|
on Efficiency and Productivity |
|
Issue of 2015‒11‒07
thirty-six papers chosen by |
| By: | Huang, Wei; Bruemmer, Bernhard |
| Abstract: | With the use of first hand field survey data from 193 yak grazing households combined with remote sensing Net Primary Productivity data on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, a directional output-orientation distance function is developed with four inputs, grassland area, labor, capital and initial livestock stocking, and two outputs, good output of livestock grazing revenue and undesirable output of grazing pressure. The average technical efficiency is estimated to be 0.82, and shadow price of grazing pressure to livestock revenue is estimated to be -1.8. According to Morishima elasticity of substitution between inputs, there is significant complementary relationship between grassland area, labor and capital. Elasticity of substitution between grassland and initial livestock stocking is estimated to be 0.50. Treating grazing pressure as an undesirable output of livestock grazing in the directional distance function is a new step in the general direction of better accounting for natural resource depletion in efficiency and production analysis. |
| Keywords: | directional distance function, grazing pressure, technical efficiency, shadow price, Morishima elasticity of substitution, Crop Production/Industries, Land Economics/Use, Livestock Production/Industries, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:211750&r=eff |
| By: | Czekaj, Tomasz |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the technical efficiency of Polish dairy farms producing environmental output using the stochastic ray function to model multi-output – multi-input technology. Two general models are considered. One which neglects the provision of environmental output and one which accounts for such output. The main focus is on the estimation of technical efficiency of farms producing the environmental output. Since some farms do not provide such output at all, the stochastic ray frontier functions are estimated to overcome the problem of the zero valued dependent variables which often occur when the Translog output distance function is used. The detailed results of the technical efficiency analysis show that, although the estimated efficiencies from the models which neglect the environmental output and those which account for the output are rather similar on average, the rankings based on these efficiencies differ. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:211555&r=eff |
| By: | Steven M. Helfand; Marcelo M. Magalha?es; Nicholas E. Rada |
| Abstract: | The role of farm size has recently come to the forefront of agricultural development debates. Agricultural development policy often focuses on small farms given evidence of their role in poverty reduction and of higher yields. Yet policy has also focused on large farms due to their share of output, efficiency gains from vertical and horizontal integration, and potential employment generation. Brazil offers an interesting case study because of its wide spectrum of farm sizes and the country's dual agricultural policy focus towards large commercial agribusiness enterprises, led by the Ministry of Agriculture, and family farms, led by the Ministry of Agrarian Development. Our purpose is to examine the role that farm size may have in Brazil's agricultural total factor productivity (TFP) growth, which has accelerated at one of the world's fastest rates over the last twenty years. The data are drawn from the agricultural censuses of 1985, 1995-96, and 2006, aggregated at the municipality level into five farm-size classes. The findings of this study point to heavy technical efficiency losses across all size classes, creating a substantial drag on national agricultural TFP growth. Moreover, because farms in the middle of the size distribution achieved the slowest technical change and TFP growth bookended by faster growth in the smallest and largest farm-size classes we identify an unexpected and unexplored source of inefficiency, namely medium-sized farms. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural technology adaptation, Agricultural technology transfer, Agricultural information, Agricultural policy, Agricultural productivity, agricultural productivity, Agricultural Policy, Land Tenure, Brazil |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:91256&r=eff |
| By: | Gillespie, Patrick; O'Donoghue, Cathal; Hynes, Stephen; Thorne, Fiona; Hennessy, Thia |
| Abstract: | Several studies of the Irish dairy productivity and efficiency have been carried out in recent history, but none have been able to use Irish farm level data going back before milk quota’s implementation. This study uses recently digitized data going back as far as 1979 to examine trends in an index of Total Factor Productivity (TFP) constructed from the parameters of Greene’s ‘true random effects’ specification of the stochastic frontier. There is some evidence that the implementation of milk quota was associated with a general decrease in TFP, and the series also moves in line with changes in the policy which liberalised quota trade. Technical efficiency and scale efficiency are dominated by movements of the frontier as represented by the technical change component of the index. |
| Keywords: | TFP, Total Factor Productivity, Malmquist, Stochastic Frontier, Milk Quota, Dairy, Efficiency, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, C5, O13, Q12, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:211684&r=eff |
| By: | Michée Arnold Lachaud; Boris E. Bravo-Ureta; Carlos E. Ludeña |
