity and the various measures that are used to investigate different aspects of productivity growth. It describes the difference between partial productivity measures (such as labour productivity) and a more complete measure (multifactor productivity) and the advantages and disadvantages of each. The paper explains why productivity is important. It outlines how productivity growth fits into the growth accounting framework and how this framework is used to examine the various sources of economic growth. The paper briefly discusses the challenges that face statisticians in measuring productivity growth. It also provides an overview of Canada's long-term productivity performance and compares Canada to the United States - both in terms of productivity levels and productivity growth rates.

    Release date: 2008-02-25

  • Surveys and statistical programs – Documentation: 15-206-X2007014
    Description:

    The Canadian Productivity Accounts (CPA) of Statistics Canada maintain two multifactor productivity (MFP) programs.

    The Major Sector Multifactor Productivity Program develops the indexes of MFP for the total business sector and major industry groups in the business sector.

    The Industry Multifactor Productivity Program or the Industry KLEMS Productivity Program develops the industry productivity database that includes MFP indexes, output, capital (K), labour (L), energy (E), materials (M) and services (S) inputs for the individual industries of the business sector at various levels of industry aggregation. This paper describes the methodologies and data sources that are used to construct the major sector MFP indexes and the industry productivity database (or the KLEMS database). More specifically, this paper is meant to:provide a background of the major sector MFP program and the industry KLEMS productivity program;present the methodology for measuring MFP;describe the data sources and data available from the MFP programs;present a quality rating of the industry KLEMS productivity data; anddescribe the research agenda related to the MFP program.

    Release date: 2007-12-06

  • Surveys and statistical programs – Documentation: 15-206-X2007012
    Description:

    This paper examines the various products associated with the quarterly labour productivity program. It outlines the nature of the volatility in the very short-run estimates and examines properties of the revisions made to the estimates of Canadian labour productivity and its components (gross domestic product and hours worked) since the inception of the program in 2001.

    Release date: 2007-10-18

  • Surveys and statistical programs – Documentation: 15-206-X2007009
    Description:

    This paper examines the effects of alternative specifications of the user costs of capital on the estimated price and volume indices of capital services. It asks how sensitive the results are to the use of exogenous versus endogenous rates of return, to alternate ways of including capital gains, and to whether corrections are made for tax rates. The paper also examines the effect of the various user cost formulae on the measured multifactor productivity growth.

    Release date: 2007-04-04

  • Surveys and statistical programs – Documentation: 15-206-X2007005
    Description:

    This paper generates depreciation profiles for a diverse set of assets based on patterns of resale prices and retirements. In doing so, it explores the sensitivity of estimates of the growth in capital stock and capital services to alternate estimates of depreciation.

    In the first instance, survival analysis techniques are used to estimate changes in valuation of assets over the course of their service life. In the second instance, a two-step procedure is utilized that first estimates the discard function for used assets (assets discarded at zero prices) and then uses the resulting estimates to correct for selection bias that arises when just positive used-asset prices are employed to estimate age-price profiles to produce depreciation rates. For the third method, a discard function and an asset efficiency function are jointly specified and estimated.

    These three different methods produce depreciation profiles that follow convex patterns. Accelerated profiles are apparent for many individual assets in the machinery and equipment and structures classes.

    We also compare the ex post estimates of length of life that are based on outcomes to ex ante expected lives and find they are much the same. We therefore choose ex ante lives along with information from the ex post rates on the rate of decline in an asset's value to generate a set of depreciation rates for use in the productivity accounts.

    We then use our depreciation model to produce estimates of the growth in capital stock and capital services over the 1961 to 1996 period. We find that the resulting estimates of capital stock and capital services are quite similar to those previously produced.

    Release date: 2007-02-12
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