In the 1980s, TFP grew on average by 1.6%, before declining to 1.1% in the 1990s and to 0.7% between 1999 and 2007. 6 The countries that have managed to exploit the efficiency gains resulting, in particular, from new technology have enjoyed stronger labour productivity growth.
For instance, in the last ten years, investment in information and communication technology in the United States was double that of the euro area. 7 There are many factors behind the low level in total factor productivity growth in the euro area.