THE USE OF THE UK BENCHMARK MODEL TO DEVELOP A STANDARD GLOBAL APPROACH TO CONSTRUCTION DATA

misbe2011 Tracking Number 65

Keywords: global construction data, UK benchmark model, gross fixed capital formation, population, urbanisation ABSTRACT The human population of the world has grown rapidly in the last fifty years. The impact of this growth has been discussed in terms of its sustainability. Invariably the discussion has focused on the natural environment. However, the impact of the population explosion has also had a dramatic effect on the built environment. An unprecedented amount of building work has been carried out over the last fifty years, perhaps more construction in one generation than in the whole of human history. Still more construction work is needed not only to meet the needs of an increasing population but also to meet the rising expectations of that population in terms of the quantity and quality of the built environment. Increasing urbanisation is changing the way people live and the way society operates. Construction is often seen as a threat. Yet this is a response to growing population pressures and the need to transport people, food and materials. Yet it is difficult to find a source of information on a global scale that combines the data that is available. Unless there is a measure of construction activity throughout the world there is no way of gauging the scale of the issues involved. There is a need to know the location of activity, the types and quality of output, and the numbers and skills employed in the construction workforce. Only when these measures of the construction industry are found, policies to deal with construction problems, such as homelessness, migration, health and safety, training and skills, trade in materials, carbon emissions and many other issues can be assessed by the international community. In combining data from different countries, the issue becomes one of making judgements about appropriate exchange rates, the use of purchasing power parities, definitions of terms used and comparing different building standards for different climatic conditions. Setting these issues to one side, a benchmark model of construction based on the UK construction industry is used to calculate the size and growth rate of the global construction industry and this is used to compare to other estimates of global construction. It is suggested that the global construction industry using the benchmark model can itself then be used as a benchmark to compare more detailed national construction statistics with an international standard.