In this paper nonparametric techniques are used to estimate higher-order moments of technical efficiency. The procedures given in this paper allow the moments to be estimated with relative ease, while at the same not requiring restrictive assumptions on the distribution of inefficiency. The results given by these estimates will allow researchers to gain additional information on the inefficienc...

P omegranate product in Khash city causes this city enjoys a considerable advantage in terms of the production of this product. In this paper the performance of Khash township pomegranate producers was evaluated with a comprehensive analysis of supercharged performance. In this regard, the relevant information to complete the questionnaire in 2015 pomegranate growers in Khash city, w...

This paper specifies an empirical framework for estimating both technical and allocative efficiency, which is applied to a large panel of European banks over the years 1996 to 2003. Our methodology allows for self-consistent measurement of technical and allocative inefficiency, in an effort to address the issue known in the literature as the Greene problem. The results suggest that, on average,...

We examine productivity growth of for-hire general freight trucking firms from 1999 to 2003. We find that trucking firms, which are often considered to be competitive, are not necessarily technically efficient. Moreover, firms’ productivity growth over the five-year period was stagnant despite embracement of new technologies by the industry. We conclude that positive technical change was largel...

This paper studies technical efficiency for Swedish employment offices between 2004 and 2010. Efficiency is computed using a semi-dynamic DEA-framework. On the input side we include a measure of input quality and we also control for services that are carried out by private contractors. On the output side we are using both intermediate and final outputs. The motivation for using an intermediate ...

BACKGROUND A recent paper in Journal of Public Health Medicine (O'Neill et al., 2000; 22(1): 108-115) used regression modelling to determine the average costs of neonatal care services for a sample of 49 units in the United Kingdom in 1990-1991, and concluded that economies of scale were present in the sample as a whole. Although this form of modelling is useful, analysis of the efficiency of p...

Examination of the relation between scale economies and natural monopoly has been a central issue in public policy research. The paper employs Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) methodology to re-examine the issue of natural monopoly for the Bell system with annual time series data for 1947–1977. Results from the DEA-based statistical tests reveal the prevalence of increasing returns to scale for ...