Bart van Ark

Executive Vice President & Chief Economist The Conference Board

Bart van Ark is executive vice president and chief economist of The Conference Board. He leads a team of almost two dozen economists who produce a range of widely watched economic indicators and growth forecasts, as well as indepth global economic research. A Dutch national, he is the first non-U.S. chief economist in the 95-year history of The Conference Board. Van Ark is an expert in international comparative studies of economic performance, productivity, and innovation. As a consulting director of international economic research for The Conference Board for 10 years he was responsible for its annual flagship publication on productivity and instrumental in helping to expand its comparative analytical capabilities to include productivity and labor and consumer-market research across countries and regions. Van Ark continues to steward the longstanding research collaboration of The Conference Board with the University of Groningen in the Netherlands; a professor there since 2000, he holds the university’s chair in Economic Development, Technological Change and Growth. Van Ark obtained his Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in economics from the University of Groningen. From 1988 to 1990 he worked as a research associate with the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (UK) on international comparisons of economic performance in Europe. He has participated in international research projects such as the Productivity Research Program of the McKinsey Global Institute. Van Ark has been extensively published in national and international journals, including the Journal of Economic Perspectives, Economic Policy, the Review of Income and Wealth, and The Brookings Papers on Economic Activity. He is a member of the editorial boards of several academic journals and serves on various advisory committees in the areas of productivity and national accounts.

Publications by Bart van Ark

China Center Publications

• China Center Quick Note: Barring the unexpected, China’s economy to downshift considerably, as a natural consequence of both size and maturation
  21 February, 2013

Economics Program Working Paper Series

• Recent Changes in Europe’s Competitive Landscape and Medium-Term Perspectives: How the Sources of Demand and Supply Are Shaping Up
  06 May, 2013
• Projecting Global Growth
  13 November, 2012
• Projecting Economic Growth with Growth Accounting Techniques: The Conference Board Global Economic Outlook 2012 Sources and Methods
  15 November, 2011
• The Cost Competitiveness of the Manufacturing Sector in China and India: An Industry and Regional Perspective
  05 January, 2009
• Measuring Changes in Competitiveness in Chinese Manufacturing Industries Across Regions in 1995 – 2004: An Unit Labor Cost Approach
  07 July, 2008
• Innovation, Intangibles and Economic Growth: Towards A Comprehensive Accounting of the Knowledge Economy
  05 December, 2007
• Europe's Productivity Gap: Catching Up or Getting Stuck?
  05 June, 2006
• Appendices to "Internationally Comparable Science, Technology and Competitiveness Indicators"
  01 June, 2006
• International Comparisons of R&D Expenditure: Does an R&D PPP make a difference?
  13 November, 2004
• The Structure of Business R&D: Recent Trends and Measurement Implications
  01 August, 2004
• ICT and Productivity in Europe and the United States: Where Do the Differences Come From?
  09 October, 2003
• International Comparisons of R&D Expenditure: Does an R&D PPP make a difference?
  16 June, 2003
• The Employment Effects of the 'New Economy' A Comparison of the European Union and the United States
  20 March, 2003
• 'Changing Gear' - Productivity, ICT and Services Industries: Europe and the United States
  04 December, 2002

Economics Watch Reports

• The Conference Board Economics Watch^® - European View
  28 June, 2012
• The Conference Board Economics Watch^® - European View
  19 February, 2012

Executive Action Report

• Will the Decline in Unit Labor Cost in Europe's Troubled Economies Help Improve Competitiveness?
  30 January, 2013
• Despite the Chaos, Europe's Economies Are Regaining Competitiveness through Improvements in Unit Labor Cost Performance
  27 July, 2012
• Escaping the Sovereign-Debt Crisis: Productivity-Driven Growth and Moderate Spending May Offer a Way Out
  14 December, 2010
• The 2010 Productivity Brief: Productivity, Employment, and Growth in the World's Economies
  20 January, 2010
• Is ICT's Contribution to Productivity Growth Peaking?
  23 January, 2007
• Competitive Advantage of “Low-Wage” Countries Often Exaggerated
  02 October, 2006
• EU Labor Productivity and Employment Improve in 2004—but U.S. Still Leads
  19 January, 2005
• New Member States Will Raise Productivity Growth of Enlarged European Union—but U.S. Lead Still Strong
  11 February, 2004
• Productivity and Global Competitiveness... Despite Cyclical Downturn, Structural Trends in Productivity Remain in Place Into 2003
  23 January, 2003
• Europe Vs. The United States: Which Industries are Leading the Productivity Race?
  28 June, 2002

Research Report

• Performance 2011: Productivity, Employment, and Growth in the World's Economies
  07 June, 2011
• Productivity, Performance, and Progress: Germany in International Comparative Perspective
  12 August, 2009
• Innovation and US Competitiveness: Reevaluating the Contributors to Growth
  07 May, 2009
• Growing Beyond Oil: Productivity, Performance, and Progress in the Countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council
  11 June, 2008
• Performance 2008: Productivity, Employment, and Growth in the World's Economies
  06 March, 2008
• Performance 2005: Productivity, Employment and Income in the World’s Economies
  09 May, 2005
• The Retail Revolution - Can Europe Match U.S. Productivity Performance?
  04 March, 2005
• Performance 2004
  20 May, 2004
• Performance 2002: Productivity, Employment, and Income in the World’s Economies
  18 March, 2003
• Making the Most of the Information Age: Productivity and Structural Reform in the New Economy
  02 October, 2001
• Performance 2000: Productivity, Employment, and Income in the World's Economies
  12 March, 2001
• Are Poor Nations Closing the Gap in Living Standards?: Perspectives on a Global Economy
  13 January, 2000
• Perspectives on a Global Economy
  01 January, 2000
• The Euro-What Impact Will It Have on European Labor Markets: Perspectives on a Global Economy
  18 February, 1999
• Asia After the Crisis—Challenges for a Return to Rapid Growth: Perspectives on a Global Economy
  14 July, 1998
• Technology, Productivity and Growth: U.S. and German Issues: Perspectives on a Global Economy
  01 December, 1997

External Publications

• Bart van Ark, Janet X. Hao, Carol Corrado & Charles Hulten (2009), "Measuring intangible capital and its contribution to economic growth in Europe" , EIB Papers, European Investment Bank, Vol. 14, No.1, pp. 62-99.
• Bart van Ark (2010), "Productivity, Sources of Growth and Potential Output in the Euro Area and the United States" , Intereconomics 2010/1, pp. 17-20.
• Vivian Chen, Abhay Gupta, Andre Therrien, Gad Levanon and Bart van Ark (2010), "Recent Productivity Developments in the World Economy: An Overview from The Conference Board Total Economy Database," International Productivity Monitor, Spring, pp. 3-19.
• Bart van Ark, Adbul Azeez Erumban, Vivian Chen and Utsav Kumar (2010), "The Cost Competitiveness of Manufacturing in China and India: An Industry and Regional Perspective" , in Barry Eichengreen, Poonam Gupta and Rajiv Kumar, eds., Emerging Giants. China and India in the World Economy, Oxford University Press, pp. 87-124