Product Market Regulation: Extending the Analysis Beyond OECD Countries

Abstract

Document complet disponible sur OLIS dans son format d'origine Complete document available on OLIS in its original format ECO/WKP(2010)55 Unclassified English -Or. English ECO/WKP(2010)55 2 ABSTRACT/RESUMÉ Product market regulation: extending the analysis beyond OECD countriesIn 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.

Developing the Service Sector as Engine of Growth for Asia: An Overview

“…Internally, these include the strengthening of labor and capital markets, reform of tax regimes, and elimination of burdensome regulations which typically protect incumbent firms, and thus stifle competition and innovation (see, for example, Wölfl et al 2010). The international historical experience shows that regulatory reforms often deliver significant economic benefits, such as higher labor productivity and lower prices (see, for example, OECD 2005).…”

Productivity and Competitiveness

“…There has also been a convergence between EU15 and the US, which suggests that this factor has not been responsible for the recent productivity divergence between the US and EU15. Source: Woelfl et al ( 2010).…”

“…via innovation), which are at the heart of the growth process in market economies? Source: Woelfl et al ( 2010).…”

“…Note: a Based on a "simplified" OECD product market regulation (PMR) indicator (see Woelfl et al, 2010 In this paper, we address these issues by looking at the link between regulations, resource reallocation and productivity from different angles, i.e. aggregate, sectoral and firm-level.…”

Nordic Economic Policy Review

“…Using a BMA methodology and focusing on GDP per capita, Woelfl et al (2010) find that easing anticompetitive regulations by an amount equivalent to moving from the regulatory stance of Brazil to that of the average OECD country could yield a 0.3 per cent higher average annual rate of per capita GDP. Boulhol et al (2008) previously found similar results based on simple dynamic panel regressions.…”