Professor Jos L. T. Blank from Delft University of Technology (The Netherlands) and chair of the foundation IPSE Studies (Institute of Public Sector Efficiency) gave a lecture on productivity of central government departments (CGDs) on 30 November 2023 based on an article published in the journal Public Sector Economics.

In order to measure productivity, the presenter, together with his co-authors – Alex A. S. van Heezik and Bas Blank – estimated an average cost function based on the data of Dutch individual CGDs during the period 2012–2019, using the mixed-effect non-linear least squares method.

The outcomes show that there are large efficiency differences among CGDs. It is also striking that technical change of the CGDs is non-existent over time, probably due to a lack of innovative behaviour, unwieldy bureaucracies and increasingly complex paperwork.

The presentation was moderated by Branko Stanić, researcher at the Institute of Public Finance. 

For this interesting lecture recording and a presentation are also available.