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on Efficiency and Productivity |
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Issue of 2015‒01‒26
38 papers chosen by |
| By: | Huang, Wei; Brümmer, Bernhard; Huntsinger, Lynn |
| Abstract: | Incorporating the ecological variable of grassland Net Primary Productivity (NPP) into the production function - to be representative of grassland quality - is a new step toward the ecological efficiency analysis under the field of productivity and efficiency analysis. We measure the technical efficiency, ecological performance indicator and ecological efficiency of grazing using a multi-outputs and multi-inputs stochastic input-oriented distance function. The average technical efficiency is estimated to be 0.90 when taking grassland NPP into account, implying that cost of grazing inputs can be decreased by 10% without any deduction of outputs. The ecological efficiency is estimated to be 0.83 and the average ecological performance indicator is 0.17. |
| Keywords: | Technical efficiency, Ecological efficiency, Ecological performance indicator, Net primary productivity (NPP), input distance function, Productivity Analysis, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182764&r=eff |
| By: | Solis, Daniel; Agar, Juan; del Corral, Julio |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates changes in the total factor productivity (TFP) and identifies the main sources of TFP growth following the adoption of an individual fishing quota (IFQ) program in the Gulf of Mexico red snapper commercial fishery. Utilizing an unbalanced panel of 722 vertical line vessels we built Malmquist indices derived from an output-oriented stochastic distance frontier. The study shows that the IFQ program had a positive impact on the productivity of the fleet and that most of the productivity gains were due to improvements in technical efficiency. The study also finds that changes in technical efficiency were time variant suggesting that the exit of the less efficient vessels and easing of command and control regulations such as trip limits and short fishing seasons were responsible for most of these gains. Changes in the exploitable biomass of red snapper were found to have a moderate impact on productivity growth whereas the impact of technological progress was minimal. |
| Keywords: | Productivity change, individual fishing quotas, stochastic frontier distance function, Productivity Analysis, D24, Q22, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea15:196639&r=eff |
| By: | Koirala, Krishna H.; Mishra, Ashok K.; Sitienei, Isaac |
| Keywords: | Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, |
| Date: | 2015–01–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea15:196903&r=eff |
| By: | Lunik, Elizabeth; Langemeier, Michael |
| Abstract: | The objective of this paper was to examine the cost efficiency of corn and soybean production for typical farms involved in the cash crop agri benchmark network. Using a data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach, efficiency indices were computed for 35 corn farms, representing 15 countries including Argentina, Bulgaria, Brazil, China, Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, United States, Uruguay, Vietnam, and South Africa. Average technical efficiency was 0.497, average allocative efficiency was 0.487, and average cost efficiency was 0.310. Efficiency indices were also found for 18 soybean farms, representing 9 countries, including Argentina, Brazil, Canada, China, Italy, Ukraine, United States, Uruguay, and South Africa. Average technical efficiency was 0.533, average allocative efficiency was 0.553, and average cost efficiency was 0.340. Correlation analysis shows that seed input cost shares were the most correlated with cost efficiency for soybeans, while fixed capital cost shares were the most correlated with cost efficiency for corn production. OLS regression indicated that land, labor and other direct services were under-utilized for corn production, and that seed was over-utilized for soybean production. |
| Keywords: | corn, soybeans, efficiency, farm-level productivity, data envelopment analysis, Agricultural and Food Policy, Farm Management, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, D24, Q12, |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea15:196885&r=eff |
| By: | Serra, Teresa; Oude Lansink, Alfons |
| Abstract: | This article studies the influence of risk on farms’ technical efficiency levels. The analysis extends the order-m efficiency scores approach proposed by Daraio and Simar (2005) to the state-contingent framework. The empirical application focuses on cross section data of Catalan specialised crop farms from the year 2011. Results suggest that accounting for production risks increases the technical performance. A 10% increase in output risk will result in a 2.5% increase in average firm technical performance. |
| Keywords: | linear programming, data envelopment analysis, nonparametric order-m efficiency, state-contingent technology, risk, Productivity Analysis, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182661&r=eff |
| By: | Bhandari, Basu Deb; Gillespie, Jeffrey; Scaglia, Guillermo |
| Abstract: | Grass-fed beef cost and returns survey data from 2012 were analyzed to measure technical efficiency of GFB farms in the U.S. We found all inputs with expected signs. The average technical efficiency of GFB was 70% and the farms are operating with increasing returns to scale. |
