Total public service output and productivity

Public services account for over 20 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Almost everyone is a potential user of public services such as the NHS or schools. Taxpayers, as the main funders of public services, also have a legitimate concern about ‘what we are getting for our money’. One important aspect of this, though not the only aspect, is productivity: the quantity of output that is produced divided by the quantity of input used. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has published periodic assessments of the productivity performance of key public services. This article presents estimates for all public services collectively for the fi rst time since the 2003 ONS article Understanding Government Output and Productivity (Pritchard, 2003). Economic & Labour Market Review (2009) 3, 45–55; doi:10.1057/elmr.2009.143