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Methodology to assess the progress in Lisbon strategy Smilovice, 5 th December 2007. Alexandr Hobza Unit E-1: Coordination of structural reforms and their macroeconomic implications DG ECFIN, European Commission. Outline of presentation.
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Methodology to assess the progress in Lisbon strategySmilovice, 5th December 2007 Alexandr Hobza Unit E-1:Coordination of structural reforms and their macroeconomic implications DG ECFIN, European Commission
Outline of presentation 1. Lisbon strategy: structural reform process in Europe 2. Methodology to assess progress with Lisbon Strategy 3. Tracking reforms 4. Multi-step methodological approach to identifying growth-enhancing policies 5. Modelling effects of reforms
Lisbon strategy Economic perspective • Need to deal with economic challenges • Low growth potential and adjustment capacity (euro area) • Globalisation • Ageing • Climate change • Response • Macroecomic policies geared towards stability and growth • Comprehensive coordinated process of structural reforms
Lisbon strategy Historical perspective • Continuation of pre-Lisbon coordination processes • Politically driven process – European Council meetings and headline targets • Mid-term review in 2005 and re-launch of the Strategy
Lisbon strategy Procedural perspective • Rationale for coordination • Coordination of economic policies in EMU • Lisbon: structured coordination based on soft tools • Integrated Strategy for Growth and Jobs– new governance arrangements • National ownership as a solution • Political economy elements (wider participation, more focus, integration of policies) • The national key challenges at the core of the EU strategic approach
Economic policy coordination in EMU Monetary policy stance Monetary policy ECB Article 105 Exchange rate Council (+ECB/Commission) Article 111 Integrated Guidelines Package Commission, Council, EP, European Council Broad Economic Policy Guidelines Article 99 Employment Guidelines Article 128 Macroeconomic Dialogue Cologne Resolution Stability and Growth Pact Stability/Convergence Programmes Article 104, Amsterdam Resolution and Council Regulations Community Lisbon Programme National Reform Programmes Macroeconomic conditions Budgetary stance Smoothly operating markets, potential growth
Lisbon strategy: governance structure • Overall policy objectives set by Heads of State of Government (Spring European Council) + Integrated Guidelines as a blueprint for policy design • Some common targets, e.g. employment rates of 70% by 2010, to raise spending on R&D to 3% of GDP, reduce administrative burden in complying with regulations by 25% between 2006 and 2010 • Member States (not the European Commission) define their key growth challenges and reform commitments • Reform priorities fixed for a three-year cycle, BUT annual reporting and evaluation exercise which leads to country specific political recommendations
Lisbon strategy: A political process supported by economic analysis • Based on the premise an external constraint and peer pressure can help overcome reform bottlenecks • short-term (concentrated) costs versus uncertain long-term (dispersed benefits • rent-seeking interest groups can capture policy makers • Also recognises that there are economic spillovers (trade, internal market) and political economy spillovers (institutional learning, demonstration effects, peer pressure) in coordinating at EU level • Combination of evidence-based analysis supported by a political process can generate results • Can take years to “frame” a consensus on the nature/scale of policy challenge, and on the policy reforms needed to tackle them
Work on the Lisbon evaluation methodology • A three-pronged approach I: Tracking structural reforms II: Quantifying their impact on growth and jobs III: Modelling • Practical arrangements ECFIN working together with other lead DGs, i.e. SG, ENTR and EMPL Developing analysis working with new Lisbon Methodology (LIME) Working Group attached to the EPC
Method I – trackingstructural reforms • Developing institutional databases on reforms -LABREF: an operational database of enacted labour market reforms - MICREF : a database of microeconomic reforms, currently being developed • Reporting tables/grids attached to NRPs - working with LIME group to streamline format and content
LABREF database • database on enacted labour market reforms in 9 areas covering labour taxation, unemployment and social benefits, ALMPs, EPL, disability and early retirement schemes, pension systems, wage bargaining, working time organisation, immigration and mobility. • completed for 2000-2006 period (except BU and RO)
MICREF database • database of microeconomic reforms developed in cooperation between DGs ECFIN/ENTR and EPC with assistance from JRC • includes policies such as market integration, competition policy, sector specific regulation, start-up conditions, business environment, R&D and innovation, education) • Further steps - back-dating to 2004/5 by Spring 2008 - development of Internet interface underway
Reporting tables <------------------------------------------------ ------ ESSENTIAL --------------------------------------------> <---------------- DESIRABLE ------------->
