Computing the usual productivity measures requires data on the value of transactions and either prices or quantities. In the final research study of this volume, Erwin Diewert notes that Canada lacks direct price and quantity measures for many important services industries. Other nations also have this problem. As a result, the usual productivity indexes cannot be evaluated properly for those services industries, nor can we get a complete picture of productivity performance for the economy as a whole. Recognizing this, the United States has now committed significant resources to improving services sector measurement. The study of productivity and the ‘new economy’also requires a proper theoretical framework. The papers in this.