| Abstract: | This study estimates Climate Adjusted Total Factor Productivity (CATFP) for agriculture in Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) countries, while also providing comparisons with several regions of the world. Climatic variability is introduced in Stochastic Production Frontier (SPF) models by including average annual maximum temperature, precipitation and its monthly intra-year standard deviations, and the number of rainy days. Climatic conditions have a negative impact on production becoming stronger at the end of the 2000s compared to earlier periods. An Error Correction Model is applied to investigate catch-up and convergence across LAC countries. Argentina defines the frontier in LAC and TFP convergence is found across all South American countries, Costa Rica, Mexico, Barbados and The Bahamas. Using IPCC 2014 scenarios, the study shows that climatic variability induces significant reductions in productivity (2.3% to 10.7%), over the 2013-2040 period. Estimated output losses due to climatic variability range from 9% to 20% in the LAC region depending on the scenario considered. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural policy, Agricultural technology adaptation, Agricultural technology transfer, Agricultural productivity, Climate Change, Climate Variability, Climate Change, Agricultural Policy, Agricultural Productivity |
| Date: | 2015–09 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:idb:brikps:91036&r=eff |
| By: | Devicienti, Francesco (University of Turin); Grinza, Elena (University of Turin); Vannoni, Davide (University of Turin) |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we explore the impact of part-time work on firm productivity. Using a large panel data set of Italian corporations' balance sheets for the period 2000-2010, we first estimate the total factor productivity (TFP) of each firm for each year. We use different approaches aimed at solving input simultaneity, including a version of Ackerberg et al.'s (2006) control function approach, which accounts for firm fixed effects. We then match the TFP estimates with rich information on the firms' use of part-time work obtained from survey data and estimate the impact of part-time work on TFP at the firm level. We find that an increase of 1 standard deviation in the part-time share reduces TFP by 2.03%. The results suggest that this harmful effect stems from horizontal rather than vertical part-time arrangements. We also find that firms declaring that they use part-time work to accommodate workers' requests suffer the most. Moreover, we show that the so-called 'flexible' and 'elastic' clauses are successful in reducing the negative impact associated with part-time work. |
| Keywords: | part-time work, horizontal and vertical part-time contracts, flexible and elastic clauses, firm total factor productivity (TFP), semiparametric estimation methods |
| JEL: | L23 L25 J23 |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:iza:izadps:dp9463&r=eff |
| By: | Adane, Zewdie; Shiferaw, Kaleb; Gebremedhin, Berhanu |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates technical inefficiency in milk production of smallholder dairy farmers in the highlands of Ethiopia and identifies factors associated with the observed inefficiency using a stochastic frontier production function approach. The analysis utilizes cross-section data collected from 1277 farmers. The result indicates a mean technical efficiency of 55%, suggesting sizeable technical inefficiency in milk production. The results further show that household wealth, education level and access to markets and institutions are the main drivers of technical efficiency in dairy production. Evidently by improving smallholder access to market and institutions as well as investing on adult education, it is possible to bring considerable gain in milk production. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:210876&r=eff |
| By: | Gatti, Nicolas; Lema, Daniel; Brescia, Victor |
| Abstract: | In this paper the stochastic metafrontier method is applied to estimate technical efficiency (TE) and metatechnology ratios (MTR), in beef cattle production for three distinct regions in Argentina. A deterministic stochastic metafrontier production function model is estimated that envelops the individual stochastic frontiers of the three regions. Our results show that firms from Pampean region, the most favored in terms of environment conditions, have an average (TE) of 53.7%, meanwhile for others regions the TE is around 58.9-66.97%. The average MTR for Pampean region is 96.8%, in contrast, the others regions have an average MTR of 42%. Our results suggest that, farms in the Pampean region could improve their performance through a better management using the available technologies and resources. In regions II and III the improvement of the productivity is likely to require additional investment in research to adapt and develop new technologies. |
| Keywords: | beef cattle production, technical efficiency, metafrontier, Argentina, Livestock Production/Industries, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, D24, O32, Q18, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:211647&r=eff |
| By: | Nin-Prat, Alejandro; Falconi, Cesar; Ludena, Carlos; Martel, Pedro |
| Abstract: | This study employs a growth accounting approach to analyze the performance of Latin America and the Caribbean’s agriculture between 1980 and 2012 looking at Total Factor Productivity growth and its contribution to output per worker. Our findings show that TFP in 2012 was 45 percent bigger than in 1980, reducing the difference between TFP in LAC and in OECD countries. Observed growth patterns at the country level suggest that countries that increased input per worker have increased TFP at a higher rate than countries with limited access to capital and land. As a result of these growth patterns, the improved performance in the region has increased differences in labor productivity between countries. Growing differences in labor productivity and the fact that the favorable shock in commodity prices that benefited LAC’s agriculture in recent years has apparently ran its course, raise concerns for the future. |
| Keywords: | Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:211725&r=eff |
