Productivity Questionnaire

1. Which of the following are expressions of productivity :

a) Output per worker

b) Output relative to the inputs of labour, plant, equipment, and technology

c) Output relative to taxes paid

2. Which of the following characterize the importance of productivity:

a) Higher productivity allows companies to sustain higher wages to their
employees and greater returns to their shareholders
b) Productivity growth is the most important determinant of sustained
improvements in our standard of living
c) Productivity growth defines the quality of life

d) Productivity improvements and wealth creation support increased spending on

social programs, health care, education, and the environment
3. For which industry are productivity figures easiest to obtain:
a) mining

b) manufacturing

c) business services

4. Which of the following is the most accurate measure of labour productivity:

a) number of units of output per hour worked

b) number of units of output divided by total number of employees

c) Gross Domestic Product divided by total population

5. Total factor productivity or multi-factor productivity is a more complete measure

of productivity than labour productivity. It relates output to a combined measure of
all inputs. Which of the following inputs do you think is the most difficult to measure:
a) material inputs

b) labour input

c) depreciated capital stock

6. Indicate which of the following statements are true:

a) For the overall Canadian economy, the productivity level is below that of the
U.S.
b) In the Canadian manufacturing sector the productivity level is significantly
below that of the U.S.
c) For the decade of the 1990's Canada's productivity gap with the U.S. narrowed

7. Which of the following are key drivers of productivity:

a) investment in machinery and equipment

b) level of education and training of employees

c) government social security spending

d) innovation

8. Which of the following factors has allowed Canadian manufacturing to increase its
competitiveness with the U.S. over the period 1990-97:
a) relative growth in labour compensation

b) relative growth in labour productivity

c) a lower Canadian dollar

9. Living standards are compared internationally by examining GDP per capita.

Which of the following can sustain growth in the standard of living:
a) more people working

b) people working longer hours

c) increased levels of output per worker (higher productivity)

10. In Canadian manufacturing, productivity levels and productivity growth are

positively correlated with which of the following:
a) R&D spending per worker

b) Machinery and Equipment spending per worker

c) Number of employees with university degrees

11. Which of the following are plausible explanations for the Canada-U.S productivity
gap:
a) Canada has a declining share of North American FDI

b) Canada has relatively more small firms than the U.S. and small firms are
generally less technology intensive
c) The Canadian economy is more natural resource intensive than the U.S.
economy
d) U.S. manufacturing is considerably more R&D intensive than Canadian
manufacturing
12. Which province has the highest labour productivity in Canada:
a) British Columbia

b) Alberta

c) Ontario

d) Quebec
13. For Canada to improve it's productivity it could build on it's strengths. In which of
the following areas was Canadian performance stronger than that of the U.S in 1999:
a) A relative abundance of knowledge workers

b) Lower R&D costs, after converting to U.S. dollars

c) Lower labour costs, after converting to U.S. dollars

d) A relatively larger budget surplus than the U.S.