JT03341873Complete document available on OLIS in its original format This document and any map included herein are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area. ECO/WKP(2013)50 Unclassified English -Or. English ECO/WKP(2013)50 2 ABSTRACT/RÉSUMÉ Assessing the efficiency of welfare spending in Slovenia with data envelopment analysisThis paper derives estimates of the efficiency of welfare spending in Slovenia and the other OECD countries from data envelopment analysis based on model specifications used in earlier OECD studies. Results suggest that Slovenia ranks about 25 th among OECD countries for output efficiency: for a given level of spending outcomes fall short by around 3.5% in health care, by 10% in secondary education and by around one third in public administration. Results also suggests that Slovenia ranks 18 th to 27 th in the OECD for input efficiency as the same outcomes could be reached by scaling back costs by around half. Alternatively, spending increases could be contained and outcomes improved by increased cost efficiency. Statistical uncertainty surrounding input efficiency estimates is high for countries with the smallest scope for potential savings. Confidence intervals around output efficiency scores are also wide for some emerging market economies.JEL Classification: C14, I18, I28, I38, H83

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The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Banque de France or the institutions with which the authors are affiliated. The authors are grateful to Julien Matheron for providing programmes and useful suggestions. They also wish to thank Iikka Korhonen and Marina Vasjukova as well as the participants of the Third Workshop on Emerging Markets (Bank of Spain, Madrid, 24-25 November 2005) for valuable comments and discussions. The standard disclaimer applies.

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This paper presents an empirical investigation of the disequilibrium hypothesis on the Polish loan market in the 1990s. Using data over this period of deep transition, we estimate a disequilibrium model with a standard maximum likelihood method. However, the estimates are highly counter-intuitive as regards the timing of the identified regimes. We show that the gap between the econometric evidence and the expected results may stem from the issue of stochastic non-stationarity in a disequilibrium setting based on the "min" condition. We find that the omission of one non-stationary variable of the cointegrating space or the absence of a "structural" cointegrating relationship in one or both regimes lead to a spurious configuration. In such a case, using, wrongly, the standard likelihood function, derived under the hypothesis of stationarity, may lead to non-convergent estimates of structural parameters and, as a consequence, to a fallacious regimes identification. Therefore, as the first approach to this issue, we estimate a disequilibrium model with stationary data. The empirical results are then robust and economically founded and correspond to the set and the timing of anticipated regimes.

Standard-Nutzungsbedingungen:Die Dokumente auf EconStor dürfen zu eigenen wissenschaftlichen Zwecken und zum Privatgebrauch gespeichert und kopiert werden.Sie dürfen die Dokumente nicht für öffentliche oder kommerzielle Zwecke vervielfältigen, öffentlich ausstellen, öffentlich zugänglich machen, vertreiben oder anderweitig nutzen.Sofern die Verfasser die Dokumente unter Open-Content-Lizenzen (insbesondere CC-Lizenzen) zur Verfügung gestellt haben sollten, gelten abweichend von diesen Nutzungsbedingungen die in der dort genannten Lizenz gewährten Nutzungsrechte. France has seen a marked deterioration in its export performance in the last 10 years or so. Previous empirical research pointed out that weak export performance was due to i) vigorous domestic demand; ii) lower mark-ups due to head-to-head competition with Germany; iii) low non-price competitiveness of French export goods; iv) offshoring of entire production processes (especially in the automobile sector); and v) difficulties of French manufacturing firms to reach critical size for exporting. This paper adds an additional explanation to this list. We argue that resource reallocation from the exporting to the construction sector triggered by fast rising property prices hindered France to meet world export demand vis-à-vis its products. Our econometric analysis shows that the resource reallocation argument helps explain French export performance between the early 2000s and 2007, unexplained by traditional models. This result is confirmed for a set of OECD countries that experienced a marked decline in their export performance and sustained real-estate boom after 2000. Terms of use: Documents inJEL-Code: F10, F14, O14, O52.

