Eco‐efficiency of high‐yielding variety rice cultivation after accounting for on‐farm environmental damage as an undesirable output: an empirical analysis from Bangladesh

This study computes the eco‐efficiency of high‐yielding variety (HYV) rice production by including an on‐farm environmental damage index (OFEDI) as an undesirable output using data envelopment analysis. It then identifies its determinants by applying an interval regression procedure on a sample of 317 farmers from north‐western Bangladesh. Results reveal that the mean level of the OFEDI‐adjusted production efficiency (i.e. eco‐efficiency) is 89 per cent, whereas ignoring OFEDI adjustment (i.e. with OFEDI = 0) reduces the mean level of efficiency to 69 per cent, implying that the production of undesirable output or on‐farm environmental damage induces an efficiency loss of 20 per cent with significant differences across regions. The proportion of farmers’ income from HYV rice agriculture, land ownership, extension services and socio‐environmental living standard are the significant determinants of improving eco‐efficiency. Policy implications include investments in extension services and land reform measures to increase land ownership, which will synergistically improve eco‐efficiency of HYV rice production in Bangladesh.     

Decomposition of output growth in the Tunisian olive-growing sector: A frontier production function approach

The aim of this paper is to investigate the relative contribution of technical efficiency, technological change, and increased input use to the output growth of the Tunisian olive oil growing farms, using a stochastic frontier production function approach applied to panel data for the period 1995-1997. The proposed methodology is based on the use of a flexible translog functional form. Results indicate that technical efficiency of production in the sample of olive producing farms investigated ranges from a minimum of 24.8% to a maximum of 84.6% with an average technical efficiency estimate of 48.5%. This suggests that olive producers may increase their production by as much as 51.5% through more efficient use of production inputs. Further, the production is characterized by decreasing returns to scale, which on average was 0.8. Finally, investigation of the sources of production growth reveals that the contribution of conventional inputs (labor, in particular) and technical change are found to be the main source of that growth, since total factor productivity increased during the study period, but at a slowing rate.     

Technical efficiency and impact of environmental regulations in farrow-to-finish swine production in Taiwan

This article demonstrates how technical efficiency and the impact of environmental regulations of Taiwanese farrow‐to‐finish swine production can be estimated in the presence of undesirable outputs. The issue of measuring technical efficiencies while considering undesirable outputs has been addressed by past studies. But the proper method of including undesirable outputs has always been a subject of debate. This article develops a data envelopment analysis (DEA)‐based model that includes undesirable outputs. The technologies of desirable output production and undesirable output control are considered simultaneously. This allows one to transform undesirable output into desirable output, whereby a traditional Shephard distance function can be used to measure technical efficiencies. An approach to measuring the impacts due to environmental regulations is then derived. Empirical results show that larger farms are more technically efficient than small‐sized farms, but no clear conclusions can be reached for the measures of regulatory impact among farms with different sizes. On average, the sample farms incurred an opportunity cost due to environmental regulations equivalent to 9.8% of market value. Opportunity costs rise with efficiency.     

Mismeasurement and efficiency estimates: Evidence from smallholder survey data in Africa

Smallholder agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa is commonly characterised by high levels of technical inefficiency. However, much of this characterisation relies on self-reported input and production data, which are prone to systematic measurement error. We show theoretically that non-classical measurement error introduces multiple identification challenges and sources of bias in estimating smallholders' technical inefficiency. We then empirically examine the implications of measurement error for the estimation of technical inefficiency using smallholder farm survey data from Ethiopia, Malawi, Nigeria and Tanzania. We find that measurement error in agricultural input and production data leads to a substantial upward bias in technical inefficiency estimates (by up to 85% for some farmers). Our results suggest that existing estimates of technical efficiency in sub-Saharan Africa may be severe underestimates of smallholders' actual efficiency and what is commonly attributed to farmer inefficiency may be an artefact of mismeasurement in agricultural data. Our results raise questions about the received wisdom on African smallholders' production efficiency and prior estimates of the productivity of agricultural inputs. Improving the measurement of agricultural data can improve our understanding of smallholders' production efficiencies and improve the targeting of productivity-enhancing technologies.     

黑龙江省国有重点林区林业经济投入产出效率研究

运用DEA模型对黑龙江省国有重点林区40个林业局进行推测计算投入产出效率,研究发现:林业经济投入产出效率在黑龙江省国有重点林区整体较低,只有少数林业局能够达到有效的投入产出状态,林业投资和劳动力存在显著的投入冗余,林业总产值存在较大的增长空间,通过扩大生产规模等方式会降低投资冗余,但仍会存在较大的劳动力冗余,林业资源的合理配置与要素投入的结构优化是提升黑龙江省国有重点林区林业经济投入产出效率根本途径。     

基于碳排放的河南省粮食绿色全要素生产率分析及对策建议

［目的］为探索粮食绿色增产模式，推进农业供给侧结构性改革和绿色可持续发展。［方法］分别运用SBM-ML指数模型与DEA Malmquist指数模型对2004—2016年河南省粮食绿色全要素生产率和传统全要素生产率进行测算和对比分析，并采用ESDA法探讨了粮食绿色全要素生产率与粮食产出的空间关联性。［结果］河南省粮食绿色全要素生产率明显低于传统全要素生产率； 2004—2016年河南省粮食绿色全要素生产率的驱动因素经历了由技术进步驱动转变为技术效率驱动再转变为技术进步和技术效率共同驱动的过程，但技术进步的贡献率明显高于技术效率； 河南省粮食绿色全要素生产率与粮食产出的二元全局空间自相关大体呈“N”型变化，粮食绿色全要素生产率和粮食产出由不平衡发展逐渐趋向平衡发展。［结论］忽视碳排放的传统粮食全要素生产率测算与实际有较大偏差。建议通过转变发展模式，探索粮食绿色增产道路； 因地制宜，有效利用技术进步和技术效率双轮驱动； 不断推进河南省粮食绿色全要素生产率与粮食产出的平衡发展3项措施来实现粮食生产的综合提升。     

A Nonparametric Analysis of Production Models with Multidimensional Quality

This article proposes a methodology to measure the characteristics of intermediate products when quality is multidimensional. It uses a general representation of the multioutput technology via directional distance functions and constructs quality indicators based on differences rather than ratios. The quality indicators may be used to evaluate firms' output, taking into account the whole set of quality attributes. The paper explores how aggregate quality may vary with the production level and finds a trade-off between quantity and aggregate quality in wine grapes.     

Measurement errors in agricultural data and their implications on marginal returns to modern agricultural inputs

The low uptake of modern agricultural technologies in sub-Saharan African countries has encouraged researchers to revisit the returns to (or profitability of) these agricultural inputs. A related strand of literature is exploring the allocative efficiency of these factors of production in African agriculture. However, all these studies rely on self-reported agricultural data, which are prone to nonclassical measurement errors, the errors in these data are correlated with the true values of variables of interest. In this article we investigate the implication of measurement errors in self-reported agricultural input and production data on marginal returns to these modern agricultural inputs. We consider a generic two-sided measurement error problem where both production and inputs can be measured with error, and these errors can be correlated. We employ both self-reported and objective measures of production and plot size to compute output elasticities under these alternative measurement scenarios. We find that using self-reported production and plot size overestimates output elasticities and hence marginal returns to modern agricultural inputs (including chemical fertilizer and improved seed). These results are noteworthy in terms of informing conventional technology diffusion strategies as well as in view of revisiting existing presumptions about the profitability of modern agricultural inputs.     

SUPPLY-MAXIMISING AND VARIATION-MINIMISING REPLACEMENT CYCLES OF PERENNIAL CROPS AND SIMILAR ASSETS: THEORY ILLUSTRATED BY COCONUT CULTIVATION

The paper argues that maximum sustainable yields rather than net present values often need to be considered for policy and identifies the length of the replacement cycle required for maximum sustainable yield or supply in multi-point or interval output time-phased production conditions, such as apply to perennial crops and to similar productive processes. It enables point-input point-output models which have been well explored (for instance, for forestry) to be treated as special cases. A virtue of the analysis is its use of a simple technical relationship to determine the replacement rate of a perennial crop to maximise sustainable yield. The analysis is illustrated by an empirical example drawn for the cultivation of the Sri Lankan ‘tall’ variety of coconut.     

