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The restructuring of the allocation of governmental competencies in France has increased the importance of subnational governments by transferring additional tasks. We analyse the efficiency of public spending on the intermediate government level for the 96 departements in metropolitan France in 2008. Spending efficiency is measured using Data Envelopment Analysis. Results indicate significant room for improvement and we detect an average spending inefficiency of 12%. To explain efficiency, a bootstrapped truncated regression is applied. The second-stage regression shows that efficiency is also determined by exogenous factors and identifies the distance to the national capital, inhabitants' income and the share of inhabitants older than 65 as significant determinants of efficiency. Adapted from the source document.

Efforts undertaken by France to restructure the allocation of governmental competencies increased the importance of subnational governments by transferring additional tasks. This paper analyzes the efficiency of public spending on an intermediate government level for a sample of 96 départements in metropolitan France in 2008. Spending efficiency is measured using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). Results indicate significant room for improvements and detect spending inefficiencies averaging between 10 and 22 percent, depending on model specification. To explain efficiency, a bootstrapped truncated regression, following Simar and Wilson (2007), is applied. The second-stage regression shows that efficiency is also determined by exogenous factors and identifies the distance to the national capital, inhabitants' income and the share of inhabitants of an age over 65 as significant determinants of efficiency.

In the 1990s, a number of municipalities started privatizing their energy utilities; in recent years, there has been an intensive debate about whether a paradigm shift has taken place since then. Cities and municipalities have considered putting the energy, water, gas and heat supply back into the hands of public companies; Berlin and Hamburg are two prominent examples. But is there really an overarching trend toward (re)municipalization? According to the present study, which evaluates newly available microdata from official statistics, there is no evidence of a comprehensive (re)municipalization. The increase in public enterprises appears to have more to do with general restructuring in the energy sector, and has in fact been less pronounced than has growth in the private sector.

Nachdem in den 90er Jahren viele Kommunen ihre Energieversorgungsunternehmen privatisiert hatten, ist mittlerweile oft von einem Paradigmenwechsel die Rede. Städte und Gemeinden ziehen demnach in Betracht, die Versorgung mit Strom, Wasser, Gas und Wärme wieder in die Hände öffentlicher Unternehmen zu legen. Die Städte Berlin und Hamburg sind zwei prominente Beispiele dafür. Doch gibt es einen allgemeinen (Re-)Kommunalisierungstrend? Die vorliegende Studie wertet erstmalig verfügbare Mikrodaten der amtlichen Statistik aus und kommt zu dem Schluss: Anhaltspunkte für einen umfassenden (Re-)Kommunalisierungstrend gibt es nicht. Die Zunahme öffentlicher Unternehmen scheint vielmehr auf generelle Umstrukturierungen im Energiesektor zurückzugehen und fällt relativ zum Zuwachs der Privaten geringer aus. ; In the 1990s, a number of municipalities started privatizing their energy utilities; in recent years, there has been an intensive debate about whether a paradigm shift has taken place since then. Cities and municipalities have considered putting the energy, water, gas and heat supply networks back into the hands of public companies; Berlin and Hamburg are two prominent examples. But is there really an overarching trend toward (re)municipalization? According to the present study, which evaluates newly available microdata from official statistics, there is no evidence of a comprehensive (re)municipalization. The increase in public enterprises appears to have more to do with general restructuring in the energy sector, and has in fact been less pronounced than has growth in the private sector.

The increase in municipal economic activity in the utilities sector frequently comes under scrutiny. It is presumed that public utilities have less incentive to provide efficient service than private companies. This could result in excessive costs and prices for end users. New microdata on German energy supply companies allow to conduct an empirical analysis for the whole of Germany for the first time. The findings indicate that there is no difference in efficiency between public and private utilities. This applies to both the competitively structured electricity retail sector and regulated electricity distribution sector. General restructuring in the energy sector such as the increased competitive pressure or the introduction of a more stringent regulatory regime have led to changes in the efficiency of all energy supply companies. The dichotomy between public and private utilities that has been suggested in the (re)municipalization debate therefore appears to be exaggerated.

Die Ausweitung der kommunalen Wirtschaftstätigkeit in der Energieversorgung wird oftmals kritisch betrachtet. Es wird vermutet, dass öffentliche Unternehmen im Vergleich zu privaten Unternehmen geringeren Anreizen zu effizienter Leistungserstellung unterliegen. Das könnte überhöhte Kosten und Endkundenpreise zur Folge haben. Neue Mikrodaten deutscher Energieversorgungsunternehmen erlauben erstmals eine deutschlandweite empirische Untersuchung. Die Ergebnisse deuten darauf hin, dass es keine Effizienzunterschiede zwischen öffentlichen und privaten Unternehmen gibt. Das gilt sowohl für den wettbewerblich organisierten Stromvertrieb als auch für den regulierten Verteilnetzbetrieb. Allgemeine Umstrukturierungen im Energiesektor wie der erhöhte Wettbewerbsdruck oder verstärkte Regulierungsvorschriften haben zu Effizienzänderungen aller Energieversorgungsunternehmen geführt. Die Dichotomie zwischen öffentlichen und privaten Unternehmen, die in der (Re-)Kommunalisierungsdebatte suggeriert wird, scheint daher übertrieben. ; The increase in municipal economic activity in the utilities sector frequently comes under scrutiny. It is presumed that public utilities have less incentive to provide efficient service than private companies. This could result in excessive costs and prices for end users. New microdata on German energy supply companies allow to conduct an empirical analysis for the whole of Germany for the first time. The findings indicate that there is no difference in efficiency between public and private utilities. This applies to both the competitively structured electricity retail sector and regulated electricity distribution sector. General restructuring in the energy sector such as the increased competitive pressure or the introduction of a more stringent regulatory regime have led to changes in the efficiency of all energy supply companies. The dichotomy between public and private utilities that has been suggested in the (re)municipalization debate therefore appears to be exaggerated.