Measuring Construction: Prices, Output and Productivity PDF
Preview Measuring Construction: Prices, Output and Productivity
Measuring Construction Despite the size, complexity and importance of the construction industry, there has been little study to date which focuses on the challenge of draw- ing reliable conclusions from the available data. The accuracy of industry reports has an impact on government policy, the direction and outcomes of research and the practices of construction firms, so confusion in this area can have far reaching consequences. In response to this, Measuring Construction looks at fundamental economic theories and concepts with respect to the construction industry, and explains the merits and shortcomings, sometimes by looking at real life examples. Drawing on current research the contributors tackle: • industry performance • productivity measurement • construction in national accounts • comparing international construction costs and prices • comparing international productivity. The scope of the book is international, using data and publications from four continents, and tackling head on the difficulties arising from measuring construction. By addressing problems that arise everywhere from individual project documentation, right up to national industrial accounts, this much- needed book can have an impact at every level of the industry. It is essential reading for postgraduate construction students and researchers, students of industrial economics, construction economists and policy-makers. Rick Best is Associate Professor of Construction Management and Eco- nomics at Bond University. He has produced numerous book chapters and papers over a 20 year career as an academia as well as co-editing three books and co-authoring two quantity surveying textbooks. He was the founding director of the Centre for Comparative Construction Research. His research over the past ten years has been focused on the problems associated with making valid comparisons of construction industries across countries and has contributed to the development of the most recent construction data collection project within the International Comparison Program. Jim Meikle has a part-time chair in construction economics at the Bartlett School of Construction and Project Management, University College, London (UCL). He also works as an independent consultant, having retired as a partner of Davis Langdon LLP in 2005. He has extensive experience in the management and implementation of construction, consultancy and research projects and programmes and has worked for private clients and government departments in the UK and other countries, and for international organizations. His interests include international comparisons, the structure and operation of construction industries and construction industry statistics. Jim is a non-executive director with Alexi Marmot Associates (AMA), a trustee of the Usable Buildings Trust and an adjunct professor at Bond University. Measuring Construction Prices, Output and Productivity Edited by Rick Best and Jim Meikle First published 2015 by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2015 selection and editorial material, Rick Best and Jim Meikle; individual chapters, the contributors The right of the editors to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Measuring construction : prices, output and productivity / edited by Jim Meikle, Rick Best. — 1 Edition. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. 1. Construction industry. I. Meikle, Jim. II. Best, Rick. HD9715.A2.M3566 2015 338.4'7624—dc23 2014039295 ISBN: 978-0-415-65937-6 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-315-88292-5 (ebk) Typeset in Sabon by Apex CoVantage, LLC To Cheryl and Sheilah This page intentionally left blank Contents Acknowledgements ix Preface xi Contributors xiii 1. Setting the scene 1 JIM MEIKLE AND RICK BEST 2. Background to purchasing power parity indices 11 GÖRAN RUNESON 3. International construction cost comparisons 26 RICK BEST AND JIM MEIKLE 4. The International Comparison Program and purchasing power parities for construction 45 RICK BEST AND JIM MEIKLE 5. A review of construction cost and price indices in Britain 79 MARCO YU AND GRAHAM IVE 6. Measuring and comparing construction activity internationally 113 JIM MEIKLE AND STEPHEN GRUNEBERG 7. Internationalization of the construction industry 131 WEISHENG LU, HUAN YANG AND CRAIG LANGSTON 8. Performance measures for construction 157 CRAIG LANGSTON viii Contents 9. Refining the citiBLOC index 183 CRAIG LANGSTON 10. A review of the theory and measurement techniques of productivity in the construction industry 205 GERARD DE VALENCE AND MALCOLM ABBOTT 11. Construction productivity and cost estimation using artificial neural networks 224 ALI NAJAFI AND ROBERT TIONG 12. Determining levels of productivity in the construction industry using data envelopment analysis 238 MALCOLM ABBOTT 13. Endnote 253 RICK BEST AND JIM MEIKLE Index 257 Acknowledgements We would like to thank a number of people who have contributed in one way or another to the production of this book. The contributing authors – without their effort and patience, there would not be a book. The other people, apart from the contributors, who attended the initial workshop at Bond University in May 2012 – their contributions to the dis- cussion helped to widen our views of many of the issues related to ‘measur- ing construction’. Richard Jedryas – who produced the figures and tables. Alice Aldous and Matthew Turpie at Taylor & Francis – who piloted us through the process of preparing the book for publication.
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