Anita Wölfl

Ten Years of Product Market Reform in OECD Countries - Insights from a Revised PMR Indicator

This paper describes patterns and developments of regulation that potentially affect product market competition in OECD countries over the past decade. It uses the 2008 update and revision of the OECD indicators of product market regulation (PMR) that integrate to a larger extent than in the past information on sector-specific regulation and adapt a simpler and more transparent aggregation technique. The results show that OECD countries have extensively liberalised product markets over the past ten years and – as a consequence - convergence of regulation across OECD countries can be observed. However, reforms appear to have slowed in the most recent period (2003-2008) as compared with the earlier period (1998- 2003). Easing of product market regulation appears to have been driven to a considerable extent by reforms in sector-specific regulation, notably as regards the gas, electricity and telecommunications markets. Countries appear also to have followed consistent reform approaches. However, scope for further reform remains, especially as regards controls of governments over businesses, and as regards certain sectors such as professional services and retail trade. Dix ans de reformes sur le marche des produits dans les pays de lOCDE : Un apercu sur la base dun indicateur RMP revise Ce papier decrit les evolutions observees en matiere de reglementation potentiellement entravant le jeu de la concurrence sur les marches de produits des pays de lOCDE au cours des dix dernieres annees. On utilise une version actualisee et revisee des indicateurs de reglementation des marches de produits (RMP) qui integre dans des proportions plus vastes que par le passe des informations sur les reglementations sectorielles et utilise une technique dagregation plus simple et transparente. Dapres les resultats, les pays de l’OCDE ont considerablement liberalise leurs marches de produits depuis dix ans et – par consequence – la convergence des reglementations peut etre observee. Cependant, le rythme des reformes semble avoir ralenti ces dernieres annees (de 2003 a 2008) par rapport a la periode precedente (de 1998 a 2003). Sur l’ensemble de la periode, les reformes de la reglementation semblent avoir repose considerablement sur la reforme des reglementations sectorielles, notamment dans les marches du gaz, de l’electricite et des telecommunications. Les pays semblent avoir egalement introduit des reformes dune facon coherente. Cependant, il existe encore des marges de manœuvre considerables, notamment en termes du controle exerce par lEtat, et dans quelques secteurs, tels que les services professionnels et le commerce de detail.

Measuring the Interaction between Manufacturing and Services

This paper examines the interaction between services and manufacturing using several types of data and shows that the distinction between manufacturing and services is blurring. Services make important contributions to production, mainly through their direct contribution to total output and final demand, but to some degree also through their indirect contribution via other industries. However, services are more independent from other industries than the manufacturing sector. Most inputs that are necessary to produce services are derived from the services sector itself. Moreover, their role as providers of intermediate inputs to other industries is not yet as strong as that of the manufacturing sector. The paper also shows that a growing share of workers in the manufacturing sector is engaged in services-related occupations. Using a broad definition of service-related workers, up to 50% of manufacturing workers are in such occupations. Using firm-level data the paper finds that, despite anecdotal evidence on a growing share of services turnover within the manufacturing sector, manufacturing enterprises in most countries are not very diversified in their constituting establishment, i.e. they do not have many establishments engaged in services production. Canada is a notable exception in this respect. In other countries, it is likely that diversification primarily occurs at the level of the enterprise group. On the other hand, data on products suggest that manufacturing firms and establishments appear to derive a growing share of turnover from services, notably in countries such as Finland and Sweden.

