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.
- ISSN: 18151973 (online)
- https://doi.org/10.1787/18151973
Ten Years of Product Market Reform in OECD Countries
Insights from a Revised PMR Indicator
This paper describes patterns and developments of regulation that potentially affect product market
competition in OECD countries over the past decade. It uses the 2008 update and revision of the OECD
indicators of product market regulation (PMR) that integrate to a larger extent than in the past information
on sector-specific regulation and adapt a simpler and more transparent aggregation technique. The results
show that OECD countries have extensively liberalised product markets over the past ten years and – as a
consequence - convergence of regulation across OECD countries can be observed. However, reforms
appear to have slowed in the most recent period (2003-2008) as compared with the earlier period (1998-
2003). Easing of product market regulation appears to have been driven to a considerable extent by reforms
in sector-specific regulation, notably as regards the gas, electricity and telecommunications markets.
Countries appear also to have followed consistent reform approaches. However, scope for further reform
remains, especially as regards controls of governments over businesses, and as regards certain sectors such
as professional services and retail trade.
Keywords: indicators of product market regulation
JEL:
K2: Law and Economics / Regulation and Business Law;
L5: Industrial Organization / Regulation and Industrial Policy
- Click to access:
-
Click to download PDF - 3.05MBPDF
-
Click to Read online and shareREAD