Services regulation, input prices and exports

Abstract

This article analyses the economic implications of a change in the regulatory framework designed to promote competition among firms, assessing the impact that barriers to competition in the services industry have on the cost of inputs and the exports of manufacturing firms in Spain. The estimates presented reveal that the reductions in barriers to competition over recent decades have had a significant impact on the real exports of manufacturing firms, especially larger ones, as a result of greater competition in the supply of their inputs. The results underline the fact that further improvements in the degree of competition may influence the competitiveness of the Spanish economy as a whole