The issue of productivity growth and the competitiveness of Quebec manufacturing firms is one that has guided the development and implementation of various economic policies in recent years. Québec's economy and that of the regions depend to a large extent on the ability of manufacturing firms to access, remain in and sustainably perform in international markets.

In this report, the authors examine the impact of investments in research and development (R&D) and information and communication technologies (ICT) on structural changes in input use, costs and total factor productivity (TFP) gains, and assess whether the gains generated have an impact on the destination and volume of exports by SMEs in Quebec's manufacturing sector. They use data from the National Accounts Longitudinal Microdata File (NALMF) from 2001 to 2018. Their analyses suggest that R&D and ICT investment have little, if any, impact on TFP growth for Quebec manufacturing companies.The authors also suggest that an increase in TFP would lead to an increase exports, but only in the case of exports to US states.