Technology and Productivity: A Summary of the Relationship and a Review of Relevant Research

This information bulletin is presented in two sections, which follow a summary of the key findings. The first section addresses the important contribution of productivity to economic growth and explores the relationship between adopting advanced technology and improving productivity. Drawing from the findings of productivity research, the section begins by defining productivity and explains why labour factor productivity is the best measure of, and the key to, productivity enhancement. It then explains how increasing productivity leads to economic growth and a higher standard of living. The section concludes by examining the relationship between adopting advanced technologies and productivity enhancement as shown through a review of relevant research papers. The second section summarizes the individual findings from 16 research papers, which explore the relationship between adopting advanced technologies and enhancing productivity. The Western Centre for Economic Research gratefully acknowledges the support provided by Productivity Alberta for this research bulletin