We see the need for a standard classification for the study of all human activity leading to the production of goods and services, whether economically or socially arranged. We suggest that such a classification be built upon a review of existing international classifications covering specialized economic and job activities as well as daily activities, such as the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities (United Nations, 1990); the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ILO, 1988) and the Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (WHO, 2001). We also propose that the framework for the construction of such a classification allow the wide range of goods and services produced by these activities to be classified primarily through the use of the United Nations Central Product Classification (United Nations, 1998). In such a framework, a distinction would be made between the activity itself and the domain of the activity, i.e., within or outside of the production boundary of the System of National Accounts (Commission of the European Communities - Eurostat et.al. (1993).

Recent attention to the growth and development of the many activities and transactions of the services sector has resulted in a need for further development and consideration of appropriate concepts and classifications (Hill, 1998). Those services produced through economic activity have recently been further elaborated in the United Nations Central Product Classification, Version 1.0 (CPC). Work has also been completed on the elaboration of trade in services (European Commission et.al. forthcoming). Services produced and distributed through own-account activities, however, are still largely ignored. The provision of services through socially arranged production, and personal services produced solely for personal consumption, remain largely unaccounted for because they are produced outside the 1993 SNA production boundary.

A standard classification of activities, both socially and economically arranged, does not yet exist but could potentially be developed based upon existing work. The common statistical unit to compare these activities in a quantifiable way would be that of time-use in addition to the less comparable monetary unit (Chamie and Me, in United Nations 2001, p. 126). Such a classification could usefully serve to improve the flow of data available for the integrated study of shared socioeconomic concerns such as human development, poverty, the informal sector, and comparative studies of human performance and achievement at school, work and at retirement, all ultimately affecting understanding of production, consumption patterns, health, living conditions and quality of life.