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Evaluation of Efficiency in Selected Areas of Public Services in European Union Countries

Author

Listed:
  • Martina Halaskova

    (Faculty of Economics, VŠB-Technical University of Ostrava, Sokolská třída 33, 702 00 Ostrava, Czech Republic)

  • Renata Halaskova

    (Faculty of Education, University of Ostrava, Fráni Šrámka 3, 709 00 Ostrava, Czech Republic)

  • Viktor Prokop

    (Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Pardubice, Studentska 84, 532 10 Pardubice, Czech Republic)

Abstract

Over the past 40 years, the service sector has become the dominant area of market economies. The public sector and services financed from public financing represent a specific group within the services sector. This paper aims to evaluate the efficiency of EU countries and find the extent to which the volume of public services (and the respective financial allocations) can have an impact on selected economic indicators. To this end, the efficiency of public expenditure in five areas of public services (general public services; health; education; social protection; and recreation, culture, and religion) in 2009 and 2016 was evaluated in relation to selected economic indicators (GDP per capita and employment in services). In addition, the efficiency of public expenditure in EU countries was evaluated in relation to the size of the public sector and traditions of public administration. For cross-country analyses within the 27 European countries, data envelopment analysis and the input-oriented variable returns to scale (VRS) model were applied. The results demonstrated that in 2009, 13 out of 27 countries were efficient as opposed to 2016, where only seven countries were efficient. In countries with bigger size of public sector, the efficiency of public expenditure on services was not established. However, there was a similarity in the efficiency of public expenditure on services between groups of EU countries regarding the tradition of public administration.

Suggested Citation

  • Martina Halaskova & Renata Halaskova & Viktor Prokop, 2018. "Evaluation of Efficiency in Selected Areas of Public Services in European Union Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(12), pages 1-17, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:12:p:4592-:d:187943
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    5. Marius Sorin Dincă & Gheorghiţa Dincă & Maria Letiţia Andronic & Anna Maria Pasztori, 2021. "Assessment of the European Union’s Educational Efficiency," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-29, March.
    6. Ondrej Kuba & Jan Stejskal, 2021. "Economic and Political Consequences of the Compulsory Voting in Public Parliamentary Elections: Czech Case Study," Economies, MDPI, vol. 9(2), pages 1-15, April.
    7. Maryna Shashyna & Petro Gudz & Alla Pankova & Olesia Benchak & Oksana Nemyrovska, 2023. "Modernization of public administration in Eastern Europe in the context of implementation of digitalization," Eastern-European Journal of Enterprise Technologies, PC TECHNOLOGY CENTER, vol. 4(13 (124)), pages 57-65, August.
    8. Gergana Mihaylova-Borisova & Presiana Nenkova, 2021. "DEA Efficiency Approach in Comparing Macroeconomic Performance of EU and Balkan Countries," Economic Studies journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 6, pages 42-62.

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