International Journal of Innovative

The conventional Cobb-Douglas production function model require strong assumptions such as the constant elasticity and the entire frontier efficiency. The varying elasticity production function is an useful extension but it does not take frontier efficiency into account, and the data envelope analysis model involves the use of linear programming methods to estimate the frontier efficiency whereas it is being short of production function forms. In this paper, we combine the advantages of the varying elasticity production function and the data envelope analysis models, and put forwards semi-parametric varying coefficient estimation for the frontier varying elasticity. Empirical results on China’s provinces show that the frontier varying elasticity is significant different from the classical one, and frontier efficiency may enhances the capital elasticity and reduces the labor elasticity simultaneously.