Scale Efficiency and Productivity Change

Thefirst objective of this paper is to develop a generic measureof scale efficiency for a multiple-input multiple-output firm,using basic principles of modern production theory. The secondobjective is to combine measures of technological change, technicalefficiency change, and scale efficiency change into an encompassing(primal) measure of productivity change. This measure and itsdecomposition is compared to a number of recent proposals inorder to shed light on what seems to have become a controversialissue. The paper proceeds by developing an encompassing dualmeasure of productivity change. This dual measure is then appliedto panel data of a set of Dutch firms, continuing the empiricalwork of Balk (1998). It turns out that extending the Malmquistproductivity index with factors measuring scale efficiency changeand input mix change leads to appreciably different outcomes.     

Measurement of Productivity Changes: Two Malmquist Index Approaches

The adjacent Malmquist productivity index is compared to the more recently suggested base period Malmquist productivity index. The two index approaches are evaluated with respect to base period dependency, the circular test, and with respect to a set of additional classical index tests. In addition it is shown that the base period index is independent of base period if and only if the marginal rate of substitution of inputs is independent of time. Finally, the adjacent and the base period indexes are put through a Monte Carlo (bootstrap) test to see if they yield similar results when applied to a panel of Swedish pharmacy data.     

Economic Efficiency and Productivity Growth in the Post-Privatization Chilean Hydroelectric Industry

Chiles hydroelectric industry was privatized in 1985, but required to operate within a regulatory framework designed to achieve a competitive outcome. A centralized dispatch center was established to ensure production at minimum cost, subject to constraints on minimum release and minimum reservoir stock. A reluctance to rapidly reduce the industry work force may also have existed. We develop a constrained cost-minimization model for thermal and hydro generation to obtain the shadow price of water and to determine the qualitative effect of these constraints on allocative efficiency. Using panel data from 1986–1997, we assess the economic efficiency of the hydro industry by estimating a stochastic distance frontier and price equations from the dual cost-minimization problem. We find dramatic increases in technical change and productivity change, with positive efficiency change for all years but the last. We also observe a dramatic decline in allocative inefficiencies over our sample period. The share of hydro generation from run-of-river and thermal plants relative to reservoir plants has increased, presumably in reaction to the water release and reservoir stock constraints, reducing the relative over-utilization of capital to water from the pre-1985 regime. Further, the over-utilization of labor to capital and water has fallen over time. However, considerable allocative inefficiencies remain, consistent with our finding of industry-wide scale economies. Substantial cost savings would result if technical and allocative efficiency were eliminated.JEL Classification: L94, D24     

A Decomposition of Total Factor Productivity Growth in Korean Manufacturing Industries: A Stochastic Frontier Approach

This paper applies a stochastic frontier production model to Korean manufacturing industries, to decompose the sources of total factor productivity (TFP) growth into technical progress, changes in technical efficiency, changes in allocative efficiency, and scale effects. Empirical results based on data from 1980–1994 show that productivity growth was driven mainly by technical progress, that changes in technical efficiency had a significant positive effect, and that allocative efficiency had a negative effect. This study suggests that specific guidelines are required to promote productivity in each industry, and provides additional insight into understanding the recent debate on TFP growth in Korean manufacturing.     

Adapting Productivity Theory to the Quadratic Cost Function. An Application to the Spanish Electric Sector

In this article we have adapted productivity analysis to the case of a cost model using a quadratic cost function and discrete data. The main theoretical result is a productivity index that can be decomposed into modified versions of the contribution of technical change and the effect of the variations in the scale of production. This framework has been applied to the study of the Spanish electric sector from 1985 to 1996, during which relevant regulatory changes were introduced in order to increase productivity. For this, a normalized quadratic cost function was estimated. The results show important productivity gains with both technical change and scale effect playing important roles.     

Productivity Growth in the Western Hemisphere (1978–94): The Caribbean in Perspective

Productivity growth, technical efficiency change, and technological change were measured for a sample of 30 countries in the Western Hemisphere for the 1978–1994 period using the Malmquist index. The Caribbean compared unfavorably with North America and the Latin American regions. Evidence indicated some support for the convergence hypothesis. Regression analysis indicated that productivity growth in the Caribbean was positively associated with civil, economic, and political liberty.     

