Matilde Mas (Funcas) | Since the beginning of the 21st century, productivity growth has experienced an almost generalized slowdown, albeit of unequal intensity, in most developed countries. And this is despite the accelerated process of innovation accompanying the Fourth Industrial Revolution. It is the phenomenon known as the productivity puzzle. Among the large EU-15 countries – Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the UK – the general pattern has been a slowdown in labour productivity since around 2005.