Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden form a group of the Nordic countries, considered welfare states and the global leaders in innovative development. The link between the growth rate of total factor productivity and innovative development, controlling such factors as trade openness and prices volatility in commodity markets, is examined. The econometric analysis results show that the relationship between the level of innovative development and the rate of productivity growth is more robust for the Nordic countries than for the EU countries on average. Features of the national innovation systems and financing of RD in the Nordic countries and factors contributing to the impact of innovation activity on productivity are highlighted.