我国技术效率、技术进步与生产率区域差异的实证研究

本文用非参数Malmquist指数方法研究了我国全要素生产率的增长状况及其区域差异,并将其分解为技术进步和技术效率,同时采用增长回归法对我国地区之间TFP、技术效率、科技进步的差异进行了检验。研究表明:1994-2007年间我国全要素生产率年均增长率达到1%,主要得益于技术进步水平的提高,技术效率总体上呈现下滑趋势;我国各省市区的科技进步、技术效率、TFP变化呈现出较为明显的差异,其中TFP和科技进步变化差异最为明显,而技术效率变化差异不大。     

Index Number Concepts,Measures and Decompositions of Productivity Growth

This paper explores the definitions and properties of total factor productivity growth (TFPG) indexes, focusing especially on the Paasche, Laspeyres, Fisher, Törnqvist, and implicit Törnqvist ones. These indexes can be evaluated from observable price and quantity data, and certain of these are shown to be measures of TFPG concepts and theoretical indexes that have been proposed in the literature. The mathematical relationships between these and quantity aggregates, financial measures, and price and quantity indexes are explored. Decompositions of the productivity growth indexes are also given. The paper concludes with a brief overview of some limitations on our analysis.     

山西煤炭工业全要素生产率变动实证研究

山西煤炭工业在全国煤炭工业中占有重要地位,文中应用基于DEA的非参数Malmquist指数法,对2001～2008年中国27省区煤炭工业的全要素生产率进行了测算,并将其分解为技术进步指数和技术效率指数,重点研究了山西煤炭工业的全要素生产率的变动趋势及原因,结果表明:山西煤炭工业的全要素生产率平均增长了5.7%,主要原因在于技术效率水平的提高,而技术进步水平有所下降;进一步分解,在技术效率的提高中,基本上是规模效率在起作用,而纯技术效率没有得到改善。接着对山西煤炭工业的技术进步、纯技术效率、规模效率作了详尽的分析,最后给出提高全要素生产率的建议。     

Total Factor Productivity Growth and Technical Change in a Profit Function Framework

This paper develops a framework for measuring and decomposing TFP changes, within the parametric approach, by using directly the estimated parameters of a profit function. Two alternative relationships are derived for measuring and decomposing TFP changes via a profit function based on two alternative definitions of the rate of technical change, i.e., input- and output-based. Initially a long-run equilibrium framework is assumed and then the analysis is extended to the case of temporary equilibrium. The latter framework is applied to US agriculture by estimating a translog profit function and analyzing TFP changes during the period 1948–1994.     

A Stochastic Frontier Analysis of Output Level and Growth in Poland and Western Economies

This paper uses Bayesian stochastic frontier methods to measure the productivity gap between Poland and Western countries that existed before the beginning of the main Polish economic reform. Using data for 20 Western economies, Poland and Yugoslavia (1980–1990) we estimate a translog stochastic frontier and make inference about individual efficiencies. Following the methodology proposed in our earlier work, we also decompose output growth into technical, efficiency and input changes and examine patterns of growth in the period under consideration. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The Decomposition of Malmquist Productivity Indexes

Two different Malmquist productivity indexes have been proposed. One I call partially oriented because it is either output- or input-oriented, and the other is simultaneously output- and input-oriented. The partially oriented Malmquist index owes some of its popularity to the fact that it has been decomposed to isolate various sources of productivity change. Conversely, the simultaneously oriented Malmquist index has not achieved popularity in part because it has not been decomposed. In this paper I evaluate alternative decompositions of the partially oriented Malmquist index, and I obtain a new decomposition of the simultaneously oriented Malmquist index. This new decomposition leads me to conclude that the latter index is deserving of greater attention than it has received to date.     

Separating Technical Change from Time-Varying Technical Inefficiency in the Absence of Distributional Assumptions

This paper proposes an alternative model for separating technical change from time-varying technical inefficiency. The proposed formulation uses the general index, developed by Baltagi and Griffin (1988), to model technical change in the production frontier function and a quadratic function of time, as in Cornwell, Schmidt and Sickles (1990), to capture the temporal pattern of technical inefficiency. In such a setting, all parameters associated with the rate of technical change and the temporal pattern of technical inefficiency are identified separately. Moreover, the proposed formulation is independent of any distributional assumption concerning the one-sided error term associated with technical inefficiency, and it can be estimated in a single stage with non-linear FGLS. Empirical results based on a translog production frontier, and estimates of technical inefficiency and technical change are presented for the UK dairy sector over the period 1982–1992.     

