A DETAILED ANALYSIS OF NEWFOUNDLAND AND LABRADOR'S PRODUCTIVITY PERFORMANCE, 1997-2018
Andrew Sharpe and John Tsang, July 2019
Get paper (PDF)| Executive Summary

Report on the Measurement of Real Output and the Implications for Measuring Productivity Growth and Technical Progress 
Michael Denny, 1974, Amended 1998, Amended 2016
Read more | Get paper (PDF) | Comments on Statistics Canada's 2016 productivity efforts (PDF)

Introduction:
Theoretical and practical problems of measuring output in the economy have produced a lengthy and detailed literature. Since we do not wish to replicate arguments that have been extensively debated in the literature, many points will be simply reviewed.ii In addition, a certain structure has to be imposed on the extensive material so that particular points can be clearly understood independently of the complex whole. ...This report is particularly concerned with the problem of defining a measure of output for individual industries in an economy. However, there appears to be considerable confusion arising from considerations that are most relevant for measuring output or income for the whole economy with those for a single industry. The first section will establish the three types of output measures that we will consider. This will be followed by a review of the measurement of output for the whole economy. The remaining sections contain a more detailed consideration of industry output. A theoretical discussion of real value-added is followed by an analysis of recent Canadian practices in real output measurement. These are done without any concern for technical change and productivity. The final two sections introduce technical change and productivity.

A Detailed Analysis of Newfoundland and Labrador's Productivity Performance, 1997-2010: The Impact of the Oil Boom 
Etienne Grand’Maison and Andrew Sharpe, July 2013
Read more | A Detailed Analysis of Newfoundland and Labrador's Productivity Performance, 19

Abstract:
Propelled by the mining and oil and gas sector, Newfoundland and Labrador’s economy experienced impressive growth in the past decade. During the 1997-2010 period, real GDP in the province's business sector increased at nearly twice the rate of Canada's, while ...the province's labour productivity growth was more than three times greater than Canada's. This report provides a detailed analysis of Newfoundland and Labrador's labour, capital and multifactor productivity performance and the factors behind this performance. It identifies the province’s shift to high- productivity oil extraction activities as the main factor responsible for this remarkable productivity growth while also discussing the positive spill-over effects that this shift has had on Newfoundland and Labrador's economy as a whole.

Highlights:
Newfoundland and Labrador's economy has experienced impressive growth in recent years. Real GDP in the province's business sector increased at nearly twice the rate of Canada's (4.55 per cent vs. 2.50 per cent per year) between 1997 and 2010, while the province's labour productivity growth was more than three times greater than Canada's (3.86 per cent vs. 1.29 per cent).