Abstract
UK national accounts statistics of government 'output' are based on inputs, especially employment; earlier UK conventions attempted to measure government output using statistics of activity (of the sort currently advocated in some quarters) but were dropped for reasons outlined below. The note provides some examples of revised activity-based 'output' measures and compares them with the old approach and with existing conventions. It concludes in favour of retaining existing conventions until more statistical research has been undertaken.
A fuller account of the issues, methodology and data summarised in this note is given in 'Measuring output and productivity in government' by M. S. Levitt and M. A. S. Joyce, NIESR Discussion Paper, no. 108.
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