Atkinson Review: Final Report
Measurement of government output and productivity
The independent review of the measurement of government output in the National Accounts was commissioned by the National Statistician, Len Cook, in December 2003, with an Interim Report published in July 2004 and a Final Report published in January 2005.
The terms of reference of the review set out by the National Statistician were:
'To advance methodologies for the measurement of government output, productivity and associated price indices in the context of the National Accounts, recognising:
the full scope of government outputs
differences in the nature and quality of these outputs over time
the relationship between government outputs and social outcomes
the need for comparability with measures of private sector services' output and costs
the existing work of the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and
the appropriate measurement of inputs, including quality and the distinction between resource and capital, so that, together with the measurement of output, light can be thrown on developments in government productivity.'
The review is concerned with the methodologies for the measurement of government output, productivity and associated price indices in the context of the National Accounts. These measures are important because the functioning of public services is a matter of widespread public interest.
The measures are significant at a macroeconomic level because government output represents a fifth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). In broad terms, a one per cent per year faster growth rate of government output raises the overall GDP growth rate by some 0.2 per cent, implying a corresponding increase in productivity growth for a given volume of government inputs.
The final report makes 54 recommendations including recommending nine principles as a framework to the measurement of government output, input and productivity.
Len Cook has welcomed the report and will respond in due course to the detailed recommendations.
The report is concerned with methodological issues; it does not contain any new statistics on government output or productivity.
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About the Atkinson Review