Comparing Labour Productivity Growth in the OECD Area: The Role of Measurement

This paper examines how measurement problems affect international comparisons of labour productivity. It suggests that these measurement problems do not significantly affect the assessment of aggregate productivity patterns in the OECD area. However, these problems do influence the more detailed assessment of productivity growth, notably the role of specific sectors and demand components in aggregate performance. The paper shows that there are only a few significant problems regarding the comparability of nominal GDP across OECD countries, the most important being the treatment of software investment. In most cases, efforts are underway to reduce the size of these differences. Measurement differences for real GDP are also important, although several of these factors have impacts that work in different directions. Moreover, several of these problems primarily affect the distribution of total GDP across different expenditure categories and across different activities, not necessarily ... Comparaisons de la croissance de la productivite de la main-dœuvre au niveau de la zone de lOCDE : Limportance des questions de mesure Le present document examine en quoi les problemes de mesure affectent les comparaisons internationales de la productivite de la main-d’œuvre. Il montre que ces problemes n’ont pas de repercussions notables sur l’evaluation du profil general d’evolution de la productivite dans la zone de l’OCDE. Par contre, ils ont une influence des lors qu’on veut pousser plus avant l’analyse de la croissance de la productivite, notamment determiner la part qui est imputable a un secteur particulier ou a telle ou telle composante de la demande. Les auteurs observent que la comparabilite entre pays de l’OCDE des donnees sur le PIB nominal souleve peu de problemes importants et que le principal de ces derniers est lie au traitement des investissements en logiciels. Dans la plupart des cas, des efforts sont deployes pour reduire l’ampleur de ces divergences. Les disparites au niveau de la mesure du PIB reel sont egalement importantes, meme si elles ne jouent pas toutes dans la meme direction. Qui plus ...

Productivity Growth in Service Industries

This paper examines recent patterns in productivity growth of service industries and analyses the role of problems in measuring service productivity growth on industry and aggregate productivity growth. At the aggregate level, unbalanced growth can be observed between a dynamic manufacturing sector on one hand and a rather stagnant service sector on the other. The service sector itself is, however, composed of a set of heterogenous industries with productivity growth rates ranging from low or negative rates to growth rates exceeding those of high-growth manufacturing industries. The empirical evidence suggests that low or negative productivity growth rates in several services are linked to measurement problems. Computing constant price service output is particularly important. Potential under-estimation of service productivity growth leads eventually to an under-estimation of aggregate productivity growth, via aggregation effects and the flows of intermediate inputs. There ...

Product Market Regulation: Extending the Analysis Beyond OECD Countries

In this paper the recently updated product market regulation (PMR) indicators are extended to a larger set of countries including several non-OECD members. It investigates regulatory patterns in this extended set of countries as compared to the OECD countries and analyses the link between regulation and growth. On average, regulation is more restrictive of competition in non-member countries than in the OECD area. However, there exists considerable heterogeneity within this country grouping as concerns the level of the regulatory stance and its composition as well as the potential past evolution of regulatory processes. Furthermore, growth regressions provide evidence that less restrictive product market regulation is conducive to growth. An improvement of ½ index points of barriers to entrepreneurship would translate into approximately a 0.4% higher average annual rate of GDP per capita growth. However, the results also suggest that for countries that are less advanced, the potential growth benefits of enhancing product market competition may be impaired by other structural weaknesses. In particular, some restrictions of foreign trade and investment might be beneficial for growth in early stages of development.

Mesure de l'interaction entre les industries manufacturières et les services

Cette etude examine l’interaction qui existe entre les services et les industries manufacturieres, en s’appuyant sur differents types de donnees. Elle montre que la distinction entre les industries manufacturieres et les services tend a s’estomper. Les services apportent d’importantes contributions a la production, principalement sous forme d’apports directs a la production totale et a la demande finale, mais aussi, dans une certaine mesure, a travers leur contribution indirecte. Toutefois, les services sont plus independants des autres industries que ne l’est le secteur manufacturier. La plus grande partie des intrants necessaires a la production des services procede du secteur des services lui-meme. De plus, la place des services dans la fourniture d’intrants intermediaires a d’autres secteurs n’est pas encore aussi importante que celle de l’industrie manufacturiere. Ce travail revele en outre qu’une proportion croissante des travailleurs du secteur manufacturier est employee a des fonctions liees aux services. Si l’on utilise une definition large des fonctions liees aux services, jusqu’a 50 % des travailleurs du secteur manufacturier relevent de telles fonctions. En s’appuyant sur des donnees micro-economiques, ce document montre que, malgre des elements epars qui sembleraient indiquer qu’une part croissante du chiffre d’affaires du secteur manufacturier correspond a des activites de services, dans la plupart des pays, les entreprises manufacturieres restent assez peu diversifiees, ce qui signifie qu’elles ne comptent pas beaucoup d’etablissements produisant des services. Le Canada constitue une exception notable a cet egard. Dans d’autres pays, il semble plutot que la diversification s’opere essentiellement au niveau du groupe. Enfin, les donnees sur les produits suggerent que les entreprises et les etablissements du secteur manufacturier realisent une part plus importante de leur chiffre d’affaires grâce aux services, notamment dans des pays comme la Finlande et la Suede.