基于DEA模型的生物质能源企业经营效率分析

选择16家2008年前上市的生物质能源企业,并按照其所处生产环节分为4类,分别选择固定资产账面价值、在职员工人数、主营业务成本作为投入指标,选择主营业务收入、基本每股收益、利税总额作为产出指标,建立基于可变规模效益的DEA模型（BBC模型）。分析发现：2008-2012年样本企业经营的技术效率稳步提升,基本达到DEA有效,但由于规模效率的波动较大,导致至2012年,企业经营的综合效率普遍无效,无较大改善,且大多处于规模报酬递减阶段,以生物质设备企业最为严重。我国生物质能源企业存在大面积规模冗余,生产经营规模与效率不匹配,需适当减少投入、控制成本、提高生产效率、原材料利用率,才能逐步提高企业经营绩效,形成竞争力,站稳市场。     

Estimation of input-oriented technical efficiency using a nonhomogeneous stochastic production frontier model

Technical inefficiency can be modeled as either input‐oriented (IO) or output‐oriented (OO). However, in the estimation of parametric stochastic production frontier models which use maximum likelihood method only the OO measure is used. In this article we consider a simple nonhomogeneous production function and estimate it with both IO and OO specifications. A sample of 80 Spanish dairy data (1993–1998) is used to estimate both models. We consider one output (liters of milk) and four variable inputs (viz., number of cows, kilograms of concentrates, hectares of land, and labor [measured in man‐equivalent units]). We find that returns to scale (RTS) and technical efficiency results derived from these models are different because either estimated technologies are different, or they are evaluated at different points. Using a Monte Carlo analysis we show that if RTS is close to unity differences in the estimates of RTS and technical efficiency are smaller. This holds true for estimates of both RTS and technical efficiency.     

东部7省水产品出口对渔业经济发展的影响研究

本文选取了我国东部地区的辽宁、江苏、浙江、福建、山东、广东和海南这7个渔业大省作为研究对象，以2002—2007年的水产品出口额、固定资产投资额、渔业劳动力和渔业经济产值数据为样本，采用出口扩展型生产函数模型，运用面板数据进行实证分析并测算各省水产品出口的贡献率。结果得出这7个省水产品出口都对渔业经济增长有正向的拉动作用，且各省拉动作用的趋势。最后，根据结论提出相关的政策建议。     

冬小麦—夏玉米复种的生产效率及其时空分异

目的 提高粮食生产效率是保障国家粮食安全的重要任务,对粮食生产中典型的冬小麦—夏玉米复种模式的生产效率进行分析,可以精确把握粮食生产效率,为粮食生产相关政策制定提供参考。方法 文章基于2007—2018年6省（市）面板数据,运用SBM-DEA和Fare-Primont模型从静态和动态视角对冬小麦—夏玉米复种模式的技术效率和全要素生产率的空间分布和时序变动特征进行测算及比较。结果 冬小麦—夏玉米复种模式的平均技术效率和全要素生产率水平值分别为0.793和0.744;机械投入、农药投入和水资源投入的平均冗余率较高,分别为28.693%、26.670%和21.578%。剩余混合效率即投入产出混合比例优化是造成冬小麦—夏玉米全要素生产率地区差异的主要原因;冬小麦—夏玉米复种模式的全要素生产率波动中小幅上升,技术进步、技术效率和剩余混合效率是主要影响因素。结论 冬小麦—夏玉米复种模式的低生产效率客观存在,应通过生产资料的科学合理投入,加快科技创新推广,推动粮食生产适度规模经营等方式来推动粮食高质量发展。     

