Productivity, Performance, and Progress: Germany in International Comparative Perspective

This study argues that the key to a successful and sustainable growth strategy for any time and place is to find the optimal balance between labour productivity growth and labour input growth. In other words, economies need to create more productive jobs that will lead to an improvement in average living standards. Productive jobs are also the primary mechanism by which the gains from productivity growth can be widely distributed across the economy—to consumers through lower prices and to workers as higher rewards. These same gains provide the resources for new investments and a sustainable growth path.