The Productivity of the Public Sector: A Classical View
PSL Quarterly Review, Vol. 66, No. 267, pp. 403-434, anno 2013
32 Pages Posted: 19 Jun 2014
Date Written: December 15, 2013
Abstract
We define public administrations (PAs) as productive units, and analyze the recent trends in PAs’ productivity applying Sylos Labini’s productivity function model. At the microeconomic level, we propose a model of government action for the production of public goods. At the macroeconomic level, we underline the relevance of distinguishing the public and the private sectors in growth accounting exercises, and show that both sectors can fruitfully contribute to economic growth.
A preliminary application of the model to the estimation of the impact of e-Government processes highlights a significant relationship between e-Government and PAs’ productivity growth in a number of OECD countries.
Keywords: productivity growth, public sector, e-Government
JEL Classification: H11, E12, O47
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation