A Study of 16 Countries Shows That the Most Productive Firms (and Their Employees) Are Pulling Away from Everyone Else

The corporate landscape has become increasingly unequal, with the most productive firms thriving and the least productive ones failing to keep up. This matters not just for economic growth but also for inequality: our research shows that as they grow apart in productivity, firms are also becoming more unequal in how much they pay workers. The authors’ work makes two additional contributions. First, they use new OECD data which is representative of the whole population of businesses in 16 countries. And second, they are able to link it to firms’ productivity. They find that technology, trade, and labor markets all play a role. Link to the article

BERLINGIERI, G., BLANCHENAY, P. and CRISCUOLO, C. (2017). A Study of 16 Countries Shows That the Most Productive Firms (and Their Employees) Are Pulling Away from Everyone Else. Harvard Business Review, Digital.