1. Measuring government output - what progess have we made?
Graham Jenkinson
Office for National Statistics
United Kingdom
25/12/2018

2. Setting the scene SNA: measure volume directly, not inputs
ONS has made some progress, wanted to exchange experiences
Survey carried out: questionnaire asked about progress made, methods used, problems faced
43 countries: OECD/EU/EU accession
25/12/2018

3. Responses To date: 20 responses Most do not use direct volume measures
Some plan to introduce them into national accounts in the next three years
A small number currently compute direct volume measures and include them in national accounts
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4. Countries using direct volume measures
Netherlands
Italy
Australia UK
New Zealand
Canada
25/12/2018

5. Why no more progress? Analysis of responses:
Nearly all countries say more guidance needed:
Guidance particularly needed as regards:
quality measurement
comparability across countries
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6. Where has there been most progress?
Education - measured by
number of pupils / pupil hours / pupils graduating
weighted by costs of each type
Health - measured by
numbers of treatments performed / numbers of patients
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7. Problem areas Measuring the output of national defence
Measuring quality change
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8. How has use of direct volume measures affected the figures?
GDP growth is lower - UK, NL, maybe Germany
GDP growth is higher - Australia, NZ, Canada
No change - Italy
What did we expect? Productivity growth?
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9. Other issues Quarterly data
Different quarterly patterns at current and constant prices
Lack of suitable indicators, delays in obtaining them
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10. Conclusions Recommendations date from 1993
Little progress made in implementing them
Why not?
Lack of data?
Lack of confidence in the approach?
Lack of belief in the results produced?
What to do next?
What guidance needed?
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