Public Sector Performance and Efficiency in Europe: The Role of Public R&D

Economic growth in the European Union slowed markedly in the aftermath of the Lisbon European Council of March 2000. Although in that period efficiency of public administrations as such performed better in the EU, the question is if the current size, structure and functioning of European public sector is efficient enough to produce positive impacts throughout the whole economy. In terms of policy the empirical results stresses that the EU’s innovation system needs to be drastically reformed if the EU is to make a decisive shift towards realising the broad features of which have been laid out in the Lisbon 2010 agenda. A structural reform and institutional change, and an emphasis on competitiveness that is based on science and on knowledge is a prerequisite for the Union to catch up with the United States and the dynamic Asian economies, and public sector has a key role in this process. The aim of this paper is twofold: to summarise and discuss the links between public sector structure, performance and innovation in Europe, and to explore the influence that public R&D might exert on general R&D system and public performance patterns in EU countries through some R&D indicators depending on the types of public sectors.