Adjustment of inputs and measurement of technical efficiency: A dynamic panel data analysis of the Egyptian manufacturing sectors

The purpose of this article is to construct a dynamic stochastic production frontier incorporating the sluggish adjustment of inputs, to measure the speed of adjustment of output, and to compare the technical efficiency estimates from this dynamic model to those from a static model. By assuming instantaneous adjustment of all inputs, a static model may underestimate technical efficiency of a production unit in the short-run. However, in this article I show that under the assumption of similar adjustment speed for all inputs, a linear partial adjustment scheme for output characterizes the dynamic production frontier. The dynamic frontier with time-invariant technical efficiency is estimated using the system GMM (generalized method of moments) estimator. Applying the model and estimation method on a panel data set spanning 9?years of data on private manufacturing establishments in Egypt, I find that (1) the speed of adjustment of output is significantly lower than unity, (2) the static model underestimates technical efficiency by 4.5 percentage points on average, and (3) the ranking of production units based on their technical efficiency measures changes when the lagged adjustment process of inputs is taken into account.     

Performance of the Norwegian dairy farms: A dynamic stochastic approach

From a theoretical perspective, it is well stated that the farm's decision on the use of inputs depends on the farmer's ability to make an efficient decision over time. The existing literature in performance analysis of the dairy farms based on static modeling and thus ignores the inter-temporal nature of production decisions. This paper aims to construct a dynamic stochastic production frontier incorporating the sluggish adjustment of inputs, to measure the performance of dairy farms in Norway. The empirical application focused on the farm-level analysis of the Norwegian dairy sector for 2000- 2018. The dynamic frontier estimated using the system Generalized Method of Moments estimator. The analysis shows that the static model in the previous studies underestimates the performance of the dairy farms.     

对国外产业集群经济效果及其形成机制的综述与评论

关于产业集群经济效果的研究重点经历了由生产成本、交易成本、代理成本这些静态的效率性向以创新为代表的动态效率性转变的过程;同时作为解释效率性的说明变量也在从在库成本、运输成本等经济要素向道德规范、认知模式、社会资本等制度要素转移.从逻辑关系来看,关于产业集群形成机制的研究可以分为三个学派,即要素论学派、模型论学派和动态论学派,动态论学派代表了有关产业集群形成机制研究的最前沿.     

Estimating technical change by nonparametric methods

A nonparametric method using dynamic data envelopment analysis is developed here to specify and estimate a dynamic production frontier. By this technique technological progress measured by the time shift of the production frontier and the scale economies measured by increasing returns to scale are estimated from the observed input output data, which may sometimes be nonstationary. An application to US computer industry exhibits substantial technological progress and scale economies over the period 1987–1998.     

企业竞争优势的本源分析——同质生产要素使用价值量动态性

企业竞争优势决定于构成企业的生产要素和环境影响。企业所处的环境由区域空间即地理空间、经济空间、人文空间单元,以及经济时段单元构成。在不同的区域空间,不同的经济时段单元中,同质生产要素有不同的使用价值量,在时和空单元组合变化时,生产要素的使用价值量也是动态变化的。本文通过建立数理模型对其进行逻辑论证,并经过实证验证,提出了企业竞争优势的本源是企业生产要素构成优势和时空环境引致的企业优势的动态变化。使对企业竞争优势的研究从资源论、环境论和能力论的单一视角,扩展到了多维,从静态拓展到了动态,从总体的优势研究,逐步向比较优势、竞争力等研究方向细化,进入理论研究的国际前沿。     

Static and Dynamic Productivity among Yugoslav Enterprises: Components and Correlates

This paper calculates both static and dynamic measures of productivity for a sample of Yugoslav enterprises over the five-year period 1975–1979 using Farrell measures of efficiency and the frontier Malmquist index of productivity change. The influences of market share, export orientation, joint ventures, labor groupings, capital intensity, and regional development on the static efficiency measures and on the dynamic Malmquist index and its components are also examined. We find that the analysis of single-period efficiency scores does not necessarily provide much insight into performance over time.J. Comp. Econom.,December 1998, 26(4), pp. 805–821. University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701; University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, Mississippi 39406; and University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas 72701.     

