Redefining productivity: Embedding long-term value creation in Australia’s economic measurement framework
Australia’s economic performance benefits substantially from the contributions of its services sector, particularly in relation to health, aged care, education, childcare and social support services.
Yet traditional productivity measures fail to capture the long-term and intergenerational value of human services and unpaid care work.
As the Intergenerational Report (2023) and the Budget Strategy 2025–26 both acknowledge, improving human capital, workforce participation and population health are vital to sustaining economic prosperity in the face of demographic changes and fiscal pressures.
This submission outlines some practical, forward-looking approaches to ensure our productivity framework reflects the true value of service-sector investments and supports better policy decisions in a time of transformation.
The Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre team acknowledges the Wadjuk Nyungar people as the traditional owners of the land on which the Centre is situated.