| By: | Lachaud, Michee; Bravo-Ureta, Boris; Ludena, Carlos |
| Abstract: | This study estimates a Climate Adjusted Total Factor Productivity (CATFP) for agriculture in Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) countries. Climatic variability is introduced in SPF models by including average annual maximum temperature, precipitation and its monthly intra-year standard deviations, and the number of rainy days. Climatic conditions have a negative impact on production becoming stronger at the end of the 2000s compared to earlier periods. An Error Correction Model is applied to investigate catch-up and convergence across LAC countries. Argentina defines the frontier in LAC and CATFP convergence is found across all South American countries, Costa Rica, Mexico, Barbados and The Bahamas. Using IPCC 2014 scenarios, the study shows climatic variability induces significant reductions in productivity over the 2013-2040 period. Estimated productivity losses due to climatic variability range from USD 12.7 to 89.1 billion in the LAC region depending on the scenario and the discount rate. |
| Keywords: | Agriculture, Total Factor Productivity, Climate Effects, Convergence, Forecasting, Latin America, Caribbean, Agricultural Finance, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, D24, Q54, O47, E27, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:211721&r=eff |
| By: | Abolhassani, Leili; Eghbali, Fatemeh; Shahnoushi, Naser |
| Abstract: | The main goal of the study is to explain the interaction between governance and agricultural efficiency. The study used a Panel Data Regression Analysis to investigate the relationship between six governance indicators and agricultural efficiency. Agricultural efficiency was measured as the ratio of agricultural outputs to agricultural inputs by Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). In this study, we combined DEA and a regression analysis. In the first stage, DEAmodel was used (outputoriented, constant return to scale model) to analyze the agricultural efficiency of countries. In the second stage, Panel Data Regression Analysis was used to find the effects of Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGI) and country type on country's efficiency. The results showed that governance indicators are not efficient on the agricultural efficiency. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural Efficiency, Governance, Data Envelopment Analysis, Panel Data Regression, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:211620&r=eff |
| By: | Yeşim Gürel Üçdoğruk (Dokuz Eylul University, Department of Economics); Yılmaz Kılıçaslan (Anadolu University, Department of Economics) |
| Abstract: | Measuring the effects of innovative activities on firms’ productivity has been an active area for research for several decades, both as a policy concern and as a challenge for econometric applications. This paper attempts to analyze the relationship among innovation input, output and productivity in Turkish manufacturing firms through CDM model by adding ICT investments together with R&D as an input to innovation. The evidence is based on a panel data sample of Turkish manufacturing firms in the 2003–2010 period, constructed from the waves of the ‘Annual Manufacturing Industry Statistics’ and the four consecutive waves of ‘Community Innovation Surveys’. Regarding the model specification, the first step models the firm R&D decisions in terms of two equations: a selection equation and an intensity equation. The selection equation consists of R&D indicator variable that takes the value 1 if firm decides to perform R&D and explanatory variables affecting R&D decision. The intensity equation consists of firm’s innovative effort and a set of determinants of R&D expenditure. These two equations are estimated by using Heckman selection method. The second step models the firm innovation activity by innovation equation including ICT investment intensity and the latent innovation effort proxied by the predicted value of R&D intensity from the first step model. This equation is estimated as a bivariate probit model, assuming that most of the firm characteristics that affect product and process innovation are the same, although of course their impacts may differ. The last step estimates the productivity equation that is specified as a simple Cobb–Douglas technology with constant returns to scale, and with labor, capital and knowledge inputs, where we have “labor productivity” (real sales per employee, in logs); “investment intensity” that is our proxy for physical capital and “knowledge inputs” that are proxied by the predicted probability of product and process innovation. |
| Keywords: | R&D, ICT, innovation, productivity, Turkey |
| JEL: | L60 O31 O33 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eyd:cp2015:31&r=eff |
| By: | Seyit Mümin Cilasun (Atilim University, Department of Economics); Burcu Dinçergök (Atilim University, Department of Management); Mustafa İsmihan (Atilim University, Department of Economics) |
| Abstract: | The aim of this study is to analyze the impact of financial development and instability on economic growth in Turkey as well as on capital accumulation and productivity, which are the sources of growth. To this end, a quarterly data set (1989Q1-2014Q4) is used to investigate the relationship between financial development, instability and economic growth within a production function framework using the Johansen cointegration and impulse response techniques. The impact of financial development and economic instability on capital accumulation and productivity is also analyzed in the same way. Furthermore, in addition to using the private sector credits-GDP ratio, which is the widely used basic financial development indicator in the related literature, appropriate indices are developed to represent the role of the banking system and capital markets in financial development. In so doing, this study aims to clarify the role played by the banking system and capital markets in capital accumulation, productivity and growth in a way that is of relevance to policymakers. |