| Keywords: | Technical Efficiency, Grass-fed Beef, Livestock Production/Industries, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea15:196813&r=eff |
| By: | Dutta, Ritwik; Saghaian, Sayed |
| Abstract: | This paper estimates the Total Factor Productivity (TFP) index for the U.S. agricultural sector from the period 1970 to 2004 and decomposes the resulting TFP estimation in the Trans-logarithmic production function for U.S. agriculture for the same period to determine the residual measure that explains variation in output aside from land, labor and capital inputs. The objective is to identify the major sources of agricultural productivity in the U.S. from the period mentioned and furthermore estimate the residual in the production function that the Neoclassical production function does not explicitly explain.The results indicate a collective contribution of intermediate inputs such as pesticides use and energy inputs and infrastructural development spending such as overall federal disbursement on highway on TFP and consequently on agricultural output growth for the time period under consideration. |
| Keywords: | Total Factor Productivity(TFP), Trans-logarithmic Production Function, Agricultural Productivity, Intermediate Inputs, Residual Measure., Food Security and Poverty, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Q19, Q20, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea15:196890&r=eff |
| By: | Ang, Frederic; Oude Lansink, Alfons |
| Abstract: | Using a nonparametric framework, we analyze dynamic profit inefficiency for a sample of Belgian, specialized dairy farms from 1996–2008. Profit inefficiency is decomposed into contributions of output, input, and investment. Moreover, we identify the contributions of technical and allocative inefficiency in each input and output. The results suggest substantial profit inefficiency under the current dairy-quota system, mainly driven by an average underproduction of approximately 50 percent and an average underuse of variable inputs of approximately 60 percent, due to allocative inefficiency. Consequently, abolishing the dairy-quota system in 2015 may considerably increase demand for variable inputs and supply of output. |
| Keywords: | distance function, dynamic efficiency, dairy sector, Livestock Production/Industries, Productivity Analysis, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182649&r=eff |
| By: | Guesmi, Bouali; Serra, Teresa; Radwan, Amr; Gil, José María |
| Abstract: | Productive efficiency analysis is a relevant tool that can be used to evaluate differences in efficiency performance between conventional and organic farms. Such study is important for the assessment of the economic viability of these two agricultural systems. While the existing research has widely used the stochastic frontier methodology and the DEA nonparametric approach to assess farming performance, the use of the local maximum likelihood (LML) approach recently proposed by Kumbhakar et al. (2007) is still at an infant stage. This study represents the first analysis that compares the efficiency levels of organic and conventional farms in Egypt. To do so, we apply LML methods to cross sectional, farm-level data collected from a sample of 60 Egyptian farms. Results suggest that performance of organic farmers is slightly better than performance of their conventional counterparts. |
| Keywords: | Organic and conventional farming Technical efficiency Local maximum likelihood approach, Environmental Economics and Policy, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:183023&r=eff |
| By: | Sobczynski, Tadeusz; Klepacka, Anna M.; Revoredo-Giha, Cesar; Florkowski, Wojciech Jan |
| Abstract: | The cost efficiency of dairy farms was analyzed for two leading production areas in Poland, i.e., Wielkopolskie and Podlaskie Voivodships. The analysis suggests that dairy farms in Podlaskie Vovivodship appear to have a closer gap in cost inefficiency as compared to the most efficient farm than corresponding farms in Wielkopolskie Voivodship. Wielkopolskie voivodship has a relatively larger number of farms that could substantially improve their cost efficiency Than Podlaskie Voivodship. However, the cost efficiency index value calculation method permits only an indirect comparison across regions, while the FADN data does not account for likely labor cost differences between the regions. |
| Keywords: | FADN data, FADN regions, cost frontier function, fixed effects, inefficiency, cost efficiency index, Productivity Analysis, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182647&r=eff |
| By: | Mamardashvili, Phatima; Jan, Pierrick |
| Abstract: | Beside desirable outputs, farming generates environmentally harmful by-products. In this article, we include nitrogen surplus of farms in the representation of the production technology and assessed performance of farms. We measure environmental efficiency (EE) in the framework of a translog output distance function. EE shows by how much a farm can reduce its nitrogen surplus, given multiple inputs and multiple outputs. The study use bookkeeping data on dairy farms in the mountainous region of Switzerland. The analyses show that considering nitrogen surplus has a minor effect on the ranking of farms in terms of technical efficiency. Further, the results indicate relatively low average values for EE, suggesting a need for additional policy measures to reduce farm nitrogen surpluses. |
