s. How do you calculate the productivity rate and what are the aspects that affect this rate? We often hear that productivity is low in Quebec and I would like to know why. ”
clouds dechen
R was found. In the mid-2000s, former Prime Minister Lucien Bouchard made many waves by denouncing the underproduction of Quebecers. when ? Are we lazy? Workers noted.
That is not the question!
Productivity does not measure the amount of effort workers put in, but rather the efficiency of those workers in converting their efforts into production.
To answer your question specifically, Mr. Dechen, we measure productivity by dividing all the wealth generated by the economy — we’re talking here about GDP which reflects the value of all products and services produced in a year — by the number of hours worked.
Using this formula, we arrive at $64.67 in Quebec. However, productivity is 6% higher in Ontario ($68.73) and 12% higher in British Columbia ($72.71), as evidenced by the 2020 Report on Productivity and Prosperity in Quebec, than HEC Montreal. 1.
Unfortunately, the gap is larger with OECD countries which are, on average, 30% more productive than Quebec, while the productivity of a higher category such as Germany, Sweden and France is about 40% more productive than us.
For every hour worked in these countries, the workforce frees up an additional $25.
What explains this gap? European countries set rules to make their markets more competitive, especially in public services, while here, monopolies (such as SAQ) and oligopolies (such as banking, telecommunications and transportation) have a higher berth.
But there are other factors working against us.
First, poor organization of work. Think of a health system where caregivers spend more time filling out paperwork than treating patients.
Then invest in technology. Quebec has fewer large corporations than Ontario. Depending on their size, they are the ones who can increase productivity by investing in robotics and automation.
Then innovation and entrepreneurship. However, Quebec is dumb to create business on a Canadian and global scale.
And finally, education, which is the most important determinant of long-term productivity. So addressing school dropouts – especially among boys in Quebec – is imperative.
More knowledge, more creativity, more innovation…we need it!
Productivity is the main lever for increasing wealth in Quebec, in a context where the increase in the pool of employment is limited by demographics.
Because of the shortage of workers, we are doomed to do a better job.
In its fall economic update, Quebec also issued 350 million over five years to increase funding for business projects and support the creation of innovation zones.
We don’t have a choice. If we want to improve our standard of living in Quebec, productivity is key.