| Keywords: | Financial Development, Capital Accumulation, Productivity, Macroeconomic Instability, Growth, Turkey |
| JEL: | E10 G00 E44 E20 O40 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eyd:cp2015:293&r=eff |
| By: | Bachewe, Fantu; Koru, Bethelihem; Taffesse, Alemayehu |
| Abstract: | Smallholder agriculture focused policies predominated Ethiopia in the last two decades. Such policies are being questioned recently on grounds including research that show large-holders perform better in multi-factor productivity indices. We apply data envelopment analysis on recently collected data set to measure smallholder teff producers' relative productivity and efficiency. The results indicate that an average household is less than half as productive as optimal households and that there is therefore a considerable opportunity for output growth at current acreage. Analyses explaining differences in productivity indicate that productivity improves with, among others, schooling, specialising in few crops, access to credits, access to information on modern production methods directly through extension and indirectly through neighbourhood learning effects. While the data used is not inconsistent with the inverse farm size-yield relationship results of analyses indicate multi-factor productivity measures improve after a threshold of teff area. |
| Keywords: | data envelopment analysis, productivity, efficiency, smallholder farmers, Africa, Ethiopia., Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:211355&r=eff |
| By: | Saini, Eugenia; Lema, Daniel |
| Abstract: | The main objective of this paper is to estimate the Total Factor Productivity (TFP) growth in the Argentine agricultural sector. First, the paper examines trends and changes in aggregate agricultural production, sources of growth and productivity over the period 1913-2010. It then analyzes the productivity growth in the two main subsectors in argentine agriculture, grains and livestock, for the period 1961-2010. TFP was calculated using the Törnqvist index, which is a discrete approximation to the Divisia index. The data used to estimate the output and input indexes are prices and quantities for 4 grain crops, livestock, and for four inputs —labor, land, capital and fertilizers. The results for aggregate agricultural sector show that the annual rate of annual for the period 1913-2010 was 1.8% and 0.3%, for products and inputs respectively. Therefore, the TFP grew at an average annual rate of 1.5%. Finally, the paper examines the dominant growth profile, either extensive (factor accumulation and utilization) or intensive (productivity gains), in particular during the last two decades, in the grain and livestock subsectors. |
| Keywords: | Q16, D24, Q18, Agribusiness, Productivity Analysis, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:211727&r=eff |
| By: | Awotide, B.A.; Abdoulaye, T.; Alene, A.; Manyong, V.M. |
| Abstract: | This study examines the impact of access to credit on agricultural productivity in Nigeria using the Endogenous Switching Regression Model (ESRM)). The first stage of the ESRM reveals that total livestock unit and farm size are positive and statistically significant in determining the farmers’ access to credit. The second stage reveals that total livestock unit and farm size are negative and statistically significant in explaining the variations in cassava productivity among the farmers that have access to credit, while household size, farm size, and access to information assets are negative and statistically significant in explaining the variation in cassava productivity among the farmers without access to credit. Access to credit has a significant positive impact on cassava productivity. Thus, credit institutions should consider boosting their credit services to rural farming households in order to guarantee that more households benefit from it. |
| Keywords: | Credit, Impact, Cassava, Productivity, Farmers, Nigeria, Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, O12, Q14, Q16, Q55, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:210969&r=eff |
| By: | Jürgen Bitzer (University of Oldenburg, Department of Economics); Erkan Gören (University of Oldenburg, Department of Economics); Sanne Hiller (Ruhr University Bochum) |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the question of how immigrant employees affect a firm’s capacity to absorb foreign knowledge. Using matched employer-employee data from Denmark for the years 1996 to 2009, we are able to show that non-Danish employees from technologically<br>advanced countries contribute significantly to a firm’s total factor productivity (TFP) through their ability to access foreign knowledge. The empirical results suggest that the impact increases if the immigrants come from technologically advanced countries, are highly educated, and work in high-skilled positions. |
| Keywords: | R&D Spillovers, Absorptive Capacity, Firm-Level Analysis,<br>Foreign Workers, Immigrants |
| JEL: | D20 J82 L20 O30 |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:old:dpaper:386&r=eff |
| By: | Hailu, Getu; Deaton, B. |
| Abstract: | This paper examines the agllomeration hypothesis: i.e., firm productive efficiency is increased by closer proximity to other firms. Using a stochastic input distant function with heteroskedastic inefficiency effects, we find that the density of Ontario dairy farms has a significant positive economic effect on production efficiency. The finding has implications for understanding agricultural firm location and farmer led efforts to preserve agricultural farming activities in some regions. |
| Keywords: | Agglomeration, Stochastic Distance Function, Canada, Dairy, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Livestock Production/Industries, C5, D1, Q12, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:211700&r=eff |