| Keywords: | efficiency analysis, environmental performance, nitrogen pollution, dairy farms, Productivity Analysis, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182962&r=eff |
| By: | Skevas, Ioannis; Zhu, Xueqin; Shestalova, Victoria; Emvalomatis, Grigorios |
| Abstract: | The intensification of the dairy sector and the associated detrimental impacts on the environment has geared agri-environmental policies towards fulfilling environmental objectives. This study examines the impact of such policies and intensification on the hyperbolic efficiency of Dutch dairy farms which provides a measure for their joint technical and environmental performance. The results indicate that the introduction of decoupled payments reduced the hyperbolic efficiency of farms highlighting greater losses in technical than environmental performance, while agri-environmental subsidies have no impact on our efficiency measure. Finally, intensification increases hyperbolic efficiency implying that under appropriate nutrient-management practices, intensification can be sustainable. |
| Keywords: | intensification, agri-environmental policies, hyperbolic efficiency, Dutch dairy farms, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182934&r=eff |
| By: | Jansik, Csaba; Irz, Xavier |
| Abstract: | The milk sector has received much attention in Europe due to the abolishment of milk quotas in 2015 and its potential effect on the geographical distribution of milk production across countries. As a way of assessing the competitive advantage of Nordic EU countries, we investigated the productivity level and productivity growth of milk farms across eight countries of the Baltic Sea region from 1995 to 2010. We found considerable discrepancy in productivity performance across countries. TFP growth rates indicate that the competitive positions of the “old” EU members are stable, and that there is no catching up from the newer EU entrants. We offer explanations for this evolution based on the different patterns of structural change followed by the studied countries. |
| Keywords: | productivity, dairy farms, comparison, Northern Europe, Productivity Analysis, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182712&r=eff |
| By: | Crass, Dirk; Peters, Bettina |
| Abstract: | Firms invest huge amounts into intangible assets. This paper explores to which extent different kinds of intangible assets are conducive to firm-level productivity. Our study contributes to the literature by simultaneously comparing productivity effects of innovative capital, human capital, branding capital and organizational capital and testing whether complementarity or substitutability exists between different intangible assets. Using panel data for the period 2006-2010, our econometric estimates confirm strong positive productivity effects of human capital and branding capital. Results for innovative capital are found to be mixed. While R&D has a strong positive impact on productivity, design & licences and patents show only weak productivity enhancing effects. The same holds for organizational capital. We furthermore detect several complementarities among different kind of intangible assets. Our results are robust to various parametric (OLS, FE) and non-parametric (Olley and Pakes, Levinsohn and Petrin) productivity estimation methods. |
| Keywords: | Intangible capital,productivity,R&D,marketing,firm-specific human capital,organizational capital,patents,trademarks |
| JEL: | O33 C23 J24 L22 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:14120&r=eff |
| By: | Siqueira, Tiago Teixeira da Silva |
| Abstract: | This work studies the environmental impacts and economic performances of an Amazonian traditional beef farm, using a production cost and profitability analysis (Matsunaga et al., 1976) and a Life Cycle Assessment Standards Model (ISO 14044, 2006). The results reveal that economic and environmental performances share the same kind of determinants – low productivity of animals and land – which are major problems in Brazilian extensive livestock farms. Better management practices and technical efficiency associated with an “ecological intensification” of the production system could be a “win-win” strategy (Porter, 1991; Porter and van der Linde, 1995) in order to improve both performances. |
| Keywords: | Environmental economics, performance, Amazonian beef farm, win-win strategy, Farm Management, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182921&r=eff |
| By: | Nehring, Richard; hallahan, Charlie |
| Abstract: | This study is based on ARMS phase II and COP data supplied by ERS |
| Keywords: | off-farm, technical efficiency, scale efficiency, rice, Production Economics, |
| Date: | 2015–01–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea15:196841&r=eff |
| By: | Dupeux, Bérénice; Buysse, Jeroen |