Editorial - Multiple-use forestry

The problem of multiple-use forestry arises because (1) a forest can be managed to provide a wide range of products and services, (2) the different uses are not perfectly compatible with each other, and (3) some products are not priced in markets and many of the services a forest provides have the characteristics of public goods. Examples of major forest products include, in addition to timber, edible berries, fungi, and hunting games. Forests also provide recreation opportunities and various environmental services (such as regulating local climate, reducing soil erosion, reducing pollutants in the atmosphere, regulating the global climate, providing habitats for wildlife, etc.). The outputs of nontimber goods in general depend on the quantity and structure of the forest, which can be changed by various forest management activities. However, a forest state most suitable for the production of one good is usually not optimal with respect to another good. Typically, there does not exist a set of management activities that simultaneously maximize the outputs of timber and all other goods.Another way to understand the conflicts between different uses is to view standing timber as an intermediate product of forestry investment, which is employed as an “input” for the production of timber products and nontimber goods. Thinking in this way, the conflicts arise partly because timber production and nontimber uses compete for the same input, and partly because of the differences in the “production technology” among different nontimber goods. A change in the standing timber may have positive impacts on some nontimber uses, but have negative effects on others. Because of the conflicts among different uses, it requires that both timber products and nontimber goods should be explicitly incorporated into forestry decision-making in order to achieve the greatest benefits to the forest owner and/or the public.Most of the economic analyses of multiple-use forestry decisions have explicitly or implicitly adopted the view that multiple-use should be achieved in individual stands. Each stand should be managed to produce an optimal mix of timber products and nontimber goods. Another view of multiple-use forestry is to manage each stand for a primary use, whereas multiple-use concerns are addressed by allocating different stands in a forest to different uses. A general argument in support of the primary-use view is that specialization makes for efficiency. The production of timber and nontimber goods is a joint process, however. Strictly speaking, one cannot separate timber production and the production of different nontimber goods. For example, managing a stand for timber production does not exclude the possibility of producing some nontimber goods in the stand. Since every stand usually produces more than one product, efficient multiple-use forestry requires that each stand should be managed for an optimal mix of timber and nontimber outputs. On the other hand, it may well be the case that the optimal multiple-use mix for a particular stand consists of a maximum output of one product. In this case the optimal multiple-use management decision would coincide with the optimal decision pertaining to a single use. In other words, it may be optimal to manage a particular stand for one primary use. Using the terminology of economics, primary-use may be efficient for stands in which the multiple-use production set is nonconvex. Recent research has explored several sources of nonconvexity in the multiple-use production set. However, there is no evidence supporting the argument that specialization is always more efficient than multiple-use management of individual stands. From an economics viewpoint, efficient primary-use is special cases of multiple-use stand management.A widely recognized limitation of multiple-use stand management is that, by considering each stand separately, one neglects the interdependence of nontimber benefits and ecological interactions among individual stands. The nontimber benefits of a stand depend on the output of nontimber goods from other stands. Likewise, the nontimber output from one stand affects the value of nontimber goods produced in the other stands. Ecological interactions among individual stands imply that the output of nontimber goods from two stands in a forest differs from the sum of the outputs from two isolated stands. These interdependence and interactions imply that the relationship between the nontimber benefits of a stand and the stand age (or standing timber stock) cannot be unambiguously determined - it depends on the flow of nontimber goods produced in the surrounding stands. Therefore, it is improper to determine optimal decisions for the individual stands independently. In stead, efficient multiple-use forestry decision should be analyzed by considering