Missing capitals – How ONS measures the value of our environment

Categories: Data, ONS, Public Policy

Traditional methods of measuring the economy tend to exclude the value of some of our most important assets. At the Office for National Statistics we have been working to develop measures of these so-called ‘missing capitals’. Top of that list is the thing that sustains all activity on our planet; the natural environment. Dr Adam Dutton explains how the ONS is part of a growing international movement that is seeking to find the economic value of our “Natural Capital”.

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The hardest part of productivity measurement

Categories: Economy, ONS, Public Policy

Productivity has been a topic of great interest in recent years, especially because of the well-known ‘productivity puzzle’ – the historically weak productivity growth in the UK since the economic downturn in 2008.

But if that is a puzzle, here is another one – how do you measure the productivity of public services, like education or healthcare, when they are provided for free? Since 2005, ONS has developed suitable measures for over half of public services, but there is still much to do. In this blog Josh Martin explains how the ONS measures the productivity of public services.

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How a better understanding of student suicide numbers can help prevent more

Categories: ONS
People talking in support group

A year ago, the Office for National Statistics produced its first estimates of Higher Education student suicides. Here Professor Louis Appleby, Chair of England’s National Suicide Prevention Strategy Advisory Group, looks back on the past 12 months and the impact the ONS’ work has had.

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How ONS plans to provide new analysis on the core issues facing our society

Categories: Data, ONS, Population, Public Policy, Public Policy Analysis Quarterly Review

The ONS’ Population and Public Policy team has delivered many new insights over the past two years on the key issues facing our society today. Here, Deputy National Statistician Iain Bell reflects on some of the progress made and sets out his priorities for the coming months, which includes important work on towns and cities, further analysis of our ageing population and the continued modernisation of surveys.

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