| Abstract: | Most of ex-ante impact assessment policy models have been based on a parametric approach. We develop a novel non-parametric approach, called Inverse DEA. We use non parametric efficiency analysis for determining the farm’s technology and behaviour. Then, we compare the parametric approach and the Inverse DEA models to a known data generating process. We use a bio-economic model as a data generating process reflecting a real world situation where often non-linear relationships exist. Results suggest that traditional parametric approaches are biased and inconsistent. The Inverse DEA model under variable return to scale preserving technical efficiency scores outperforms any other specifications. However such non-parametric approach is by nature sensitive to noise which hampers its accuracy when it prevails. The use of panel data is preferable. |
| Keywords: | parametric, Inverse DEA, simulation, policy model, Productivity Analysis, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182768&r=eff |
| By: | Galluzzo, Nicola |
| Abstract: | Over the recent years there has been in Italy a growth of organic farms with a positive consequence in increasing the farmer’s income by a direct commercialization of products. The analysis has used a quantitative model of investigation in a dataset of organic and conventional farms belonging to the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN). The organic farms have underscored an inferior level of efficiency than conventional ones underling as land capital and labor force may be two pivotal variables in improving the level of economic and allocative efficiency in organic farms. |
| Keywords: | Farm Accountancy Data Network, economic efficiency, organic farms, Italian olive farms, Productivity Analysis, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182978&r=eff |
| By: | Olper, Alessandro; Pacca, Lucia; Curzi, Daniele |
| Abstract: | Melitz and Ottaviano’s (2008) firm-heterogeneity model predicts that trade liberalization induces a selection process from low to high productivity firms, which translates to an industry productivity growth. A similar firms’ selection effect is induced by market size. In this paper, these predictions are tested across 25 European countries and 9 food industries, over the 1995–2008 period. Using different dynamic panel estimators we find strong support for the model predictions, namely that an increase in import penetration is systematically positively related to productivity growth. The results are robust to measurement issues in productivity, controlling for market size, country and sector heterogeneities, and for the endogeneity of import competition. Interestingly, this positive relationship is almost exclusively driven by competition in final products coming from developed (especially EU-15) countries, suggesting that EU food imports are closer substitutes for domestic production than non-EU imports. These results have some potentially interesting policy implications. |
| Keywords: | Import competition, Productivity growth, Food Industry, European Countries, Dynamic panel model, International Relations/Trade, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182785&r=eff |
| By: | Susanto Basu (Boston College) |
| Abstract: | We show that the welfare of a countrys infinitely-lived representative consumer is summarized, to a first order, by total factor productivity (TFP) and by the capital stock per capita. These variables suffice to calculate welfare changes within a country, as well as welfare differences across countries. The result holds regardless of the type of production technology and the degree of product market competition. It applies to open economies as well, if TFP is constructed using domestic absorption, instead of gross domestic product, as the measure of output. Welfare relevant TFP needs to be constructed with prices and quantities as perceived by consumers, not firms. Thus, factor shares need to be calculated using after-tax wages and rental rates, and will typically sum to less than one. These results are used to calculate welfare gaps and growth rates in a sample of advanced countries with high-quality data on output, hours worked, and capital. We also present evidence for a broader sample that includes both advanced and developing countries. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed014:787&r=eff |
| By: | Duvaleix-Tréguer, Sabine; Gaigné, Carl |
| Abstract: | In this paper, we assess the impact of farm size on production cost and evaluate the marginal costs and margins by considering that input prices may change with the scale of production. By using French hog farm data, we estimate a system of equations including a feed price function, input demand functions, and an output supply function based on a technology approximated by a combined generalized Leontief-Quadratic form. Our results suggest that the marginal costs are over-estimated when the adjustment of the feed unit prices to a change in farm size is not controlled for. |
| Keywords: | Marginal cost, Farm size, Scale economies, Input prices, Price-cost margin, Livestock Production/Industries, Production Economics, Q12, D24, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182766&r=eff |
| By: | Matthias Meier (Universitaet Bonn); Ariel Mecikovsky (Universitaet Bonn); Christian Bayer (Universitaet Bonn) |
