Public sector efficiency: an international comparison

• Author(s): Afonso, António ; Schuknecht, Ludger ; Tanzi, Vito
• Date: 2003
• Persistent ID: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.5/2125
• Origin: Repositório da UTL
• Subject(s): Government expenditure; Efficiency; Free Disposable Hull; Production possibility frontier
• Document Type: Other
• Language: English

Description

We compute public sector performance (PSP) and efficiency (PSE) indicators, comprising a composite and seven sub-indicators, for 23 industrialised countries. The first four sub-indicators are "opportunity" indicators that take into account administrative, education and health outcomes and the quality of public infrastructure and that support the rule of law and a level playing-field in a market economy. Three other indicators reflect the standard "Musgravian" tasks for government: allocation, distribution, and stabilisation. The input and output efficiency of public sectors across countries is then measured via a non-parametric production frontier technique.