ORGANIZING OFFICIAL STATISTICS FOR THE 21ST-CENTURY

Official statistical offices are often included in government moves to charge users for services. In New Zealand, the change from operating a public statistical service fully funded by government to competing i n a contestable economic market has presented a wide range of challeng es. Statistics New Zealand-the country's national statistics office-ha s found that this change has tested its ability to provide services th at users will pay for. It has also caused the service to look closely at the interaction between the commercial market and the other, more t raditional markets of the service. It is the government and public mar kets that drive the values of national statistical offices throughout the world. However, it is the move into the commercial market that is now leading to greater consumer responsiveness in both commercial and publicly-funded services, more effective rationing by price and other determinants, and greater promotion of services.