An analysis of the possible causes of product market malfunctioning in the EU: First results for manufacturing and service sectors

Within the context of the follow-up to the Single Market Review, the European Commission has screened EU manufacturing and service sectors for problems of market malfunctioning. This paper investigates the nature of these problems in the selected sectors and focuses on the following four dimensions of market functioning: regulation, integration, competition and innovation. In spite of the data limitations, regulation appears to be a cross cutting factor affecting market functioning in many sectors. The service sectors, in particular, show signs of an unexploited potential in terms of market integration and competition pressures. In all selected sectors there are indications of an unsatisfactory innovation performance. Overall, the analysis appears to confirm the results of the initial sector screening.