The Asian Productivity Organization (APO) has released an electronic book entitled “Measuring Public-sector Productivity in Selected Asian Countries.”  Released last March, the book highlights not only the successful programs and initiatives from which countries may learn but also enlarges the much-needed public sector productivity (PSP) data for future learning and reference.

The publication is based on the APO Research on Performance Management for Public-Sector Organization from eight of the 20 APO member countries, namely, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Iran, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. The Philippines was designated as the APO’s Center of Excellence on Public Sector Productivity last year, becoming only the third country to be named an APO Center of Excellence after Singapore and Taiwan. Singapore took the honors in Business Excellence while Taiwan earned the distinction in Green Productivity.

BIR featured

The book features the Philippines’ Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and its increasing productivity levels in collecting taxes.  Data taken over a stretch of 10 years have shown that structural reforms, management approaches and legal measures boosted the efficiency and efficacy levels of the tax collection service in the context of the country’s productivity movement and technical advancement.

Development Academy of the Philippines Senior Vice President Magdalena L. Mendoza served as the Philippine national expert and contributor for the publication.  Ma. Rosario A. Ablan and Krichelle L. Ching, meanwhile, served as research assistants on the Philippine side.

Added boost

The Philippines’ designation as the APO Center of Excellence on Public Sector Productivity provides an added boost to build on such initiative as the APO, an organization established in 1961, envisions to be a world-recognized regional hub on public sector productivity by accumulating, codifying and publicly disseminating PSP knowledge products.

The APO has focused lately on public sector productivity growth and measurement, and has seen the need to conduct a multi-country research program examining efforts to enhance the productivity of government in selected APO member countries.  The research methodology was developed by the London School of Economics and Political Science’s Center for Performance. This was based on the Atkinson Review’s suggested methodology for measuring government productivity.