--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/issue-8/productivity-growth-in-services-industries-is-there-a-role-for-measurement/" title: "Productivity Growth in Services Industries: Is There a Role for Measurement?" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T06:53:19+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-13T06:53:19+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Spring 2004" ipm_keyword: - "Baumol's cost disease" - "financial intermediation" - "manufacturing" - "measurement" - "OECD" - "services productivity" - "STAN database" - "telecommunications" - "TFP" ipm_research_theme: - "Measurement and methodology" ipm_country_focus: - "International" - "OECD" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp" status: "publish" --- # Productivity Growth in Services Industries: Is There a Role for Measurement? Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/issue-8/productivity-growth-in-services-industries-is-there-a-role-for-measurement/ # Productivity Growth in Services Industries: Is There a Role for Measurement? [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-8-7-Wolfl.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: Wölfl, Anita. 2004. “Productivity Growth in Services Industries: Is There a Role for Measurement?” International Productivity Monitor, No. 8 (Spring 2004): 66–80. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/issue-8/productivity-growth-in-services-industries-is-there-a-role-for-measurement/ ## Author: - Anita Wölfl Economic Analysis and Statistics Division, Directorate for Science, Technology and Industry, OECD ## IPM Issue 8 Spring 2004 pp. 66–80 ## Related IPM articles [Is the SNA Still Useful? 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Using the OECD STAN database and Input-Output Tables, it finds that while aggregate services productivity growth is about half that of manufacturing across OECD countries, some service industries — particularly post and telecommunications and financial intermediation — show strong productivity growth comparable to high-growth manufacturing industries. The article argues that measurement biases, including difficulties in measuring output quality and volume in unpriced services, may significantly understate true services productivity growth. Cet article examine si la croissance de productivité mesurée constamment plus faible dans le secteur des services que dans le secteur manufacturier dans les pays de l’OCDE reflète une stagnation réelle ou des problèmes de mesure. À l’aide de la base de données STAN de l’OCDE et des tableaux d’entrées-sorties, il constate que si la croissance de la productivité globale des services est environ deux fois plus faible que celle du secteur manufacturier dans les pays de l’OCDE, certaines industries de services — notamment la poste et les télécommunications et l’intermédiation financière — affichent une forte croissance de la productivité comparable à celle des industries manufacturières à forte croissance. L’article soutient que les biais de mesure, notamment les difficultés à mesurer la qualité et le volume de la production dans les services non tarifés, pourraient sous-estimer de manière significative la vraie croissance de la productivité des services. [Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-8-7-Wolfl.pdf)