all the stands in a forest simultaneously.Another serious limitation of multiple-use stand management is that each stand is treated as a homogenous management unit to be managed according to a uniform management regime. One implicitly assumes that the boundaries of each stand is exogenously given and will remain unchanged over time. This assumption imposes a restriction on the multiple-use production set, thereby creates inefficiency. As an example, consider a large stand with a nonconvex production set. It may be possible to eliminate nonconvexity in the production set and push the production possibility frontier outwards by dividing the stand into several parts and managing each part for a primary-use. It may also be efficient to combine two adjacent stands into one to be managed following a uniform regime, because of the presences of fixed management costs, and/or because the relationship between some nontimber outputs and stand area is not linear.In contrast to income from timber production, nontimber goods produced at different time points are not perfect substitutes. The rate at which a forest owner is willing to substitute a nontimber good produced at one time point for that produced at another time point changes with the outputs of the nontimber good at the two time points. In general cases, the nontimber goods produced at one time point cannot be consumed at another time point, and the marginal utility of a nontimber good decreases when its output increases. This provides a motivation for reducing the variation in the output of nontimber goods over time. An effective approach to coordinating nontimber outputs over time is to apply different management regimes to different parts of a stand, or apply the same regime to adjacent stands, which would change the boundaries of the stands. Preserving the existing stand boundaries would limit the possibility of evening out the nontimber outputs over time, and thereby lead to intertemporal inefficiency in multiple-use management.In previous studies of multiple-use forestry decisions the nontimber outputs or benefits are usually modeled as functions of stand age or standing timber stock. Future flows of nontimber goods or benefits are incorporated into a stand/forest harvest decision model to explore the implications of nontimber uses for optimal harvest decisions. While stand age and standing timber stock may have significant impacts on nontimber outputs, other forest state variables, e. g. the spatial distribution of stands of different ages/species, may be of great importance to the production of nontimber goods. Recognition of such forest state variables could change the relationship between timber production and nontimber outputs and therefore change the optimal forest management decisions.In summary, multiple-use forestry is not simply an extension of timber management with additional flows of benefits to be considered when evaluating alternative management regimes. Recognition of multiple uses of a forest leads to two fundamental changes of the forestry decision problem. First, the optimal intertemporal consumption of forestry income is no longer separable from forest management decisions. In general, the optimal intertemporal consumption of forestry income depends on future flows of nontimber goods, implying that the consumption-saving decision should be made simultaneously with the decision on the production of timber and nontimber goods over time. Secondly, it is no longer appropriate to optimize the management regime for each stand separately. The nontimber outputs from a forest depend on the age distribution of individual stands, and on a wide range of other forest state variables such as the spatial distribution of stands of different ages and tree-species composition. Ecological interactions and interdependence among stands imply that management regimes for different stands should be optimized simultaneously. In addition to changing rotation ages and harvest levels, efficient multiple-use forestry requires optimizing the spatial allocation of harvests, redefining the boundaries of stands, coordinating the choices of tree species in regeneration of harvested area and so on.The lack of rigorous production functions for nontimber goods imposes a severe restriction on attempts to perform comprehensive economic analyses of multiple-use forestry decisions. This restriction in itself is no justification for ignoring many of the key aspects of multiple-use forestry problem and modeling the problem as one of determining the optimal rotation age or optimal harvest level. It requires that economic models of multiple-use forestry should be developed with special consideration of the vague and imprecise information regarding the relationships between nontimber outputs and forest state variables.Peichen GongDepartment of Forest EconomicsSE-90183 UmeåSweden     