| Abstract: | This paper documents a new set of stylized facts on the joint distribution of labor and capital productivity across plants. We exploit panel data from Germany, Chile, Colombia and Indonesia and show that the basic patterns are similar in all economies. Decomposing factor productivities into high and low frequency movements, we reveal two new stylized facts. First, factor productivities are positively correlated at high frequency, while they are negatively correlated at low-frequency. Second, differences in factor productivity dispersions across countries are mostly at high frequency, while at low frequency the dissimilarity is rather small. We suggest a new structural explanation for productivity dispersions based on putty-clay technology. Our model implies the coexistence of different technologies at any point in time, which gives rise to productivity dispersions. We demonstrate that this model is able to explain our new stylized facts. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed014:719&r=eff |
| By: | Brauw, Alan de |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the relationship between migration and agricultural productivity in Ethiopia. Given that there are fairly significant returns to either rural-urban or international migration for labor in Ethiopia, it could be that credit constraints hindering migration start-up are an unexplored constraint against migration. The paper primarily uses the Ethiopia Rural Household Survey panel and a migrant listing exercise completed after the 2009 survey round to explore whether past agricultural productivity (e.g. in 2004) explains later migration. Using standard regression techniques, it finds that among young migrants, there appears to be a positive, significant relationship between productivity and households sending out a migrant. This relationship holds even when proxies for credit are included in the model; the effect appears to, in fact, be stronger among households who are less endowed with land. However, the magnitude of this effect is small. The paper also considers feedback effects from migration to later agricultural productivity; this correlation is weaker suggesting that migration does not have negative productivity impacts. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Community/Rural/Urban Development, International Development, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:assa15:189684&r=eff |
| By: | Koirala, Krishna; Mishra, Ashok K.; Mohanty, Samarendu |
| Abstract: | Using average treatment effect and data from 2012 the Central Luzon Loop Survey, this study investigates the role of gender in rice production. Results indicate that female-headed farm households, despite having limited access to land, have a higher value of rice production than their male counterparts. However, there is no significant difference between net farm incomes earned by male- and female-headed farm households. Female-headed households have higher fixed costs, consequently earning less total household income. Findings from this study indicate that women are less efficient in farming, but are more likely to adopt improved seed varieties. In addition, female-headed farm households are better at controlling farming costs. |
| Keywords: | Gender, average treatment effect, rice, women, farm households, agricultural productivity, Farm Management, Production Economics, |
| Date: | 2014–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea15:195705&r=eff |
| By: | López-Mosquera, Natalia; Álvarez-Coque, José María García; Sánchez, Mercedes |
| Abstract: | The paper underlines the importance of adopting a ‘market-orientation’ strategic approach in order to improve the performance of the firms, previously influenced by the ‘adoption of innovations’ of interest to the agricultural firms in two Spanish regions. The methodology selected has been a Multi-Group Structural Equation Modelling applied to the data obtained by personal interviews to a sample of farmers. Agricultural producers are more oriented, from the market point of view, to their regular customers and to controlling the quality of their production. The results also show a positive impact of market orientation activities on the performance to all firms. |
| Keywords: | strategic decisions, market orientation, adoption of innovation, SEM multigroup analysis, firm performance, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182813&r=eff |
| By: | Liu, Zheng; Monfort, Walter; Kirckpatrick, Terrance; Griffin, Terry |
| Abstract: | Nematode management in cotton has eluded farmers and researchers for decades. Control strategies have typically relied upon highly toxic nematicide application. Site-specific management provides opportunity to improve profitability while maintaining environmental stewardship; and can be based on yield penalty functions estimated from empirical data. A 4-year field-scale experiment was implemented in a commercial Arkansas cotton field known to exhibit crop yield loss due to nematodes. Root-knot nematode population was measured at four times within each plot each year: 1) prior to nematicide application, 2) at planting, 3) at peak bloom, and 4) at harvest. Due to spatial effects, spatial econometric models were estimated to obtain reliable yield response coefficients. Site-specific cotton yield response to treatment, soil texture, and nematode population were evaluated using a spatial error process model. Specific objectives were to estimate cotton yield response to environmental and treatment factors then conduct profitability analyses for site-specific nematicide application. The results support the potential of site-specific nematicide application including management zone delineation. Profitability analysis of variable rate nematicide application provides an initial insight into the potential of site-specific nematode management. |