| By: | Benfica, Rui; Boughton, Duncan; Uaiene, Rafael |
| Abstract: | The recent high food price environment is an opportunity for Africa’s smallholder farmers. This paper assesses the relationship between agricultural productivity and market participation/performance in smallholder response to a high food price environment in Mozambique. We use panel data before and after the change in price regime to identify the relative importance of market access/participation versus household and farm-level factors in explaining productivity differences. Conversely, we look at the relative importance of productivity investments and outcomes versus marketing investments in explaining household market performance. Results suggest that creating an enabling environment for greater access to markets can have important effects on productivity of cereals and groundnuts/beans, but direct investments that lead to increased adoption of productivity enhancing technologies are also important to maximize market access benefits. Finally, we highlight investment priorities to strengthening agricultural market participation and performance and improve productivity. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural productivity, endogeneity, intensification, and marketing performance, Agribusiness, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Marketing, C31, C36, D13, and D24., |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:211217&r=eff |
| By: | Mahoukedel, Kinkingninhoun-Medagbe; Aliou, Diagne; Rita A., Agboh-Noameshie |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the gender differential impact of NERICA adoption on rice yield and farmers' annual household income using data from 342 rice farmers in Benin. NERICA varieties have been developed by AfricaRice which won its creator Monty Jones the 2004 World Food Prize. The paper applies the potential outcomes framework to estimate the Local Average Treatment Efffect (LATE). The results show that NERICA adoption has positive and significant impact on farmers' yield and household per capita income. The impacts of NERICA adoption are not homogeneous across farmers' categories and are higher for female farmers than male farmers. The findings suggest the widely dissemination of NERICA varieties, mainly upland NERICA, with a focus on women, in order to increase rice productivity and consequently total production and income. |
| Keywords: | Impact, LATE, productivity, income, NERICA, Rice, Benin, West Africa, Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, C13, O33, Q12, Q16, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:211634&r=eff |
| By: | Mahoukede, Kinkingninhoun-Medagbe; Aliou, Diagne; Gauthier, Biaou |
| Abstract: | This paper aims to assess the impact of the use of credit in rice farming on productivity and income in Benin. It applies the potential outcomes framework to data collected from 342 rice farmers in Benin to estiamte the Local Average Treatment Effect (LATE). Findings show that the use of credit in rice farming has positive and significant impact on farmers' rice yield, rice output, rice income, per capita rice income, annual household income and per capita annual household income. Therefore, facilitating access of rice farmers to agricultural credit is a good strategy for supporting rice sector development, and therefore contributing to food security and poverty alleviation in Benin. Moreover, the impacts were higher for female farmers than male farmers. Therefore, it is important to control for heterogeneity in impact assessment studies in order to appreciate the real effect of interventions on different social categories in the target population. |
| Keywords: | Rice, Credit, Gender, Impact, Income, productivity, Benin, Local Average Treatment Effect, Agricultural Finance, Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management, Financial Economics, C21, C26, I31, Q12, Q14, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:211635&r=eff |
| By: | Tomas Havranek (Institute of Economic Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague, Smetanovo nábreží 6, 111 01 Prague 1, Czech Republic; Czech National Bank); Zuzana Irsova; Jitka Lesanovska (Institute of Economic Studies, Faculty of Social Sciences, Charles University in Prague, Smetanovo nábreží 6, 111 01 Prague 1, Czech Republic) |
| Abstract: | An important component of monetary policy transmission is the pass-through from financial market interest rates, directly influenced or targeted by central banks, to the rates that banks charge firms and households. Yet the available evidence on the strength and speed of the pass-through is mixed and varies across countries, time periods, and even individual banks. We examine the pass-through mechanism using a unique data set of Czech loan and deposit products and focus on bank-level determinants of pricing policies, especially cost efficiency, which we estimate employing both stochastic frontier and data envelopment analysis. Our main results are threefold: First, the long-term pass-through was close to complete for most products before the financial crisis, but has weakened considerably afterward. Second, banks that provide high rates for deposits usually charge high loan markups. Third, cost-efficient banks tend to delay responses to changes in the market rate, smoothing loan rates for their clie nts. |
| Keywords: | Monetary transmission, cost efficiency, bank pricing policies, stochastic frontier analysis, data envelopment analysis |
| JEL: | E43 E58 G21 |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:fau:wpaper:wp2015_24&r=eff |
| By: | Hasan Bakır (Uludag University, Department of Economics); Filiz Eryılmaz (Uludag University, Department of Economics) |