测度政府技术效率的模型与方法比较研究

技术效率是在产出规模不变,市场价格不变的条件下,按照既定的要素投入比例所能达到的最小生产成本占实际生产成本的百分比。政府技术效率是广义的政府绩效或效率的一个部分,它是政府提供公共服务过程中能够测度的政府投入与政府产出之间的比例关系。测度政府技术效率主要的模型与方法有非参数前沿法和参数前沿法。非参数前沿法主要包括数据包络法分析（DEA）和自由处置包（FDH）,而参数前沿法主要包括随机前沿法（SFA）、模糊边界法（TFA）和确定性前沿法（DFA）。通过建立模型科学对政府技术效率进行评估与测度可提高政府各个方面的科学性和有效性,从而促进政府技术效率的提高。     

Trade, technology transfer and national efficiency in developing countries

This paper simultaneously explores the determinants of the developing countries’ production frontier and these countries’ ‘efficiency’ in using the available resources and technology. In doing so it allows for the transfer of (industrial country) technology in determining the frontier and for international trade's influence on absorptive capacity and national efficiency levels. Stochastic frontier analysis is used to model the production frontier for 57 developing countries for the period 1970-1998, to measure cross-country and temporal differences in efficiency levels and to explain the differences in efficiency levels. The results indicate significant differences in efficiency levels across countries and regions and movement over time, and an important influence of trade and trade policy in raising output both through technology improvements embodied in imported capital goods and by inducing efficiency improvements.     

生产集中、人口分布与地区经济差异

动、静态比较分析发现 ,我国生产的极化作用不高 ,人口的极化作用过低。我国地区经济差距的主要原因是生产向东部地区不断集中的同时 ,人口没有相应地向那里集中 ,造成核心发达区域生产与人口分布高度失衡。鼓励中西部贫困人口向东部尤其是东部核心区域流动 ,是解决我国地区经济差距的有效策略。     

外商直接投资和经济增长的关系研究

理论研究普遍认为外商直接投资对经济增长产生了积极的影响,但对外商直接投资如何影响新兴工业化国家的发展过程的具体机制却研究甚少。本文从新兴工业化国家的视角提出并验证了有关外商直接投资对经济增长作用的两个假设:(1)外商直接投资有利于减小国内生产的非效率,是提高生产技术效率的推动器;(2)外商直接投资有利于加快国内技术进步,是生产前沿的移动器。因为这种双重作用,所以外商直接投资是新兴工业化国家赶超世界发达国家的一个重要因素。中国过去几十年经济快速的发展为验证这两个假设提供了一个理想的范例。     

SERVICE QUALITY IN ELECTRICITY DISTRIBUTION IN BRAZIL: A MALMQUIST APPROACH

The paper undertakes a dynamic analysis for service quality in the electricity distribution in Brazil between 2010 and 2014 based on Malmquist indexes constructed upon Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) distance functions. The motivation for the less usual consideration of efficiency frontiers for service quality, that does not rely on traditional inputs and outputs but rather on quality indicators, builds on previous static applications in the context of telecommunications. The analysis considers undesirable technical indicators for quality as inputs and desirable consumer satisfaction indicators for quality as outputs in the efficiency frontier analysis. The bootstrap‐corrected Malmquist indexes indicated service quality deterioration in 38.1 per cent, quality stagnation in 40.5 per cent and quality improvement only in 21.4 per cent of the cases. When one decomposes the Malmquist index, the evidence does not suggest relevant frontier shifts and indicates a dominant role for the catch‐up effect. Finally, Malmquist indexes are regressed against variables that may portray heterogeneities, such as firm size, service area, density, ownership and regional dummies in terms of a well‐known two‐stage procedure. The mostly weak significance results reinforce the plausibility of the initial analysis.     

Economic versus physical input measures in the analysis of technical efficiency in fisheries

The measurement of technical efficiency requires the estimation of an appropriate production frontier. This is based on a set of inputs that are assumed to influence the level of output. Deviations from this frontier production function are separated into random variation and inefficiency. However, mis-specification of the production function through the use of inappropriate input measures may result in a bias in the measures of inefficiency. In fisheries, production is generally assumed to be a function of stock size, fishing time and the level of physical inputs employed. Defining the appropriate levels of physical inputs, however, is not straightforward, and several alternative measures are available. While economic measures of capital are more intuitively appealing, physical measures are generally readily available and hence less costly to collect. In this study, technical efficiency is measured for three fleet segments operating in the North Sea using three different gear types. The effects of using different measures of capital in the production frontier on the efficiency estimates are examined.     

