This episode explores new insights into the productivity puzzle from two fresh pieces of work. First, Diane Coyle discusses her book The Measure of Progress, explaining why what we measure is profoundly important but increasingly difficult. Then, Jan Mischke from the McKinsey Global Institute shares a striking finding from their report The Power of One: a relatively small number of "standout firms" deliver a very big share of a country's productivity growth.
Host Professor Bart van Ark is joined by:
- Diane Coyle, Bennett Professor of Public Policy and Co-Director of the Bennett Institute for Public Policy.
- Jan Mischke, Partner at McKinsey Global Institute.
For more information on the topic:
- Diane Coyle (2025), The Measure of Progress: Counting What Really Matters, Princeton University Press.
- Jan Mischke et al. (2025), The power of one: How standout firms grow national productivity, McKinsey Global Institute May.
- Kate Barker (2025), Review of The Measure of Progress, The Society of Professional Economists, 14 April.
- McKinsey Global Institute (2025), Online summary of The Power of One.
- The Productivity Institute (2023), The Productivity Agenda. A blueprint for boosting the UK’s productivity.
- The Productivity Institute (2024), Productivity Primer. Why productivity matters for the economy, business and places.
- Diane Coyle and Leonard Nakamura (2021), Time Use, Productivity, and Household-Centric Measurement of Welfare in the Digital Economy, The International Productivity Monitor.
- Diane Coyle (1999), The Weightless World: Strategies for Managing the Digital Economy, MIT Press.
- Diane Coyle (2021), Cogs and Monsters: What Economics Is, and What It Should Be, Princeton University Press.
- Zvi Griliches, Productivity, R&D, and the Data Constraint, The American Economic Review Vol. 84, No. 1 (Mar., 1994), pp. 1-23.
About Productivity Puzzles:
Productivity Puzzles is brought to you by The Productivity Institute, a research body involving nine academic institutions across the UK, eight Regional Productivity Forums throughout the nation, and a national independent Productivity Commission to advise policy makers at all levels of government. It is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council
Productivity Puzzles
Join Bart van Ark, Professor of Productivity Studies at the University of Manchester, and the managing director of The Productivity Institute as he brings you discussions with leading minds from the UK and abroad about how to improve productivity for almost everything: from health care to car manufacturing, at national and regional levels, for business and for your own personal productivity.
This podcast series investigates why UK productivity is lower than in many other countries and why are there such large differences in productivity across and within the regions and devolved nations. We’ll also get the best insights from research on smart policies and effective business practices to increase productivity and find out how this will drive prosperity, wellbeing and inclusive sustainable growth.
Productivity Puzzles is brought to you by The Productivity Institute, a research project involving nine academic institutions across the UK, eight regional productivity forums throughout the nation, and a national independent Productivity Commission to advise policy makers at all levels of government.
Find out more about at www.productivity.ac.uk
The Productivity Institute is funded by the Economic and Social Research Council. To find out more, visit: https://esrc.ukri.org/about-us/strategy-and-priorities/productivity/