Author Description

This study examines the dynamics of the rapid productivity growth that occurred in the Canadian broadcasting and telecommunications industry since the mid-1980s. Growth within firms was the main contributor to aggregate productivity growth. Both technical progress and scale economies contributed to aggregate productivity growth. During the 1984-to-1998 period, the competitive process associated with firm entry and exit made an important contribution to aggregate labour productivity growth. During the 2000-to-2008 period, firm entry and exit made little contribution to aggregate labour and multifactor productivity growth. Growth in aggregate labour productivity fell between these two periods, mainly because of a decline in the contribution of capital intensity, especially that from entry and exit.