TOKYO, JAPAN - Media OutReach - 1 June 2021 - Productivity came to prominence early, in 1776, when Adam Smith put it at center stage in his famed The Wealth of Nations.

The Tokyo-based Asian Productivity Organization (APO) continues that legacy under its mandate of promoting productivity across Asia and the Pacific since its founding 60 years ago. Centuries after Adam Smith's work, recognition on productivity continues to grow.

As a tribute to productivity and a celebration of its Diamond Jubilee, the APO in partnership with the Japan Productivity Center is organizing the International Conference on the Centrality of Productivity on 10 June 2021 through a virtual platform.

Japan Productivity Center Chairman Yuzaburo Mogi will open the conference, and 2008 Nobel Prize Winner in Economics Prof. Paul Krugman will deliver the virtual keynote address.

Two panels of experts will examine pressing issues affecting the resilience of economies and businesses under the very harsh circumstances of the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic.

The first will focus on productivity and the quality of the workforce, featuring human resource practitioners and labor economists. The second panel will discuss smart transformation by leveraging advances in digital technologies and AI. Digital Minister Audrey Tang from the ROC will be one of the speakers through a recorded presentation in this session.

https://www.apo-tokyo.org/centrality-of-productivity/

About the APO

The Asian Productivity Organization (APO) is an intergovernmental organization committed to improving productivity in Asia and the Pacific. Established in 1961, the APO contributes to the sustainable socioeconomic development of the region through policy advisory services, institutional capacity-building efforts, sharing of productivity best practices, and dissemination of productivity data and analyses.

The current APO membership comprises 21 economies: Bangladesh; Cambodia; Republic of China; Fiji; Hong Kong; India; Indonesia; Islamic Republic of Iran; Japan; Republic of Korea; Lao PDR; Malaysia; Mongolia; Nepal; Pakistan; Philippines; Singapore; Sri Lanka; Thailand; Turkey; and Vietnam.

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