| Keywords: | spatial econometrics, yield monitor, nematodes, site-specific application, Crop Production/Industries, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis, Research Methods/ Statistical Methods, R3 C1 C93, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea15:196879&r=eff |
| By: | Ohe, Yasuo |
| Abstract: | Based on an analytical framework, this paper classified farmer’s identity into two types: traditional identity that is oriented toward simple farm production and enlarged identity that is oriented toward viability of a new service activity. Second, by data envelopment analysis, the result of managerial efficiency simulation of a two-sector model, that is, the main milk production and the educational activity, revealed that those with the enlarged identity could realize higher managerial efficiency than those with the conventional identity. Thus, it was revealed that a farmer’s identity makes a difference in managerial efficiency. The efficiency level, however, was not high, which means that there is much room for improvement in farm resource management. Consequently, when policymakers try to design support measures to develop tourism-related farm diversification, the perspective of the support measures for capacity building should be widened to include identity issues, which helps farmers widen their identity that enable them to be more efficiently acceptable for tourism activity. |
| Keywords: | educational tourism in agriculture, identity, data envelopment analysis, technical efficiency, Agribusiness, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Farm Management, Labor and Human Capital, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession, |
| Date: | 2014–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:186676&r=eff |
| By: | Simone Pieralli; Matthias Ritter; Martin Odening; |
| Abstract: | This article examines the efficiency of wind energy production. We quantify production losses in four wind parks across Germany for 19 wind turbines with non-convex efficiency analysis. In a second stage regression, we adapt the linear regression results of Kneip, Simar, Wilson (2014) to explain electricity losses by means of a bias-corrected truncated regression. Our results show that electricity losses amount to 27% of the maximal producible electricity. These losses can be mainly traced back to changing wind conditions while only 6 % are caused by turbine errors. |
| Keywords: | wind energy, efficiency, free disposal hull, bias correction |
| JEL: | D20 D21 Q42 |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hum:wpaper:sfb649dp2015-004&r=eff |
| By: | Alessandro Fedele (Free University of Bolzano‐Bozen, Faculty of Economics and Management) |
| Abstract: | Some recent health economics papers suggest that increasing wage in the nursing labor market with the aim of reducing shortage may yield a negative effect on the average productivity and/or the average motivation of applicants attracted. Some feminist economics papers criticize this inefficiency wage result on the grounds that nurses' motivation is modeled in an overly simplistic way. The current paper aims to address this criticism by considering explicitly determinants of work motivation. Relying on introductory concepts from organizational psychology and management literatures, the inefficiency wage result is shown to disappear. A pay raise turns out to have no negative effect both on the average productivity and the average motivation of applicants attracted. |
| Keywords: | Nurses' wage, nursing shortage, nurses' productivity, nurses' motivation, inefficiency wage result, determinants of work motivation |
| JEL: | I11 J32 B54 |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bzn:wpaper:bemps24&r=eff |
| By: | Artur Sajnóg (University of £odz, Poland) |
| Abstract: | The main subject of theoretical-empirical study presented in this paper is economic efficiency of companies listed on the Polish and German capital market . The discussed research problem was investigated in the form of a comparative analysis and realized in two parts. The discussion presented in the first part depicts mainly theoretical reflections on the essence and assessment measures of companies’ economic efficiency. The second part presents the results of a comparative empirical research on economic efficiency of the companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange and included in the WIG30 index as well as the companies listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, which belong to the DAX index. The research period comprises years between 2004-2013. A comparative analysis of economic efficiency of the companies was conducted using a traditional ratio analysis and the nonparametric DEA method. The results of the empirical research confirm that German companies achieved significantly higher values of basic economic categories in the analysed decade, financial results in particular; however, their generated profits did not reflect in higher values of profitability ratios. Polish companies performed much better as they also showed higher efficiency from the DEA’s point of view. |
| Keywords: | efficiency, measure of efficiency, DEA, Polish and German joint-stock companies |
| JEL: | G32 |
| Date: | 2014–12 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pes:wpaper:2014:no44&r=eff |