Method II – analysing the impact of reforms on growth and jobs • Starting point is a focus on growth drivers through decomposition of GDP - quantify the sources of per capita GDP gaps in the EU - quantify the determinants of growth over 2000-2005 using a growth accounting approach decomposed into 12 components (especially detailed on the labour market side) • The purpose is - to provide an analytical benchmark for analysing the impact of structural reforms on growth and employment - verify that policies are focussing on the most important growth drivers
Method II – a multistep approach • Step 1: Identifying the components of GDP where MSs are underperforming (in terms of level and growth) relative to a given benchmark through GDP accounting. • Step 2: Identifying the conceptual links between policy interventions, a list of indicators and the underperforming GDP components. • Step 3: Using performance and policy indicators to identify the most problematic policy areas/issues, which are likely to be responsible for the income gaps/weak growth components. • Step 4: Bringing together the results of step 1 (GDP accounting) and step 3 (indicator-based assessment of policy area performance) and supplementing them with country-specific expertise and data • Step 5:Present the result in a policy context (link with NRP and Key Challenges
Step 1 – Growth accounting Y total GDP H the annual hours worked per person employed L total employment, whichthe product of POP, PART and (1-ur) α the share of labour in total value added, which is set equal to 65% in all countries POP total population SWP the working age population share (15-64) in total population PART total labour force participation rate ur the overall unemployment rate QL indicator of labour quality K the stock of capital TFP total factor productivity as a residual
Step 1 – Growth accounting To capture the change in average quality of labour, we compute the average relative productivity of a person employed compared to those with low educational attainment: Where Es and Ws are respectively employment and hourly wage (without overtime) for each educational attainment (ISCED-3).
Step 1 – Growth accounting g denotes a rate of growth POP-M native population m net migration rate
Step 1 – Growth accounting • New features of the growth accounting - very detailed decomposition - accounting for the quality of labour - contribution of migration • Caveats - descriptive approach, does not inform about causality - results affected by assumptions of technical nature – e.g. Cobb-Douglas PF, no economies of scale, calibration of labour share (though widely accepted) - growth and its components can be affected by the business cycle - developments in each component might be difficult to interpret in practice
Step 2 – Making the link with policies • Need to link growth accounting with policy interventions and performance on indicators • need to draw on a wide body of economic research • The structure of the fiches • Definition and scope of the policy area • Impact on growth components (theoretical mechanism and transmission channels); direct and indirect • Evidence and estimated elasticities in recent literature • Possible spillovers and complementarities with other policy areas • Non-exhaustive list of relevant indicators
Example: LS of older workers Policy area GDP components Policy and performance indicators Specific labour supply measures for older-workers) Older-worker participation Policy indicators Implicit tax on continued work (Net change in pension wealth if retiring at 65 instead of 62 -2004 (-) Coverage of early retirement 2004 (-) Life-long learning: Participation of the population aged 55-64 in education and training 2000-2006 (+) Performance indicators Average exit age from the labour force 2001-2005 (+) Employment rate of older workers aged 55 to 64 - Women (%) 1992-2006 (+) Employment rate of older workers aged 55 to 64 - Men (%) 1992-2006 (+)
Step 3: Scoring system Score = (Indicator-EU15 average)/Standard deviation *10 • trimming the score (3 stdev.) so as to avoid giving too much weight to outliers • not rounding the final value in the maquette but presenting it without decimal • reporting the EU15 average and the stdev. as well as the distance to alternative benchmarks (EU27, five best values, EU5, the Lisbon target)
Step 3: Scoring system Under normal distribution EU15 16% ++ =2 Average+one stdev. E(X)+ (X) 19% + =1 E(X)+0.4 (X) 31% 0 =0 EU15 Weighed average E(X) 0 E(X)- 0.4 (X) 19% - =-1 E(X) - (X) 16% - - =-2
Improvements to the methodology • Robustness checks • Correlations between indicators • Taking account of cyclicality • Extending growth accounting to include sectoral decomposition or environtal dimension • Aggregate score based on a narrower set of indicators • Extending growth accounting to include forecast • Presentational issues
Next steps Questionnaire to MSs to seek clarification on: new scoring scheme cyclical adjustments robustness checks presentation of results etc. « Final » proposal to be presented in January 2008 Methodology to be applied by May 2008
Method III - Modelling the impact of structural refroms Simulations included in 2007 APR [1] Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom.