Analysing the construction sector: Progress towards a new framework

Since 1999, members of the Project Group of CIB TG31/W55 have been working on the development and application of a novel meso-economic framework for analysing and understanding the construction sector. The present paper reports on progress made by the Construction Economics Unit at University of Salford in applying that framework to the UK construction sector. Data is presented for the past ten years on the weight of construction, the main characteristics of construction works, the value of the stock of building and infrastructure which constitute the built environment, the segments of the construction sector, including construction, inputs to construction, such as professional services, management and manufacture, and the regulations which help to shape the system. It is concluded that there is a mismatch between the available data and the framework, and that the framework is more appropriate in case study work, such as the study of specific innovations.