JT03251471 ABSTRACT/RESUME Bridging the housing gap in PolandDespite a high level of homeownership, the housing market in Poland is suffering from an important shortage. The difference between the number households and available dwellings, the number of dwellings per thousand inhabitants, and the availability of basic amenities (especially in rural areas) all indicate that significant improvements are needed to catch up to the most affluent OECD and EU countries. The formal rental segment of the market is also underdeveloped, contributing to low labour mobility and persistent disparities in regional unemployment. Given the social, economic and political dimensions of the problem, various housing policies implemented since the beginning of the transition process have aimed to fill the housing gap, though they have been either narrow in scope or have led to unclear results. However, the housing market has been buoyant in recent years, spurred by rising levels of GDP per capita, lower interest rates and the emergence of a competitive mortgage market. Yet a brisk price appreciation has also occurred at the same time, while households' exposure to interest-and exchange-rate risks has significantly increased and banks' funding capabilities have shrunk. Although the market has not been directly affected by the recent global financial turmoil, recent information shows that a turn-around is underway, with prices declining in several major cities as sentiment has plunged. This raises concerns about the capacity of the market to achieve a smooth adjustment in the face of a possible downturn.JEL codes: R21; R31; E22; E51; P33 Keywords: OECD; Poland; housing supply; housing policies; house prices; housing market; mortgage lending; property taxes; rental market; rent regulation; social housing ************ Combler le déficit de logements en PologneMalgré la place importante qu'occupe la propriété, le marché immobilier polonais pâtit d'une importante pénurie de logements. La différence entre le nombre de ménages et le nombre de logements disponibles, la densité de logements par millier d'habitants et l'équipement en éléments de confort de base (en particulier dans les zones rurales) sont autant de facteurs qui témoignent des progrès que la Pologne doit encore accomplir pour se hisser au niveau des pays les plus riches de l'OCDE et de l'Union européenne. Le segment locatif formel est également sous-développé, ce qui contribue à une faible mobilité de la main-d'oeuvre et à la persistance de disparités régionales du chômage. La question du logement ayant une dimension sociale, économique et politique, la plupart des politiques du logement mises en oeuvre depuis le début du processus de transition visaient à combler le déficit de logements, mais avaient une portée insuffisante ou ont eu des résultats mitigés. Il n'en reste pas moins que le marché immobilier a été dynamique ces dernières années, notamment en raison de la hausse du PIB par habitant, de la baisse des taux d'intérêt et de l'apparition d'un marché hypothécaire concurre...

Since the beginning of the decade, France has seen a marked decline in its export performance, leading to growing concerns on the part of the authorities and of civil society about the economy’s capacity to adapt to the intensified globalisation of trade and investment in goods and services. The poor foreign trade performance of recent years is related to a series of factors, rather than to any single cause. It cannot be explained by external determinants alone, such as the exchange rate, the trade inroads of emerging countries with strong export potential or the sharp rise in oil prices in 2007-08. Indeed, it is not so much the loss of market share itself that is of concern (many countries have experienced this), but rather the extent of that loss, which reflects problems in responding to the acceleration in global demand earlier this decade, before the apparition of the current crisis. An analysis of the deterioration in competitiveness points to supply-side factors such as the relative inability of French firms to service foreign markets, and the pursuit of industrial strategies of offshoring the entire production process. Restoring competitiveness will require steps to strengthen the country’s growth potential and to address the main long-term determinants of that potential, such as fostering research and development, promoting innovation, reducing the tax burden, boosting competition and creating favourable conditions for businesses to grow rapidly. The lack of competitiveness is more often a symptom than the cause of one or more underlying economic weaknesses. What is called for, then, is a comprehensive policy response that addresses the sources of the competitiveness problem, rather than targeted interventions designed directly to remedy the growing trade deficit. This Working Paper relates to the 2009 OECD Economic Survey of France (www.oecd.org/eco/surveys/France).globalisation, OECD, France, firm, innovation, competitiveness, growth potential, R&D, market share, SMEs, tax burden, trade deficit, export performance