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Handbook on Public Sector Efficiency
Examining the increasingly relevant topic of public sector efficiency, this dynamic Handbook investigates the context of constrained fiscal space and public funding sources using cross-country datasets in areas including China, India and sub-Saharan Africa and OECD economies.
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Critical Acclaim
Contributors
Contents
More Information
Examining the increasingly relevant topic of public sector efficiency, this dynamic Handbook investigates the context of constrained fiscal space and public funding sources using cross-country datasets in areas including China, India, sub-Saharan Africa and OECD economies.
Expert contributors evaluate public sector efficiency for both national and sub-national governments, analysing important sectors such as education, health, public-private enterprises and state-owned enterprises. Given voters’ requirements to be more educated and for greater accountability on the use of public spending, chapters describe methodology and measurement issues alongside the allocation of resources to ensure better efficiency and effectiveness. Forward-thinking, the Handbook provides insights into how improving efficiency can greatly assist governments when dealing with unforeseen events such as the recent Covid-19 pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine.
This Handbook will be an important read for academics and students of public sector economics and public administration and management. It will also provide an excellent background for the policy makers of international institutions looking to help the general public have a better understanding of how public spending works in order for them to make informed decisions when voting.
Expert contributors evaluate public sector efficiency for both national and sub-national governments, analysing important sectors such as education, health, public-private enterprises and state-owned enterprises. Given voters’ requirements to be more educated and for greater accountability on the use of public spending, chapters describe methodology and measurement issues alongside the allocation of resources to ensure better efficiency and effectiveness. Forward-thinking, the Handbook provides insights into how improving efficiency can greatly assist governments when dealing with unforeseen events such as the recent Covid-19 pandemic and the conflict in Ukraine.
This Handbook will be an important read for academics and students of public sector economics and public administration and management. It will also provide an excellent background for the policy makers of international institutions looking to help the general public have a better understanding of how public spending works in order for them to make informed decisions when voting.
Critical Acclaim
‘Taxpayers worldwide care about value for money through public spending. That is what public sector efficiency is about. The Handbook on Public Sector Efficiency maps the full landscape, bringing together contributions from lead researchers. Indispensable for practitioners and policymakers.’
– Vitor Gaspar, Director of the Fiscal Affairs Department at the International Monetary Fund, Washington DC, US
‘In times of growing public debt and stagflation, public sector efficiency is more important than ever. This Handbook is an essential guide for researchers and policy makers to a better understanding and towards improving the efficiency of the public sector.’
– Clemens Fuest, President of the IFO Institute and Director of the Center for Economic Studies, Germany
– Vitor Gaspar, Director of the Fiscal Affairs Department at the International Monetary Fund, Washington DC, US
‘In times of growing public debt and stagflation, public sector efficiency is more important than ever. This Handbook is an essential guide for researchers and policy makers to a better understanding and towards improving the efficiency of the public sector.’
– Clemens Fuest, President of the IFO Institute and Director of the Center for Economic Studies, Germany
Contributors
Contributors: Antonis Adam, António Afonso, Tommaso Agasisti, Konstantinos Angelopoulos, Özlem Aydin, Amélie Barbier-Gauchard, Kéa Baret, N.R. Bhanumurthy, Boele Bonthuis, David Coady, Eduardo Costa, Xavier Debrun, Jean-Marc Fournier, Víctor Giménez, Fabien Gonguet, Zhong-cheng Guan, Luis Gutiérrez-Arango, Samir Jahan, João Tovar Jalles, Pantelis Kammas, Paulo Medas, Ranjan Kumar Mohanty, Rui Monteiro, Caitlin O’Loughlin, Oluwanbepelumi Olanubi, Sijuola Orioye Olanubi, Daniel Osorio-Barreto, Pedro Pita Barros, Diego Prior, Xian-tong Ren, Isabel Rial, Biresh K. Sahoo, Ludger Schuknecht, Gerd Schwartz, Léopold Simar, Yao-yao Song, Douglas Sutherland, Mouhamadou Sy, Vito Tanzi, Michael Thöne, Sofia Tsarsitalidou, Ana Venâncio, Paul Wilson, Guo-liang Yang
