Read on Twitter
1/8 Today we have published our latest analysis of international comparisons of GDP during the pandemic - including some of the challenges comparing the output of government: blog linked and thread to follow https://blog.ons.gov.uk/2021/02/01/minding-the-gap-why-has-uk-gdp-fallen-so-sharply-in-the-pandemic/
2/8 International comparisons of real GDP highlight the UK has been hit relatively worse than other advanced economies, comparisons of nominal (cash) GDP show the UK with similar falls to other G7 countries.
3/8 The relative underperformance of the UK economy reflects lower levels of by household spending and government output
4/8 Bigger falls in household spending likely to in part reflect comparably tighter and longer lockdowns, and higher levels of social consumption in the UK
5/8 Some differences reflect the different methods used in measurement of public services internationally. UK use a wide range of direct output measures e.g. GP consultation, number of operations, pupils receiving education etc, UK introduced this approach in 1998.
6/8 Other stats agencies tend to use input-based methods (e.g. costs and jobs) in early estimates - both acceptable but output seen as best practice. UK approach is likely to show bigger falls during the pandemic and (all else being equal) bigger rises in the recovery.
7/8 This makes international comparability challenging - one helpful approach might be to look at GDP excluding public services. While this makes little difference to the fall in UK GDP, for other countries it made the falls in their GDP look substantially larger.
8/8 We plan to work with other stats agencies and international organisations to develop more sophisticated international comparisons over time, but in the mean time these comparisons should be make with caution.
Full analysis here: https://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/grossdomesticproductgdp/articles/internationalcomparisonsofgdpduringthecoronaviruscovid19pandemic/2021-02-01
