WAGES AND PRODUCTIVITY GROWTH IN THE NORDIC COUNTRIES

The study examines growth in productivity and real wages in four Nordi c countries, viz. Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, thus extending Gordon's (1987) analysis concentrating on the U.S., Japan and Europe. The results confirm certain key findings of Gordon's (1987) study. In particular, the cyclically adjusted measures of productivity growth co nfirm the slowdown in productivity growth in the mid-1970s. Gordon's f inding that there are considerable differences across the different se ctors of the economy is similarly supported. As far as country-specifi c development in productivity growth is concerned, the results imply t hat there are considerable inter-country differences which Gordon's st udy fails to reveal. In this respect Gordon's estimates for 'Europe', if taken at face value, can be somewhat misleading. Furthermore, contr ary to Gordon, the results suggest that the decline in the underlying productivity trend in the 1970s was not permanent but showed a recover y in the 1980s.