Technical Change and Efficiency in Turkish Manufacturing Industries

Technical progress and production efficiency are central to economic growth and international competitiveness. However, these topics received little attention in Less Developed Countries. This study is the first attempt to measure and to understand the extent and importance of technical progress and efficiency in Turkish manufacturing industries. Stochastic production frontiers for Turkish textile, cement, and motor vehicles industries are estimated by using panel data of plants for the years 1987 to 1992. The rate and direction of technical change for each industry are estimated by introducing time-dependent variables in the production function. Sector-specific factors which influence technical efficiency of manufacturing plants are also identified.     

A new, transitive productivity index

The Malmquist productivity index is not transitive. This paper argues that, instead of trying to accommodate this two-period concept to a multi-period setting, it is preferable to look at the measurement of productivity, efficiency, and technical change in a multi-period setting from the outset. A new, transitive productivity index is developed with as by-product a measure of the non-neutrality of technical change. The various indices are illustrated on panel data of Swedish pharmacies.At the time of writing, R. Althin was employed by The Swedish Institute for Health Economics. The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the policies of Statistics Netherlands or The Swedish Institute for Health Economics.     

Productivity Growth, Efficiency and Outsourcing in Manufacturing and Service Industries

This paper is a survey of recent contributions to, and developments of, the relationship between outsourcing, efficiency and productivity growth in manufacturing and services. The objective is to provide a thorough and up–to–date survey that provides a significant discussion on data, as well as on the core methods of measuring efficiency and productivity. First, the readers are introduced to the measurement of partial and total factor productivity growth. Different parametric and non–parametric approaches to the productivity measurement in the context of static, dynamic and firm–specific modelling are discussed. Second, we survey the econometric approach to efficiency analysis. The issues of modelling, distributional assumptions and estimation methods are discussed assuming that cross–sectional or panel data are available. Third, the relationship between outsourcing and productivity growth in manufacturing and services is discussed. The correspondence between a number of hypotheses and empirical findings are examined. Examples of varieties of relevant empirical applications, their findings and implications are presented. Fourth, measurement of inputs and outputs in manufacturing and services are discussed. Finally, to promote useful research, a number of factors important to the analysis of outsourcing, efficiency and productivity growth in the service sector are summarised.     

Aggregation of Productivity Indices: The Allocative Efficiency Correction

Aggregation of productivity indices is known to be consistent under very restrictive conditions only. This paper quantifies the aggregation inconsistency.     

Productivity Measurement from a Reference Technology: A Distance Function Approach

An approach to productivity measurement based on distance function measurement is developed in this paper. A series of reference technologies are constructed by augmenting observed inputs and outputs such that the resulting effective netputs are consistent with the weak axiom of profit maximization. Geometric means of year-ahead and year-back distance function values serve as measures of multifactor productivity changes. Both primal measures from the inner bound and dual measures from the outer bound of the reference technologies are calculated. Resulting productivity measures are similar to those derived using index number approaches, but potentially provide greater information regarding the reference technologies.     

投资增长模式下经济增长因素分解与经济增长质量

针对传统经济增长分解难以解释体现在新增资本中的技术进步对经济增长的作用,本文重新划分经济增长的三因素为规模增长、硬技术进步和软技术进步,将产出增长率分解为三因素作用之和,由此给出各因素对经济增长贡献率的测算公式,同时给出投资增长模式下经济增长质量的评价方法。     

Sustainable Procurement in Australian and UK Universities

Sustainable procurement is a growing phenomenon and a key component of organizations’ corporate responsibility and sustainability strategy. The focus of this paper is sustainable procurement (SP) at universities in Australia and the United Kingdom. The study identifies a dearth of academic research into SP at universities and presents actionable insights gained from practitioners. Results from qualitative data collected from Australian and UK universities highlight the continued dominance of price in procurement decisions and the practical challenges faced in changing the status quo both internal and external to the university. Implications for theory, research and policy are also presented.