How can productivity benefit not just business and the economy, but also ourselves? What does it take for a society to grow productivity and raise well-being? Can digital technology make us happier, as well as more productive?

In this episode, we look at which investments are needed to create more well-being and what role social factors, such as trust, play in raising productivity and well-being. The discussion is varied, with conversations about how we measure well-being effectively and what further data is needed to make informed choices, as well as a debate on whether digital technology has a positive impact on our lives and on our productivity as a whole.

Host Professor Bart van Ark is joined by:

• Conal Smith, Senior Economist at the Institute for Governance and Policy Studies at Victoria University of Wellington
• Tim Hazledine, Professor of Economics at the University of Auckland Business School (retired)
• Diane Coyle, Bennett Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge

For more information on the topic:

• The International Productivity Monitor, number 42, is available from The Productivity Institute resource centre with copies of all of the papers referenced in this episode.
• Well-being and Productivity: A Capital Stocks Approach, 2021, Conal Smith and Jaimie Legge.
• Trust, Deep Trust, Productivity and Well-being in 136 Countries, 2021 Tim Hazledine.
• Time Use, Productivity, and Household-Centric Measurement of Welfare in the Digital Economy, 2021, Diane Coyle and Leonard Nakamura.
• World Happiness Report, 2022.

About Productivity Puzzles:

Productivity Puzzles is sponsored by Capita and 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’s funded by the Economic and Social Research Council.