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Assessing and Explaining the Performance of Public Enterprises: Some Recent Evidence from the Productive Efficiency Viewpoint

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Public goods, environmental externalities and fiscal competition

Abstract

From a general discussion of the notion of economic performance as applied to public enterprises, we first observe that productive efficiency is the least ambiguous and most generally desirable form of performance for such firms. We then discuss the type of relation expected to hold between a firm’s productive efficiency on the one hand and on the other hand characteristics pertaining to ownership, objectives, regulation, and competition. Next we review a number of empirical efficiency studies which are aimed at testing the effect of those characteristics on firms’ productive efficiency. In conclusion, we offer some evaluative remarks on the public policy implications of efficiency measurement in public sector economics.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Université de Liège and CORE, Belgique

    Pierre Pestieau

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  1. Pierre Pestieau
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  2. Henry Tulkens
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. National University of Singapore, Singapore

    Parkash Chander

  2. University of Georgia, USA

    C. Knox Lovell

  3. Howe Institute, University of Toronto, Canada

    Jack Mintz

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Pestieau, P., Tulkens, H. (2006). Assessing and Explaining the Performance of Public Enterprises: Some Recent Evidence from the Productive Efficiency Viewpoint. In: Chander, P., Drèze, J., Lovell, C.K., Mintz, J. (eds) Public goods, environmental externalities and fiscal competition. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-25534-7_18

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