Measuring Productivities for the 38 OECD Member Countries: An Input-Output Modelling Approach

Abstract

Using a multisectoral model and the latest data from the OECD Input-Output Tables (IOTs-2021 ed.), this article estimates labour and capital productivities of the 38 OECD member countries. As measures of the productivity of labour, we consider the inverse of the vertically integrated labour coefficients, while Perron–Frobenius theorems are employed so as to measure capital productivity. In this respect, the productive technologies and the intersectoral relationships of each economy are taken into account. We further investigate the relationship between productivity, economic efficiency and living standards. Findings indicate that the impact of capital productivity on higher living standards depends on the evolutionary and institutional background of the economy at hand.

Keywords

• capital productivity
• input-output analysis
• labour productivity
• OECD member counties
• Perron–Frobenius eigenvalues