--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-27/priorities-and-directions-for-future-productivity-research-a-bea-perspective/" title: "Priorities and Directions for Future Productivity Research: A BEA Perspective" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T07:37:54+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-13T07:37:54+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Fall 2014" ipm_keyword: - "BEA" - "education" - "factory-less manufacturing" - "financial services" - "hard-to-measure services" - "health" - "land" - "natural resources" - "productivity research" ipm_research_theme: - "Measurement and methodology" ipm_country_focus: - "International" - "United States" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp" status: "publish" --- # Priorities and Directions for Future Productivity Research: A BEA Perspective Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-27/priorities-and-directions-for-future-productivity-research-a-bea-perspective/ # Priorities and Directions for Future Productivity Research: A BEA Perspective [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-27-2-Fixler.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: Fixler, Dennis. 2014. “Priorities and Directions for Future Productivity Research: A BEA Perspective.” International Productivity Monitor, No. 27 (Fall 2014): 10–13. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-27/priorities-and-directions-for-future-productivity-research-a-bea-perspective/ ## Author: - Dennis Fixler U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis ## IPM Issue 27 Fall 2014 pp. 10–13 ## Related IPM articles [Productivity and Industrial Policy by Design: The UK Experience Diane Coyle, Ayantola Alayande Fall 2024 | IPM Issue 47 | pp. 20–38](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-47/productivity-and-industrial-policy-by-design-the-uk-experience/) [Lessons from a Career in Productivity Research: Some Answers, A Glimpse of the Future, and Much Left to Learn Martin Baily Spring 2023 | IPM Issue 44 | pp. 120–149](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-44/lessons-from-a-career-in-productivity-research-some-answers-a-glimpse-of-the-future-and-much-left-to-learn/) [Productivity Performances and Policies: Lessons from OECD Countries Stephen Smith Spring 2020 | IPM Issue 38 | pp. 3–28](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-38/productivity-performances-and-policies-lessons-from-oecd-countries/) [The State of Productivity Research Marshall Reinsdorf Fall 2019 | IPM Issue 37 | pp. 156–161](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-37/the-state-of-productivity-research/) [Online Appendix: Data Construction for New BEA-BLS Estimates Corby Garner, Justin Harper, Thomas Howells III, Matt Russell, Jon Samuels Spring 2019 | IPM Issue 36 | pp. 1–11](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-36/online-appendix-data-construction-for-new-bea-bls-estimates/) [Education Intensity and the Sources of, and Prospects for, U.S. Economic Growth Dale Jorgenson, Mun Ho, Jon Samuels Spring 2019 | IPM Issue 36 | pp. 161–186](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-36/education-intensity-and-the-sources-of-and-prospects-for-u-s-economic-growth/) [New BEA-BLS Estimates of the Industry-level Sources of U.S. Economic Growth between 1987 and 2016 Corby Garner, Justin Harper, Thomas Howells III, Matt Russell, Jon Samuels Spring 2019 | IPM Issue 36 | pp. 187–203](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-36/new-bea-bls-estimates-of-the-industry-level-sources-of-u-s-economic-growth-between-1987-and-2016/) [Toward a Global Integrated Industry-level Production Account: A Proposal Jon Samuels, Erich Strassner Spring 2019 | IPM Issue 36 | pp. 7–33](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-36/toward-a-global-integrated-industry-level-production-account-a-proposal/) [Net Investment and Stocks of Human Capital in the United States, 1975-2013 Michael Christian Fall 2017 | IPM Issue 33 | pp. 128–149](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-33/net-investment-and-stocks-of-human-capital-in-the-united-states-1975-2013/) [Challenges in the Measurement of Public Sector Productivity in OECD Countries Edwin Lau, Zsuzsanna Lonti, Rebecca Schultz Spring 2017 | IPM Issue 32 | pp. 180–195](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-32/challenges-in-the-measurement-of-public-sector-productivity-in-oecd-countries/) ## Abstract ## Résumé EN FR Copy link Email LinkedIn This article identifies hard-to-measure services, land/natural resources, and factory-less goods manufacturing as three priority areas for productivity research. It highlights three hard-to-measure sectors for special attention: health, education, and financial services, given the difficulty of measuring prices and output in these sectors. It also argues that with the increased attention to the environment it has become increasing important to incorporate land and natural resources into the production function. Finally, it points out that the classification issues associated with factory-less goods producers have implications for the measurement of inputs and outputs at the sectoral level and hence for productivity estimates. T HE TASK GIVEN TO THE PARTICIPANTS in Cet article identifie les services difficiles à mesurer, les terres et ressources naturelles, et la fabrication de biens sans usine comme trois domaines prioritaires pour la recherche sur la productivité. Il attire l’attention sur trois secteurs difficiles à mesurer : la santé, l’éducation et les services financiers, compte tenu de la difficulté à mesurer les prix et la production dans ces secteurs. Il soutient également qu’avec l’attention croissante portée à l’environnement, il est devenu de plus en plus important d’incorporer les terres et les ressources naturelles dans la fonction de production. Enfin, il souligne que les problèmes de classification associés aux producteurs de biens sans usine ont des implications pour la mesure des intrants et des extrants au niveau sectoriel et donc pour les estimations de productivité. [Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-27-2-Fixler.pdf)