Reforming the Labour Market in Spain

After steady employment growth since the 1990s, Spain has experienced the sharpest increase in unemployment among OECD countries during the crisis, amplified by structural problems of the labour market. Very high de facto severance payment of permanent contracts has resulted in a rigid dual market with adverse effects on unemployment and productivity. The collective wage bargaining system has hindered firms from adapting to macroeconomic shocks exacerbating their negative effects on the labour market. The recent labour market reform legislation is a positive step to reduce excessive protection of workers in permanent contracts, although some uncertainty remains on how courts will interpret it. It also makes it easier for firms to opt out from higher level collective agreements. The large drop-out rate from lower secondary education is an important factor explaining very high unemployment among young workers. Better access of young people to training is an effective tool to keep them out of a depressed labour market. Finally, the matching of people to jobs, notably through the public employment services, needs to be made more efficient, all the more so under currently tight fiscal constraints. Although the recent reform allows private for-profit firms to provide placement services, more needs to be done. Performance of regional public employment services should be benchmarked and incentives of unemployment benefit recipients to search for a job increased.

Ten Years of Product Market Reform in OECD Countries

This paper describes patterns and developments of regulation that potentially affect product marketncompetition in OECD countries over the past decade. It uses the 2008 update and revision of the OECDnindicators of product market regulation (PMR) that integrate to a larger extent than in the past informationnon sector-specific regulation and adapt a simpler and more transparent aggregation technique. The resultsnshow that OECD countries have extensively liberalised product markets over the past ten years and – as anconsequence - convergence of regulation across OECD countries can be observed. However, reformsnappear to have slowed in the most recent period (2003-2008) as compared with the earlier period (1998-n2003). Easing of product market regulation appears to have been driven to a considerable extent by reformsnin sector-specific regulation, notably as regards the gas, electricity and telecommunications markets.nCountries appear also to have followed consistent reform approaches. However, scope for further reformnremains, especially as regards controls of governments over businesses, and as regards certain sectors suchnas professional services and retail trade.

Youth Labour Market Performance in Spain and its Determinants

Le present document apporte des elements descriptifs et empiriques sur les problemes principaux auxquelsnsont confrontes les jeunes sur le marche du travail en Espagne. Nous comparons les resultats de lEspagnenavec ceux d’autres Etats membres de l’UE au regard de multiples indicateurs de l’emploi des jeunes,nnotamment les taux d’emploi et de chomage, le salaire des jeunes actifs, les decisions relatives au travail etnaux etudes, la mobilite des jeunes, les types de contrat de travail, la duree necessaire pour trouver unnpremier emploi, l’inadequation des competences, etc. Des donnees econometriques internationales, tireesnde plusieurs micro-bases de donnees, sont utilisees pour mieux comprendre le role joue par plusieursnfacteurs sous-jacents de l’offre et de la demande pouvant expliquer les difficultes du marche du travail desnjeunes en Espagne (www.oecd.org/eco/etudes/Espagne).

Comparing Labour Productivity Growth in the OECD Area

This paper examines how measurement problems affect international comparisons of labour productivity. It suggests that these measurement problems do not significantly affect the assessment of aggregate productivity patterns in the OECD area. However, these problems do influence the more detailed assessment of productivity growth, notably the role of specific sectors and demand components in aggregate performance. The paper shows that there are only a few significant problems regarding the comparability of nominal GDP across OECD countries, the most important being the treatment of software investment. In most cases, efforts are underway to reduce the size of these differences. Measurement differences for real GDP are also important, although several of these factors have impacts that work in different directions. Moreover, several of these problems primarily affect the distribution of total GDP across different expenditure categories and across different activities, not necessarily ...