1887

OECD Economics Department Working Papers

Working papers from the Economics Department of the OECD that cover the full range of the Department’s work including the economic situation, policy analysis and projections; fiscal policy, public expenditure and taxation; and structural issues including ageing, growth and productivity, migration, environment, human capital, housing, trade and investment, labour markets, regulatory reform, competition, health, and other issues.

The views expressed in these papers are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the OECD or of the governments of its member countries.

English, French

Product Market Competition and Economic Performance in Norway

Norwegian growth has been strong over the past decade. This development has been supported by the off-shore sector, but depleting oil reserves implies that growth will have to rely increasingly on the mainland economy. Empirical work shows that competition is important for promoting economic growth. Recognising the benefits of competition, the government wants to introduce regulatory reforms to stimulate economic growth. However, the promotion of competition has often conflicted with other policy objectives, such as maintaining a regionally dispersed population and a high degree of public ownership. This has lead to weak competition in a number of sectors, resulting in high prices, weak innovative activity and inefficient resource allocation. Reforms to promote product market competition in Norway should therefore inter alia focus on separating the public sector’s roles and functions as owner and regulator. This requires an increase in the independence of sector ...

English

Keywords: productivity and growth, regulatory reforms, product market competition, Norway, public ownership, public procurement, competition law, retail sector, network industries
JEL: O57: Economic Development, Innovation, Technological Change, and Growth / Economywide Country Studies / Comparative Studies of Countries; L9: Industrial Organization / Industry Studies: Transportation and Utilities; L33: Industrial Organization / Nonprofit Organizations and Public Enterprise / Comparison of Public and Private Enterprises and Nonprofit Institutions; Privatization; Contracting Out; L87: Industrial Organization / Industry Studies: Services / Postal and Delivery Services; L43: Industrial Organization / Antitrust Issues and Policies / Legal Monopolies and Regulation or Deregulation; L81: Industrial Organization / Industry Studies: Services / Retail and Wholesale Trade; e-Commerce; K21: Law and Economics / Regulation and Business Law / Antitrust Law; L11: Industrial Organization / Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance / Production, Pricing, and Market Structure; Size Distribution of Firms; L16: Industrial Organization / Market Structure, Firm Strategy, and Market Performance / Industrial Organization and Macroeconomics: Industrial Structure and Structural Change; Industrial Price Indices
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