Challenges in the Measurement of Public Sector Productivity in OECD Countries
Productivity is one of the main engines of economic growth. While most existing work on productivity has focused on the private sector, there is great value in better understanding productivity in the public sector, given government's important role in the provision of goods and services and it...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Centre for the Study of Living Standards
2017-04-01
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| Series: | International Productivity Monitor |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.csls.ca/ipm/32/lau.pdf |
| _version_ | 1811333502222729216 |
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| author | Edwin Lau Zsuzsanna Lonti Rebecca Schultz |
| author_facet | Edwin Lau Zsuzsanna Lonti Rebecca Schultz |
| author_sort | Edwin Lau |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Productivity is one of the main engines of economic growth. While most existing work on productivity has focused on the private sector, there is great value in better understanding productivity in the public sector, given government's important role in the provision of goods and services and its substantial contribution to overall GDP. However, the measurement of public sector productivity as a first step towards better understanding its dynamics is fraught with challenges, as the public sector differs substantially from the private sector in some of its key characteristics. This article examines current country practices and challenges to measure public sector productivity and identifies five areas to further enhance measurement efforts: (i) improvements to input measurement and cost accounting, (ii) standardization and comparability of measures, (iii) output measurement beyond the education and health sectors, (iv) a typology of activities at the micro level, and (v) intra-governmental co-ordination on productivity measurement. The article also calls for further research on the policy drivers for public sector productivity to delve deeper into how governance frameworks can be mobilized to achieve greater public sector productivity in support of effective public governance and ultimately the well-being of citizens. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T16:53:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-223eebd86473461fba78d3e0a30259f9 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1492-9759 1492-9767 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T16:53:48Z |
| publishDate | 2017-04-01 |
| publisher | Centre for the Study of Living Standards |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Productivity Monitor |
| spelling | doaj.art-223eebd86473461fba78d3e0a30259f92022-12-22T02:38:52ZengCentre for the Study of Living StandardsInternational Productivity Monitor1492-97591492-97672017-04-0132180195Challenges in the Measurement of Public Sector Productivity in OECD CountriesEdwin Lau0Zsuzsanna Lonti1Rebecca Schultz2OECDOECDOECDProductivity is one of the main engines of economic growth. While most existing work on productivity has focused on the private sector, there is great value in better understanding productivity in the public sector, given government's important role in the provision of goods and services and its substantial contribution to overall GDP. However, the measurement of public sector productivity as a first step towards better understanding its dynamics is fraught with challenges, as the public sector differs substantially from the private sector in some of its key characteristics. This article examines current country practices and challenges to measure public sector productivity and identifies five areas to further enhance measurement efforts: (i) improvements to input measurement and cost accounting, (ii) standardization and comparability of measures, (iii) output measurement beyond the education and health sectors, (iv) a typology of activities at the micro level, and (v) intra-governmental co-ordination on productivity measurement. The article also calls for further research on the policy drivers for public sector productivity to delve deeper into how governance frameworks can be mobilized to achieve greater public sector productivity in support of effective public governance and ultimately the well-being of citizens.http://www.csls.ca/ipm/32/lau.pdfeconomic productivitymeasurement issuesoecdpublic sector productivitygdp |
| spellingShingle | Edwin Lau Zsuzsanna Lonti Rebecca Schultz Challenges in the Measurement of Public Sector Productivity in OECD Countries International Productivity Monitor economic productivity measurement issues oecd public sector productivity gdp |
| title | Challenges in the Measurement of Public Sector Productivity in OECD Countries |
| title_full | Challenges in the Measurement of Public Sector Productivity in OECD Countries |
| title_fullStr | Challenges in the Measurement of Public Sector Productivity in OECD Countries |
| title_full_unstemmed | Challenges in the Measurement of Public Sector Productivity in OECD Countries |
| title_short | Challenges in the Measurement of Public Sector Productivity in OECD Countries |
| title_sort | challenges in the measurement of public sector productivity in oecd countries |
| topic | economic productivity measurement issues oecd public sector productivity gdp |
| url | http://www.csls.ca/ipm/32/lau.pdf |
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