Regulation, Institutions and Productivity: New Macroeconomic Evidence from OECD Countries

Balázs Égert
Authors registered in the RePEc Author Service: Balázs Égert

No 2017-18, EconomiX Working Papers from University of Paris Nanterre, EconomiX

Abstract: Empirical research on the drivers of multi-factor productivity (MFP) is abundant at the firm- and industry level but surprisingly little research has been conducted on the determinants of MFP at the macroeconomic level. In this paper, we seek to understand the drivers of country-level MFP with a special emphasis on product and labour market policies and the quality of institutions. For a panel of OECD countries, we find that anticompetitive product market regulations are associated with lower MFP levels and that higher innovation intensity and greater openness go in tandem with higher MFP. We also find that the impact of product market regulations on MFP may depend on the level of labour market regulations. Better institutions, a more business friendly environment and lower barriers to trade and investment amplify the positive impact of R&D spending on MFP. Finally, we also show that cross-country MFP variations can be explained to a considerable extent by cross-country variation in labour market regulations, barriers to trade and investment and institutions (including corruption).

Keywords: multi-factor productivity; trade openness; innovation; product market regulation; labour market regulation; institutions; policy interactions; OECD. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C23 C51 J2 L43 L51 O4 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 27 pages
Date: 2017
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ino, nep-law and nep-tid
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Related works:
Working Paper: Regulation, Institutions, and Productivity: New Macroeconomic Evidence from OECD Countries (2017)
Working Paper: Regulation, Institutions and Productivity: New Macroeconomic Evidence From OECD Countries (2017)
Working Paper: Regulation, institutions and productivity: New macroeconomic evidence from OECD countries (2017)
Journal Article: Regulation, Institutions, and Productivity: New Macroeconomic Evidence from OECD Countries (2016)
Working Paper: Regulation, institutions and productivity: new macroeconomic evidence from OECD countries (2016)
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