Main lessons of the NBB’s 2014 conference on “Total factor productivity : measurement, determinants and effects”

The article summarises the scientific contributions and discussions at the 2014 conference organised by the NBB on “Total factor productivity : measurement, determinants and impacts”. At this conference, six original contributions were presented and discussed. They addressed the following questions : (i) what are the implications of technological progress for the relative demand for production factors ? (ii) what are the implications of ageing for the level of productivity in Belgian firms ? (iii) how does competition from imports affect domestic producers ? (iv) what is the link between production efficiency and the organisation of the goods and labour markets ? (v) does State aid improve corporate productivity ? Apart from these contributions, three lectures looked at the causes of the slowdown in total factor productivity in the advanced economies and the effect of innovations (in the form of products, processes or organisation and management) as a driver of TFP growth. Finally, a panel of international experts discussed the main economic policies necessary to avoid what some refer to as secular stagnation.