In this paper we analyze the levels of technical efficiency and productivity growth attained by Spanish insurance companies during a period of deregulation. We compute Malmquist productivity indexes using the estimates of parametric distance function for several specialized insurance branches. In this way, we show that branch specialization matters a great deal and that firms combining two or three product lines (Health, Property-Liabilities and Life) perform better than firms operating in one insurance line exclusively. In the light of these results, we recommend that the remaining restrictions coming from the European Third Directives on the operations of multi-branch firms should be removed. Moreover, from a management point of view, it would be appropriate to encourage the creation of multi-branch insurance firms. However, in all cases, the estimated scores indicate low productivity growth (less than 2% per year) compared with a huge increase in insurance activity (premiums were multiplied by nearly 3 in a decade).
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Paper provided by Centre de Recherche en Economie Publique et de la Population (CREPP) (Research Center on Public and Population Economics) HEC-Management School, University of Liège in its series CREPP Working Papers with number
0506.
Find related papers by JEL classification: D24 - Microeconomics - - Production and Organizations - - - Production; Capital and Total Factor Productivity; Capacity C43 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric and Statistical Methods: Special Topics - - - Index Numbers and Aggregation G22 - Financial Economics - - Financial Institutions and Services - - - Insurance; Insurance Companies
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