Macro Markets and Machines_The Economic and Market Transformation Driven by AI_GWM report - Flipbook - Page 6
Macro, Markets, and Machines
November 2025
Exhibit 1 – Labour Productivity Growth Has Mostly Slowed Since the Computing and Internet Boom
Avg. growth in labour productivity per
person employed
2.0%
1.5%
1.0%
0.5%
0.0%
-0.5%
U.S.
Canada
1990-1999
2000-2009
Germany
2010-2019
U.K.
2020-2025
Source: The Conference Board; Scotia Wealth Management.
The slowdown in productivity growth since the turn of the century also coincided with a period of weaker
investment in advanced economies. Gross fixed capital formation – a measure of investment in long-term
productive assets like buildings, machinery, and technology – has declined steadily as a share of GDP after the
1990s in advanced economies (Exhibit 2). Lower levels of business investment limited the renewal of
infrastructure and technology, which may have contributed to weaker productivity gains in subsequent decades.
However, this trend has begun to shift in the post-pandemic era, with gross fixed capital formation rising amid a
wave of spending, much of it concentrated in AI, automation, and data infrastructure.
Exhibit 2 – Gross Fixed Capital Formation Has Begun to Pick Up in the Post-Pandemic Era
Gross fixed capital formation (% of GDP)
24%
23%
22%
21%
20%
1990-1999
2000-2009
2010-2019
2020-2025
Note: Data are for high-income countries.
Source: World Bank Group; Scotia Wealth Management.
Scotia Wealth Management
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