Efficiency in agricultural production: the case of peasant farmers in eastern Paraguay

This paper contributes to the productivity literature in developing country agriculture by quantifying the level of efficiency for a sample of peasant farmers from Eastern Paraguay. A stochastic efficiency decomposition methodology is used to derive technical, allocative and economic efficiency measures separately for cotton and cassava. An average economic efficiency of 40.1% for cotton and of 52.3% for cassava is found, which suggests considerable room for productivity gains for the farms in the sample through better use of available resources given the state of technology. Gains in output through productivity growth have become increasingly important to Paraguay as the opportunities to bring additional virgin lands into cultivation have significantly diminished in recent years. No clear strategy to improve farm productivity could be gleaned from an examination of the relationship between efficiency and various socioeconomic variables. One possible explanation for this finding is the existence of a stage of development threshold below which there is no consistent relationship between socioeconomic variables and productivity. If this is the case, then our results suggest that this sample of Paraguayan peasants are yet to reach such a threshold. Hence, improvements in educational and extension services, for example, would be needed to go beyond this threshold. Once this is accomplished, additional productivity gains would be obtained by further investments in human capital and related factors.     

Diseconomies of Size with Fixed Managerial Ability

Managerial ability has important implications for farm growth. In this article we first show in a production model that increasing output with a fixed level of managerial ability can lead to a decrease in profits. Next, we discuss the effect that managerial ability has on economies of size. In the empirical part, economies of size are estimated for a sample of dairy farms using a proxy for managerial ability, which is calculated as a technical efficiency index. The results show that increasing farm size while holding managerial ability constant can be an important source of diseconomies of size.     

THE EFFECT OF PRICE REDUCTION AND DIRECT INCOME SUPPORT POLICIES ON AGRICULTURAL INPUT MARKETS IN AUSTRIA

The purpose of this paper is to examine empirically the effects of a shift from price support to direct income policy on agricultural factor markets and aggregate output. By utilising an econometric model for the Austrian agricultural sector, it is argued that the main purpose of this policy change, which is to move producers away from making production decisions in response to income support policies and to facilitate their response to market signals (‘decoupling’), is only partially realised. Switching from price to direct income support would result in little reduction in output, but some positive secondary effects can be observed. Ecological goals could be realised by lessening the degree of industrialisation due to lowering the capital-labour and intermediate input-labour ratios.     

Is Input Mix Inefficiency Neglected in Agriculture? A Case Study of Pig‐based Farming Systems in England and Wales

The principal concern of this article is the relative importance of input mix as a source of inefficiency. Emphasis in efficiency analysis studies in agricultural production has historically focused on technical inefficiency as a single concept until methodological advances enabled it to be decomposed into pure technical inefficiency and scale inefficiency. But, this advance was insufficient to identify what we consider to be the major source of inefficiency in agricultural production, namely mix inefficiency. We consider that farm enterprises may be particularly susceptible to input mix inefficiency because of restrictions on movement around the frontier isoquant; delays in the adoption of improved technologies embodied in new vintages of production processes; risk as a source of friction in input allocation decisions; and the potential for inconsistency in simultaneously attempting to reach points of allocative efficiency and mix efficiency in input use. We use non‐parametric methods to calculate a Hicks–Moorsteen productivity index using panel data for a sample of specialised pig producers in England and Wales. This index is then decomposed into measures of technology, technical efficiency, scale efficiency and mix efficiency for an input orientation. Results of the analysis show that the estimated mean mix inefficiency (0.736) was substantially larger than mean technical inefficiency (0.975) and mean scale inefficiency (0.957) over the study period.     

传统要素、创新要素与农业科技园区经济增长*——基于106个园区的实证分析

［目的］加强农业科技园区建设是我国未来农业科技创新工作的重要内容。通过理清创新类生产要素对农业园区经济增长的作用机制，提出园区吸引创新要素、提升创新能力的政策建议，为破解增长瓶颈提供参考。［方法］利用106个国家级农业科技园区2001—2016年要素投入与产出数据，估算创新要素与传统要素的产出贡献度，并分别使用年度均值和随机收取的11家分属于不同区域的园区个体数据，对东部、中部和西部园区的要素贡献度差异进行比较。［结果］三大区域创新要素产出占总产出的比重成倍高于同区域传统要素产出所占比重，对总产出的贡献显著； 西部地区创新要素投入对总产出的贡献率高于东部地区，中部地区创新要素投入对总产出的贡献率接近东部地区。［结论］以创新引领为特征的新经济增长不依赖于传统经济优势，加大创新要素投入是实现赶超、破解农业经济发展瓶颈的重要手段之一； 塑造园区成为农业科技创新平台和科技孵化培育载体，就能够通过创新要素的微观作用机制，以正外部经济效应带动农业及其周边产业快速增长。     

基于辽宁上市公司的企业经营效率研究

选取辽宁省2018年末在沪深两市上市的45家公司为样本,利用因子分析法将多个投入和产出指标提取为若干个具有明确经济意义的公共因子,再运用数据包络分析法(DEA),从综合技术效率、纯技术效率和规模效率三方面对45家上市公司的经营效率进行分析。结果表明,辽宁省上市公司经营效率整体较低;多数企业处于纯技术效率无效和规模报酬递减阶段,存在管理水平不高、资产利用率不高、生产要素投入冗余等问题;纯技术效率无效是导致综合技术效率无效的主要原因,并由此提出改进建议。