A stochastic cost equation was estimated for US dairy farms using national data from the production year 2000 to determine how farmers might reduce their cost of production. Cost of producing a unit of milk was estimated into separate frontier (efficient) and inefficiency components, with both components estimated as a function of management and causation variables. Variables were entered as im...

The field of productive efficiency analysis is currently divided between two main paradigms: the deterministic, nonparametric Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and the parametric Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA). This paper examines an encompassing semiparametric frontier model that combines the DEA-type nonparametric frontier, which satisfies monotonicity and concavity, with the SFA-style stoc...

Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) methods have become a ubiquitous tool in Bayesian analysis. This paper implements MCMC methods for Bayesian analysis of stochastic frontier models using the WinBUGS package, a freely available software. General code for cross-sectional and panel data are presented and various ways of summarizing posterior inference are discussed. Several examples illustrate that ...

the aim of this paper is to use the concept of the metafrontier function to study the determination of efficiency differentials and technological gap ratio (tgr) on wheat production in khorasan razavi province. in this study, we used the metafrontier function and group frontier based on the concept of stochastic nonparametric envelopment of data analysis (stoned). the data used in this study co...

This study presents some quantitative evidence from a number of simulation experiments on the accuracy of the productivity growth estimates derived from growth accounting (GA) and frontier-based methods (namely Data envelopment Analysis-, Corrected ordinary least squares-, and Stochastic Frontier Analysis-based Malmquist indices) under various conditions. These include the presence of technical...

We explore the asset pricing implications of an investment-based model that features a stochastic technology frontier and costly technology adoption. Firms adopt the latest technology embodied in new capital to reach a stochastic technology frontier, but this decision entails an adoption cost. The model predicts that old capital firms are more risky and hence offer a higher returns than young c...

We study the impact of the technological change on asset prices in a dynamic model economy that features a stochastic technology frontier and costly technology adoption. Firms adopt the latest technology embodied in new capital to reach the stochastic technology frontier, but this decision entails an adoption cost. The model predicts that firms operating with old capital are more risky and henc...

Background & Aims: Hospitals are the most important centers that provide health services in the country. They have to use scientific and efficient management at all levels for promoting health. Intensive care units (ICU) are one of the most sensitive parts of the hospitals; therefore, paying attention to its efficiency is of particular importance. The purpose of this paper was to estimate the t...