Performance 2011: Productivity, Employment, and Growth in the World's Economies

Performance 2011 reviews the productivity performance of the global economy based on The Conference Board Total Economy Database^™, and compares performance across more than 100 countries.

Productivity provides a simple but powerful indicator of economic efficiency. Labor productivity, which is referenced throughout this report, measures output per employed worker. During the first decade of this century, more than half of global growth was due to increased productivity, with the remainder coming from employment growth. In 2010, as the world came out of the deepest recession since World War II, two-thirds of global growth was due to increased productivity. Productivity growth is the distinguishing difference, the measure that matters most in analyzing recovery and sustained growth among countries.

This study represents the first opportunity to analyze the impact of the 2008-2009 recession on productivity performance across regions and economies.