| Abstract: | In the literature the relationships between inflation, real wages and labour productivity has received much attention. Because strong evidence of these variables can help shape policy formation for productivity enhancement, inflation control or consumption stimulation. There are a number of reasons why associations may exist between real wages, inflation and productivity. It is almost standard to envisage that inflation and productivity are negatively related as workers purchasing power affects motivation and effort, but also because inflation affects firms’ investment plans, influences capital depreciation rates and induces changes in the choices of production techniques in the literature. On the other hand a positive relationship between real wages and productivity is often hypothesized because higher real wages increase the opportunity cost of job loss and stimulate greater work effort to avoid redundancy. This positive relationship is also hypothesized because higher real wages put upward pressure on labour costs and cause firms to substitute capital for labour, thereby increasing the marginal productivity of labour. In this direction the purpose of this study is to investigate the relationship between labor productivity, real wages and inflation in Turkish manufacturing sector for the period 1988Q1- 2014Q2. Cointegration analysis,Granger causality and structural change tests has been used in order to see the existence of long-run and causality relationships between these three series. |
| Keywords: | Real wage, Inflation, Labour productivity, Cointegration, Granger causality, Turkey |
| JEL: | C50 E23 E29 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eyd:cp2015:214&r=eff |
| By: | Ceren Ozgen (VU University Amsterdam); Peter Nijkamp (VU University Amsterdam); Jacques Poot (University of Waikato) |
| Abstract: | An important question for firms and policymakers is whether the recruitment of foreign workers can boost innovation. Migration studies have demonstrated positive economic impacts of cultural diversity on productivity and innovation at the regional level, but the impacts at firm level are less well known. Merging data from four different sources, provided by Statistics Netherlands, we construct and analyze a unique linked employer-employee micro dataset of 4582 firms that includes qualitative information on firm innovation. We consider both the number of immigrants these firms employ and their cultural diversity. Potential endogeneity of migrant employment is addressed by an instrumental variables approach that accounts for the past geographic distribution of immigrants and the past culinary diversity of the municipality the firm is located in. We find robust evidence that firms employing relatively more migrants are less innovative. However, there is evidence of integration in that this effect is generall less strong or even absent for second generation immigrants. Moreover, firms employing a more diverse foreign workforce are more innovative, particularly in terms of product innovations. The benefits of diversity for innovation are more apparent in sectors employing relatively more skilled immigrants. |
| Keywords: | Immigration,Innovation,Cultural diversity, Knowledge spillovers,Netherlands |
| JEL: | D22 F22 O31 |
| Date: | 2013–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nor:wpaper:2013026&r=eff |
| By: | Suarez, Federico; Fulginiti, Lilyan; Perrin, Richard |
| Abstract: | The objective is to provide an estimate of the use value of the U.S. High Plains aquifer in agriculture. A regional production function for the crop sector, based on countylevel observations, was estimated. Two main estimation procedures were used. The first used a system of equations and instrumental variables, the second accounted for spatial effects. Using the estimated production responses to irrigation, we estimate the average gross value of groundwater for agriculture to be $165/acre at 2007 prices. Using spatial statistical analysis, we found significant spatial relationships that increased this estimate to $174 |
| Keywords: | groundwater, High Plains Aquifer, production function, elasticity of irrigation response, Environmental Economics and Policy, Q15, Q32, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:211644&r=eff |
| By: | Dakpo, K; Jeanneaux, Philippe; Latruffee, Laure |
| Abstract: | In this paper we consider different models that assess eco-efficiency with production frontier estimation when both desirable outputs and undesirable outputs (or residuals) are considered. These models are confronted to livestock farm data (sheep meat farms) and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, to discuss their suitability in eco-efficiency measurement. The application is to French sheep meat farms. Our results show that under certain conditions the existing models, except for the by-production, yield the same results as when residuals are treated as inputs. The results also reveal that the by-production model augmented with dependence constraints offer some promising opportunities. Besides, environmental inefficiency appears to be the main contributor of eco-inefficiency in the sheep meat production. |
| Keywords: | eco-efficiency, undesirable output, multiple frontier technology, GHG emissions, sheep meat farming, France, Environmental Economics and Policy, C00, O13, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:211557&r=eff |
| By: | Hancevic, Pedro |
| Abstract: | This paper measures the impact of the 1990 Clean Air Act Amendment on productivity and output of US coal-fired boilers. The Act led to power units adopting a number of different pollution abating strategies, one of which was an input change to lower SO2 emitting coal. A key feature is that each boiler is designed to burn a particular variety of coal, with significant deviations from the targeted coal characteristics resulting in productivity loss. The main innovation of the paper is to quantify the effect that switching to cleaner coal had on productivity and output. With data spanning over fifteen years, I incorporate the effect of this deviation directly into a production function to explicitly quantify the resulting productivity loss. Estimated output losses range from 0% to more than 6%, varying across regions, over time, and mainly depending on the proximity of generating units to low-sulfur sources. |
