The OECD’s Global Productivity Forum is like Coachella for economists (if all the acts at Coachella lacked diversity and all the concerts were played in the dated function room of a downtown Marriott). This year, the Forum took place in Ottawa, co-hosted by the Bank of Canada and Innovation, Science and Economic Development, Canada. The... Continue Reading →
Starbucks, Tim Hortons, Second Cup, Timothy’s World of Coffee, Bridgehead, McCafe. Canada’s coffee scene is dominated by half a dozen chains. Some are imported from the US, others are homegrown success stories. They each have a loyal customer base who dutifully line up for their preferred cup of mass-brewed medium, dark or coconut roast. Each... Continue Reading →
Labour productivity grew rapidly in many OECD economies during the second half of the 20th Century. This was mostly the result of catching-up as nations adopted existing, but as-yet unexploited technologies. Once these catch-up wins were realised, productivity growth would revert. The rapid dispersion of information and communication technologies in the mid-1990s spawned a new... Continue Reading →
We lack, above all, the entrepreneurial initiative achieved by others, not because their people have greater potential than Canadian’s, but because their corporations and their countries have been forced to develop more vigorous responses by exposure to severe conditions from which we have been insulated… The generation of indigenous technology, and the relentless search for... Continue Reading →
TALES FROM THE LONG TAIL 