Reviving Productivity Growth in Urban Economies

The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting productivity growth in many ways (e.g. through human capital, investment, resource reallocation, frictions to global value chains, etc.) and is likely to leave scars. Fostering digitalisation and intangible investment can help the recovery thanks to their overall positive impact on productivity. Key policies to unlock productivity growth include: high-quality investments in innovation, human capital and infrastructure, well-functioning labour and product markets to facilitate resource reallocation also across sectors, to absorb the shock of the crisis, facilitating access to finance and liquidity, and a supportive business environment. There must be strong value added in international cooperation for productivity-enhancing policies: international cooperation can allow the sharing of information on lessons learnt and best practices. Moreover, common efforts and joint initiatives (for example, in investment) can maximise the impact of the measures and the positive spillovers.Keywords: productivity growth, intangible investemnts, digitalisation, innovation.JEL classification: E20, E22, E24, E30, E60, E66