| Keywords: | productivity, production function, environmental regulation, sulfur dioxide, electricity generation, coal, Environmental Economics and Policy, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, D24 L94 L51 Q51, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:211704&r=eff |
| By: | Hailu, Getu; Weersink, Alfons; Minten, Bart |
| Abstract: | We study the production efficiency of teff in Ethiopia. Using a large cross-section of teff plots, we find that teff output could be increased by approximately 25 percent with the available inputs and technology through investments directed to improved gender-sensitive extension service and infrastructure development. The magnitude of technical inefficiency is robust to alternative functional form and various variable specifications. Community discussion groups and distance to the nearest agricultural co-operative are further shown to have a significant effect on technical efficiency. We conclude the paper by discussing the potential policy implications of our findings. |
| Keywords: | Rural Institutions, Technology, Productivity, Efficiency, Teff, Crop Production/Industries, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, D02, D24, C54, P13, N57, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:211702&r=eff |
| By: | Tommaso Agasisti (Politecnico di Milano); Cristian Barra (Università di Salerno); Roberto Zotti (Università di Salerno) |
| Abstract: | In assessing universities’ performances, the most recent literature underlined that the efficiency scores may suffer from the presence of incidental parameters or time-invariant, often unobservable, effects that lead to biased efficiency estimates. To deal with this problem, we apply a procedure developed by Wang and Ho (2010), for estimating the efficiency in Italian higher education through a multi-output parametric distance function. We show that models which do not consider unobservable heterogeneity tend to estimate higher efficiency scores; we also study the determinants of efficiency. The findings provide a clue towards the expansion of pro-competitive policies in the Italian higher education sector, consistently with the interpretation that when market forces operate, there are benefits for university efficiency. When exploring differences in universities’ performances, by geographical areas, we claim that maintaining State-level policies can be detrimental for overall efficiency, and instead special interventions for universities in the South should be designed. |
| Keywords: | efficiency, unobserved heterogeneity, higher education |
| JEL: | I24 I23 C14 C67 |
| Date: | 2015–11 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ipu:wpaper:34&r=eff |
| By: | Bahta, Sirak; Baker, Derek; Malope, Patrick; Katijuongua, Hikuepi |
| Abstract: | The study used a stochastic metafrontier model followed by a Tobit regression model to estimate technical efficiency and meta-technology ratios and assess factors influencing efficiency of a suite of beef farm types in Botswana. Results show that the average technical efficiency level is 0.496 for the whole sample and 0.355, 0.463 and 0.571 for beef farms who engage in cattle only, cattle and crop, and cattle, crop and small stock farming, respectively. Considerable scope is identified for improving beef production in Botswana, and targeting is enabled by the differential results across the farm types. Policy analysis using models that assume different beef farm types operate under similar technology are therefore presenting a misleading picture. Considering the importance of livestock sector in poverty reduction, there is a need for appropriate policies directed towards enhancing efficiency. Especially, such policies should be targeted on provision of technology-related services such as controlled breeding methods. |
| Keywords: | Beef production, metafrontier, technical efficiency determinants, Botswana, Livestock Production/Industries, Q12, Q18, C5, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:211194&r=eff |
| By: | Deb, Uttam; Pramanik, Soumitra; Khan, Patan; Bantilan, Cynthia |
| Abstract: | The study reconfirmed prevalence of reverse tenancy in dryland agriculture in Southern India in the recent years (2009-11) as was in the mid-seventies. Household level panel data collected from six villages by ICRISAT under its Village Level Studies (VLS) and Village Dynamics Studies (VDS) program were used. Area under tenancy has increased in the recent years, mostly in the form of share cropping. Panel Data Probit analysis revealed that likelihood of a household to be a tenant is positively linked with number of agricultural worker, bullock ownership and male-headed household. Land ownership, age and education of household head, and dependence on non-farm income had negative association. Crop yield and profitability were generally higher in owned land than that of land under tenancy. Reduction of reverse tenancy in dryland agriculture will require risk reducing technologies (drought-resistant varieties, supplementary irrigation) and availability of critical inputs (for example, bullock for intercultural operations). |
| Keywords: | Tenancy, Dryland Agriculture, Panel data, Probit, Profitability, Consumer/Household Economics, Farm Management, Q10, Q15, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:211567&r=eff |