An efficiency analysis of Swedish employment offices

In this paper the method–production frontier analysis is used to analyse differences in efficiency between different Swedish Employment Offices. Earlier empirical labour market policy evaluation studies have utilised various measures that, however, do not take into consideration differences between organisation units. The main result of this investigation is that employment offices show major differences in the efficiency with which they carry out their job matching services.     

INSTITUTIONAL CHANGES NOW AND BENEFITS TOMORROW: HOW SOON IS TOMORROW?

This paper investigates the timing of the impact of changes in checks and balances on macroeconomic efficiency in a panel of countries. Using Battese and Coelli's one-stage approach, we find that increasing checks and balances results in greater efficiency. Furthermore, the impact of institutional changes on efficiency is delayed, with a full effect showing after five to six years. This finding remains robust after distinguishing developed and developing countries, including country-fixed effects and using alternative functional forms of the production frontier and alternative measures of checks and balances. The relation is also robust to controlling for endogeneity.     

Dynamic environmental performance analysis: A Malmquist index approach

This article presents a general framework for dynamic environmental performance analysis by generalizing the approach proposed by Kuosmanen and Kortelainen [Kuosmanen, T., Kortelainen, M., 2005. Measuring Eco-Efficiency of Production with Data Envelopment Analysis. Journal of Industrial Ecology 9(4), 59-72.] from a static to a dynamic setting. For this purpose we construct an environmental performance index (EPI) by applying frontier efficiency techniques and a Malmquist index approach. Compared to other dynamic environmental productivity and efficiency analysis approaches based on these methods, our approach builds on the standard definition of eco-efficiency as it is presented in the ecological economics literature. Recognizing the importance to analyze the sources of environmental performance changes, we show how changes in overall environmental performance can be decomposed into changes in relative eco-efficiency and shifts in environmental technology, respectively. We apply the presented technique at the macro level to dynamic environmental performance analysis of 20 member states of the European Union in 1990-2003. According to the results, environmental technical change mostly explains the improvement in overall environmental performance, while relative eco-efficiency change has been minor for most countries during the sample period.     

Imposing monotonicity on outputs in parametric distance function estimations

The technology set involved in the estimation of a multi-output production frontier theoretically implies monotonicity on outputs. This is because an efficient firm cannot reduce the vector of outputs holding the vector of inputs fixed while it still belongs to the frontier. In empirical studies dealing with the estimation of parametric distance functions, this hypothesis is often violated by observations with far from average characteristics. To overcome this limitation, we propose a new approach for allowing the easy imposition of monotonicity on outputs in this context. This methodology is tested in the educational sector using Spanish student level data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) database. The results indicate that a nonnegligible 8.33% of the production units break the monotonicity assumption. Furthermore, although there is no statistically significant difference in efficiency distribution by school ownership, our methodology helps to detect a slight worse mathematical performance for students attending public schools.     

我国上市公司专利生产技术效率——基于7个行业405家上市公司的经验证据

利用2005—2010年我国7个行业405家上市公司的面板数据,采用随机前沿分析方法和面板数据模型,研究了上市公司的专利生产技术效率及其影响因素和收敛性。研究结果显示:R&D资本投入和R&D劳动投入对专利产出具有正效应,其中R&D劳动投入的正效应更大;上市公司的专利生产技术效率总体上较小,具有增长趋势和收敛性;上市公司的技术装备利用率、资本密集度、国际化水平、国有股比例和公司规模对其专利生产技术效率的提升具有显著影响。     

A robust approach to the measurement of Farrell efficiency

Measurement of efficiency of the frontier production function by Farrell's convex hull method is generalized here in two aspects. One develops a minimax method of estimation by following the Chebyshev principle and the other develops a dummy-variable method of stratifying the entire data set before ordinary regressions are performed to estimate the production frontier. An empirical application to educational production functions illustrates these methods.     

Predicting technical effciency in stochastic production frontier models in the presence of misspecification: a Monte-Carlo analysis

This paper provides a theoretical explanation for the sensitivity of technical efficiency measures to the choice of functional specification in stochastic production frontier models. It is shown that inappropriate functional specifications translate into a misspecification in the conditional mean of the stochastic frontier regression model. This misspecification, in turn, results in estimates of technical efficiency, confidence intervals and production elasticities being biased, even asymptotically. Monte-Carlo simulations reveal that the severity of the bias depends on the functional specification and the percentage contribution of the variance of technical inefficiency to the total variance of the composed errors.