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Reduced to numbers, labor productivity is just a ratio: a measure of output relative to input (in this case, GDP per hour worked, or per worker). But that little ratio [...]

You've heard it before: When the Covid-19 pandemic began, the way people worked, lived and shopped in cities around the world changed dramatically. Many employees abruptly retreated from traditional offices [...]

sven smit is co-chair of the McKinsey Global Institute, where jonathan woetzel is a director. anu madgavkar and jan mischke are partners at MGI. Published April 25, 2022 While the [...]

The construction industry is facing challenges in terms of productivity and workforce shortages, which could impact economic, social, and environmental goals. Despite technological advancements, construction productivity has stagnated globally, and the industry is struggling to meet current demands. Factors such as labor shortages, skill decline, an aging workforce, and a lack of focus on workforce productivity contribute to the problem. Urgent action is needed to bridge the productivity gap and ensure the industry can meet future demands. Construction companies and project owners can implement measures such as upskilling staff, scaling improvement initiatives, and applying technology to address these challenges. [Extracted from the article]

This article explores the productivity of micro-, small, and medium-size enterprises (MSMEs) and how they can improve their productivity. MSMEs are important for economies worldwide, but their productivity is only half that of large companies, especially in emerging economies. The article emphasizes the need to study MSMEs at a detailed level to identify areas for improvement and highlights the benefits of collaboration between MSMEs and larger enterprises. It also discusses specific examples of sectors and countries where MSMEs perform well or poorly. The article suggests that improving MSME productivity can have significant economic benefits and emphasizes the importance of tailored solutions and supportive economic policies. [Extracted from the article]

This article highlights the importance for Europe to address various areas of its economy in order to enhance competitiveness and achieve growth. Despite being a leader in sustainability and inclusion, Europe's per capita income is significantly lower than that of the United States. The article identifies seven key dimensions, such as innovation, energy, and talent, where Europe needs to improve. By addressing these issues, it is estimated that Europe could add significant value to its economy by 2030. To achieve this, collaboration between business leaders and policymakers is crucial, along with strategic choices and ambitious goals. The article also emphasizes the role of private actors in driving innovation and investment. [Extracted from the article]

How firms deal with inflation also matters: the more they manage to raise labor, materials, and energy productivity, the more they can afford to pay higher wages and prices without passing higher costs onto consumers. The continuous rise of the global balance sheet over the past two decades has essentially been driven by limited investment for productive uses and a glut of savings, which lowered interest rates and fueled debt expansion and asset price growth. The financial-services executives who participated in our larger survey, plus a group of about 50 C-suite executives of large asset managers we surveyed separately, thought it was more likely that a "higher for longer" scenario would prevail, where inflation and interest rates stay elevated for much of the coming decade. As interest rates rise, firms would be wise to secure long-term financing early. [Extracted from the article]

Demand for urban real estate will be challenged for the rest of the decade. For example, real estate companies could find ways to improve the employee experience, making the days at the office more enjoyable and productive. As fewer employees work in the office, demand for office space will fall. [Extracted from the article]

In this McKinsey study, we look at how the pandemic has affected the real estate market in the world's biggest cities and what we can expect to see next. Hybrid work is here to stay, and office attendance is down by 30 percent Employees still spend far less time working at the office than they did before the pandemic, according to our survey. There will be 13 percent less demand for office space in the median city we studied Demand for office space has already declined, partly because of the increase in remote work and partly because of a challenging macroeconomic environment. The impact on real estate The behavioral changes caused by the pandemic - lower office attendance, accelerated out-migration from cities, and less shopping in office-heavy neighborhoods - will push down demand for real estate in most superstar cities. [Extracted from the article]

In 2030, the balance sheet would look healthier relative to GDP than it does today, because inflation would lower the debt burden and asset prices in real terms. From 2000 to 2021, asset-price inflation created about $160 trillion in paper wealth. SAN FRANCISCO - In recent decades, the world's wealth has soared - at least on paper - as low interest rates drove up asset prices. [Extracted from the article]

The article proposes an alternative solution to narrow the world's affordable housing gap by 2015 through finding land at the right cost, operations and management cost reductions, adoption of efficient construction processes, and improvement of home buyers and builders' access to financing.

Time and cost overruns are the norm, and overall earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT) are only around 5 percent despite the presence of significant risk in the industry. I A $265 billion annual profit pool awaits disrupters. i A value chain delivering approximately $11 trillion of global value added and $1.5 trillion of global profit pools looks set for overhaul. Footnotes 1 EBIT margins are calculated on revenues, not value pools. [Extracted from the article]

Real-estate developers are in prime position to lead the shift to modular construction. Crafting their product strategies and supplier partnerships are good places to start. The developer HB Reavis wanted to create a specific office-building product for small and medium-sized companies that seek the flexibility of coworking spaces but the privacy and branding of owned real estate. [Extracted from the article]

In this group, while European automotive players dominate, European companies' R&D spending by software and computer services firms was only about 8 percent of the global total, well below 11 percent for Chinese companies and far behind the 77 percent for US-based companies in 2018 (Exhibit 3). Over the past five years, the global share of European companies' total R&D spending has declined by more than two percentage points, while the share of US companies climbed by more than two percentage points and the share of Chinese companies by six percentage points. The share of European companies among those newly joining the ranks of the 2,500 largest R&D investors decreased to about 12 percent, only about half the share of Chinese firms and one-third the share of US companies. Europe could build on its strong industrial companies and this track record of collaboration to foster cooperation across industry boundaries and even among competing companies in the same industrial sectors. [Extracted from the article]