Contents
Contents:
Introduction to public sector efficiency
António Afonso, João Tovar Jalles, Ana Venâncio 1
PART I SIZE AND QUALITY OF THE GOVERNMENT
1 The size of government 6
António Afonso, Ludger Schuknecht, Vito Tanzi
2 The quality of public finances 32
Michael Thöne
3 Government spending efficiency, measurement and applications:
A cross-country efficiency dataset 44
António Afonso, João Tovar Jalles, Ana Venâncio
4 Methodologies for assessing government efficiency 72
Caitlin O’Loughlin, Léopold Simar, Paul W. Wilson
PART II PUBLIC SECTOR EFFICIENCY, AND INSTITUTIONS AND FIRMS
5 Overall Public sector efficiency 103
Antonis Adam, Sofia Tsarsitalidou
6 On the persistence of public sector efficiency and the role
of historical institutional quality 129
Konstantinos Angelopoulos, Pantelis Kammas
7 Handbook on public sector efficiency, government efficiency and fiscal rules 148
Amélie Barbier-Gauchard, Kéa Baret, Xavier Debrun
8 Pension spending efficiency 176
Boele Bonthuis
9 Public−private partnerships, fiscal risks and efficiency 196
Gerd Schwartz, Özlem Aydin, Rui Monteiro, Isabel Rial
10 State-owned enterprises: Struggling to be efficient 218
Paulo Medas, Mouhamadou Sy
PART III PUBLIC SECTOR EFFICIENCY IN THE EDUCATION, HEALTH,
AND SOCIAL PROTECTION SECTORS
11 Public spending efficiency in compulsory education 249
Douglas Sutherland
12 The efficiency of higher education institutions and systems 272
Tommaso Agasisti
13 Efficiency of public health spending 289
Pedro Pita Barros, Eduardo Costa
14 Evaluating the efficiency of social protection spending 310
David Coady, Samir Jahan
15 Efficiency of public investment and implications for the optimal
level of public investment 334
Jean-Marc Fournier, Fabien Gonguet
PART IV PUBLIC SECTOR EFFICIENCY ACROSS THE WORLD
16 Efficiency and economic growth: A panel analysis of Colombian regions 353
Luis Alberto Gutiérrez-Arango, Víctor Giménez, Daniel Osorio-Barreto,
Diego Prior
17 Analysing public sector efficiency of the Indian States 370
Ranjan Kumar Mohanty , N R Bhanumurthy, Biresh K. Sahoo
18 Estimating returns to scale for the science and technology activities
of project 985 universities in China 405
Yao-yao Song, Xian-tong Ren, Guo-liang Yang, Zhong-cheng Guan
19 Political short termism and government spending efficiency
in Sub-Saharan Africa 427
Sijuola Orioye Olanubi, Oluwanbepelumi Esther Olanubi
Index 440
Introduction to public sector efficiency
António Afonso, João Tovar Jalles, Ana Venâncio 1
PART I SIZE AND QUALITY OF THE GOVERNMENT
1 The size of government 6
António Afonso, Ludger Schuknecht, Vito Tanzi
2 The quality of public finances 32
Michael Thöne
3 Government spending efficiency, measurement and applications:
A cross-country efficiency dataset 44
António Afonso, João Tovar Jalles, Ana Venâncio
4 Methodologies for assessing government efficiency 72
Caitlin O’Loughlin, Léopold Simar, Paul W. Wilson
PART II PUBLIC SECTOR EFFICIENCY, AND INSTITUTIONS AND FIRMS
5 Overall Public sector efficiency 103
Antonis Adam, Sofia Tsarsitalidou
6 On the persistence of public sector efficiency and the role
of historical institutional quality 129
Konstantinos Angelopoulos, Pantelis Kammas
7 Handbook on public sector efficiency, government efficiency and fiscal rules 148
Amélie Barbier-Gauchard, Kéa Baret, Xavier Debrun
8 Pension spending efficiency 176
Boele Bonthuis
9 Public−private partnerships, fiscal risks and efficiency 196
Gerd Schwartz, Özlem Aydin, Rui Monteiro, Isabel Rial
10 State-owned enterprises: Struggling to be efficient 218
Paulo Medas, Mouhamadou Sy
PART III PUBLIC SECTOR EFFICIENCY IN THE EDUCATION, HEALTH,
AND SOCIAL PROTECTION SECTORS
11 Public spending efficiency in compulsory education 249
Douglas Sutherland
12 The efficiency of higher education institutions and systems 272
Tommaso Agasisti
13 Efficiency of public health spending 289
Pedro Pita Barros, Eduardo Costa
14 Evaluating the efficiency of social protection spending 310
David Coady, Samir Jahan
15 Efficiency of public investment and implications for the optimal
level of public investment 334
Jean-Marc Fournier, Fabien Gonguet
PART IV PUBLIC SECTOR EFFICIENCY ACROSS THE WORLD
16 Efficiency and economic growth: A panel analysis of Colombian regions 353
Luis Alberto Gutiérrez-Arango, Víctor Giménez, Daniel Osorio-Barreto,
Diego Prior
17 Analysing public sector efficiency of the Indian States 370
Ranjan Kumar Mohanty , N R Bhanumurthy, Biresh K. Sahoo
18 Estimating returns to scale for the science and technology activities
of project 985 universities in China 405
Yao-yao Song, Xian-tong Ren, Guo-liang Yang, Zhong-cheng Guan
19 Political short termism and government spending efficiency
in Sub-Saharan Africa 427
Sijuola Orioye Olanubi, Oluwanbepelumi Esther Olanubi
Index 440