| By: | Oleg V. Leshukov (National Research University Higher School of Economics.); Daria P. Platonova (National Research University Higher School of Economics.); Dmitry S. Semyonov (National Research University Higher School of Economics.) |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the relationship between the degree of competition between higher education institutions (HEIs) and the efficiency of regional higher education systems using evidence from the Russian Federation. The choice of the regional system of higher education as a unit of analysis is explained by features of the Russian system of higher education, especially by “closeness” in the borders of regions. Using data envelopment analysis (DEA) we investigate the efficiency of higher education systems in the regions and compare the results with the extent of higher education competition within them. The analysis finds that within the overall sample the correlation is positive, but not striking. However the extent of competition correlates with the efficiency of regional sets of HEIs more in less socio-economically developed regions. |
| Keywords: | higher education, efficiency, competition, regions, Russia |
| JEL: | I23 I28 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hig:wpaper:29edu2015&r=eff |
| By: | Adegbola, Patrice Y.; Nestor, A. Adjovi; Houessionon, Prosper; Alokpai, Nestor; Hell, Kerstin; Thiele, Graham; Fandohan, Pascal; Mensah, Guy Appollinaire |
| Abstract: | The introduction of P. erosus cultivation in Benin is for producers an alternative to improve their cropping system and for the population to improve their food system. Therefore, to remove the different constraints related to P. erosus adoption, this study has analyzed the perceptions of producers and the economic performances of P. erosus introduced in Southern and Center Benin. The data were collected from fifty eight (58) producers in 2011-2012, seventy three (73) in 2012-2013 and fifty nine (59) who have experienced P. erosus production. Analyses were made using the margin calculation methodology, the productivity calculation methodology, Kendall’s T tests and cost function modeling. The results revealed that P. erosus production is very profitable with a net margin of Fcfa /ha 2,064,284.63 /ha against Fcfa/ha 192,152.01 /ha, Fcfa/ha 551,900.93 /ha and Fcfa/ha 109,351.28 /ha respectively for cassava, sweet potato and maize. |
| Keywords: | Public Economics, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:210877&r=eff |
| By: | Sille, AG; Salvioni, C.; Benedetti, R. |
| Abstract: | Controlling for unobserved heterogeneity is a fundamental challenge in empirical research, as failing to do so can introduce omitted variables biases and preclude causal inference. In this paper we develop an innovative method – the Iterative Geographically Weighted Regression (IGWR) method – to identify clusters of farms that follow a similar local production econometric model, taking explicitly unobserved spatial heterogeneity into account. The proposed method is the perfect combination of the GWR approach and the adaptive weights smoothing (AWS) procedure. This method is applied to regional samples of olive growing farms in Italy. The main finding is that the conditional global IGWR model fits the data best, proving that explicitly accounting for unobserved spatial heterogeneity is of crucial importance when modeling the production function of firms particularly for those operating in land based industries |
| Keywords: | Production Economics, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:iaae15:211343&r=eff |
| By: | Van Biesebroeck, Johannes |
| Abstract: | This working paper provides a review of the links between wages and productivity, based mainly on the mainstream economic literature (and hence best complemented with other more “heterodox” literature). |
| Keywords: | wages, labour productivity, measurement, salaire, productivité du travail, mesure, salario, productividad del trabajo, medición |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ilo:ilowps:486444&r=eff |
| By: | Jayati Sarkar (Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research); Ekta Selarka (Madras School of Economics) |
| Abstract: | This paper provides evidence on the effect of women directors on the performance of family firms with a case study of India. Existing literature on the subject has primarily focused on widely held firms, notably in the US. Given that ownership structure and governance environment of family firms are distinctly different from those of non-family firms, the evidence on the relationship between women on board and firm performance in the context of widely held firms may not apply in the context of family firms. India provides an ideal setting for analyzing this question as the presence of family firms is pervasive and since 2013 India has instituted gender quotas on corporate boards. Using a data-set of 10218 firm year observations over a ten year period from 2005 to 2014 which spans the pre-quota and post-quota years, we find robust evidence that women directors on corporate boards positively impact firm value and that this effect increases with the number of women directors on board. However, we find that the positive effect of gender diversity on firm performance weakens with the extent to which the family exerts control through occupying key management positions on the board. In addition, women directors affiliated to the family have no significant effect on firm value, whereas independent women directors do. Our results with respect to profitability are somewhat different; while as in the case of market value, women directors positively impact profitability with the positive effect driven by independent women directors, the effect does not vary with the extent of family control. Taken together, our results suggest that though gender diversity on corporate boards may positively impact firm performance in family firms in general, the extent of family control can have a significant bearing on this relationship. The findings from this study could be instructive for emerging economies like India in promoting gender-based quotas on corporate boards. |
| Keywords: | board of directors, gender diversity, family ownership and control, gender-quota |
| JEL: | G32 G34 G38 |
| Date: | 2015–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ind:igiwpp:2015-026&r=eff |