Mr Corrigan's victory over the unions in the docks war led to a four-fold increase in productivity per worker at Patrick's freight terminals in Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, the three eastern ports that handle the bulk of Australia's trade.

ECONOMIST: Face value

Productivity per industrial worker rose by 4.2% last year, which supports the idea that increased investment is paying off.

ECONOMIST: Brazil

When you measure productivity in terms of output per hour worked, instead of output per worker, these ONS numbers show that our productivity growth has not been very different from other European countries.

BBC: The UK productivity puzzle (cont'd)

Demand for labor is a function of productivity, or more accurately, profitability per worker.

FORBES: The Chimera Of The Fed's Schizophrenic Mission

According to McKinsey, this local protectionism is the largest reason for the low productivity of Japanese retailing, with output per worker half the U.S. level.

WSJ: Review & Outlook: Mr. Abe's 'Third Arrow'

Around 40% of the network still uses outdated analogue technology. (Argentina, which privatised its phones in 1991, has an almost fully digital network.) That, plus equally outdated labour practices, has meant that Brazil's telecoms industry has an average of one full-time worker per 108 lines, less than half the productivity achieved in the United States.

ECONOMIST: A clear line from Brazil