--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-40/measuring-the-volume-of-services-industries-output-and-productivity-an-audit-of-services-producer-price-indices-in-oecd-countries/" title: "Measuring the Volume of Services Industries Output and Productivity: An Audit of Services Producer Price Indices in OECD Countries" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T08:01:53+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-13T08:01:53+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Spring 2021" ipm_keyword: - "16 countries" - "King's College London" - "OECD" - "output" - "productivity" - "quality adjustment" - "services producer price indices" - "SPPI" - "UK" - "volume measurement" - "Voorburg Group" ipm_research_theme: - "Measurement and methodology" ipm_country_focus: - "International" - "OECD" - "United Kingdom" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp" status: "publish" --- # Measuring the Volume of Services Industries Output and Productivity: An Audit of Services Producer Price Indices in OECD Countries Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-40/measuring-the-volume-of-services-industries-output-and-productivity-an-audit-of-services-producer-price-indices-in-oecd-countries/ # Measuring the Volume of Services Industries Output and Productivity: An Audit of Services Producer Price Indices in OECD Countries [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-40-4-O_Mahony-Samek.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: O’Mahony, Mary, and Lea Samek. 2021. “Measuring the Volume of Services Industries Output and Productivity: An Audit of Services Producer Price Indices in OECD Countries.” International Productivity Monitor, No. 40 (Spring 2021): 89–104. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-40/measuring-the-volume-of-services-industries-output-and-productivity-an-audit-of-services-producer-price-indices-in-oecd-countries/ ## Authors: - Mary O’Mahony University of Birmingham - Lea Samek OECD / King's College London ## IPM Issue 40 Spring 2021 pp. 89–104 ## Related IPM articles [Is the SNA Still Useful? 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An Investigation into Recent Productivity Data Revisions Fokke Reitze Gouma, Philip McCann, Raquel Ortega-Argilés Spring 2025 | IPM Issue 48 | pp. 63–84](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-48/are-uk-regional-productivity-disparities-really-narrowing-an-investigation-into-recent-productivity-data-revisions/) [Appendix: UK Productivity Growth Rates Across Data Vintages and Studies Josh Martin Spring 2025 | IPM Issue 48 | pp. 65–73](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-48/appendix-uk-productivity-growth-rates-across-data-vintages-and-studies/) ## Abstract ## Résumé EN FR Copy link Email LinkedIn This article discusses measurement of Services Producer Price Indices, which are important in estimating the volume of the output of services sectors. Price indices for 31 individual services activities were downloaded from the websites of National Statistical Offices for 16 OECD countries and compared to those for the UK. The results show that UK services prices tend on average to have either lower or equal price growth than in other countries, suggesting that an underestimate of services output growth is not likely to be a greater problem in the UK than in other comparable countries. Nevertheless, there may be common biases across countries due to inadequate adjustments for quality. Further analysis of measurement methods suggests a small but significant positive bias in price inflation for one commonly employed method based on time spent on the provision of services. This means that the growth in the volume of services activity may be understated in general in the group of countries considered in this article. Cet article examine la mesure des indices des prix des producteurs de services, qui sont importants pour estimer le volume de la production des secteurs de services. Des indices de prix pour 31 activités de services individuelles ont été téléchargés depuis les sites Web des offices statistiques nationaux de 16 pays de l’OCDE et comparés à ceux du Royaume-Uni. Les résultats montrent que les prix des services du Royaume-Uni tendent en moyenne à afficher une croissance des prix inférieure ou égale à celle des autres pays, suggérant qu’une sous-estimation de la croissance de la production des services n’est pas susceptible d’être un problème plus important au Royaume-Uni que dans d’autres pays comparables. Néanmoins, il peut y avoir des biais communs entre les pays en raison d’ajustements inadéquats pour la qualité. [Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-40-4-O_Mahony-Samek.pdf)