An audience of more than 70 people, who attended the Society’s 1319th Ordinary General Meeting held in the Metcalfe Theatre of the State Library of NSW on 7 February 2024, enjoyed an outstanding presentation and a lively discussion on “Productivity: what is it, and why it matters” by Emeritus Professor Roy Green AM FRSN, Special Innovation Advisor and former Dean of the Business School at UTS.

Professor Green’s talk discussed the causes of why productivity growth has slowed across most developed economies, and more so in Australia than anywhere else. In the decade to 2020, average annual productivity growth was the lowest in 60 years at 1.1 percent, with Australia slipping down the OECD rankings. — and last year, productivity actually went backward.  His talk addressed the causes of this malaise, identifying the policy errors over the years in Australia, and discussed what might be done to address these issues, drawing from the experience of exemplar nations.

The presentation is now available on the Society’s YouTube channel. Some images from the occasion are available at this link for viewing and downloading.