| By: | Ouedraogo, Frederic; Phillip, Kenkel |
| Abstract: | This research aims to benchmark agricultural supply cooperatives regarding their fertilizer application services. Cooperative fertilizer application departments are essentially an extension of member farm operations. Because farm supply cooperatives return profits to their user members, the efficiency of the application department directly impacts farm profitability. Therefore, a benchmark analysis is needed to compare performances among competitive cooperatives, identify the best practices, and inform decision makers of the less competitive cooperatives about actions that need to be taken to improve inefficiencies. Mail surveys were sent to Oklahoma grain and farm supply cooperatives. In addition to the financial data collected for benchmarking purpose, the survey investigated the adoption and availability of variable rate application technology and the educational and training needs of application service technicians. |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance, Farm Management, Benchmarking, supply cooperatives, applicators, farm business, efficiency, |
| Date: | 2015–01–15 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea15:196852&r=eff |
| By: | Saam, Marianne |
| Abstract: | Technical change that augments capital and labor input in a non-neutral way plays an important role in explaining the relation between growth and other macroeconomic outcomes. Previous research has shown that restricting technical change to be neutral leads to overestimating the elasticity of substitution between capital and labor. I extend this line of analysis to misspecification of the functional form. Evidence from Monte Carlo simulations shows that the problem of biased estimates of the direction of technical change is relevant in the estimation of aggregate CES and translog production functions. In particular, I find examples where true technical change is neutral and estimated technical change is strongly directed towards one factor. |
| Keywords: | directed technical change,estimation of production functions,CES functions,translog functions |
| JEL: | C15 O30 O47 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:14127&r=eff |
| By: | Harold L. Cole; Jeremy Greenwood; Juan M. Sanchez |
| Abstract: | What determines the technology that a country adopts? While many factors affect technological adoption, the efficiency of the country's financial system may also play a significant role. To address this question, a dynamic contract model is embedded into a general equilibrium setting with competitive intermediation. The ability of an intermediary to monitor and control the cash flows of a firm plays an important role in the technology adoption decision. Can such a theory help to explain the differences in total factor productivity and establishment-size distributions across India, Mexico, and the United States? A quantitative illustration suggests the answer is yes. |
| JEL: | D92 E13 G24 O11 O16 |
| Date: | 2015–01 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbr:nberwo:20856&r=eff |
| By: | Andréasson, Hannes (The Ratio institute) |
| Abstract: | This paper analyses how decentralised wage bargaining affects wage levels and the structure of wages as well as the impact on firm performance. By using unique employer-employee matched data for Sweden 2007 and 2010, the paper presents new evidence on the collective bargaining premium in Sweden and the linkages between decentralised bargaining and firm performance. By differentiating between decentralised, two-tiered and centralised collective wage bargaining the methodologies of Card and De La Rica (2006); Dahl, le Maire, and Munch (2013); Guertzgen (2014); Gürtzgen (2007); Jakubson (1991) are adopted and adjusted using pooled OLS, first difference OLS, and quantile regressions. Variation in individual worker’s bargaining regime is exploited for identification of the effect of decentralisation. Results indicate that a large share of the wage premium associated with decentralised and two-tiered bargaining is due to systematic selection/sorting into those regimes. Models that take into account individual and firm unobserved heterogeneity indicate that the wage premium associated with decentralised wage bargaining is around 5-7.5% and 0.7-4.1% for two-tiered bargaining. When examining the effect on the wage structure, results indicate that decentralised and two-tiered bargaining compresses the wage structure by awarding relatively higher wage premiums to low-wage earners, in particular in decentralised regimes. At the same time, no evidence is found of higher returns to education in either regime, but both regimes are associated with higher returns to experience than centralised bargaining. Lastly, unique evidence is found of a positive linkage between the level of decentralisation at the firmlevel and value added per employee and firm productivity. This is a novel contribution to the literature that has not yet considered the impact of decentralised wage bargaining on firm performance. Thus there is evidence that the level at which bargaining takes place influences both wage levels and wage structure as well as firm performance. |
| Keywords: | Collective bargaining; Union wage premium; Wage structure; Firm productivity |
| JEL: | D24 J31 J41 J51 |
| Date: | 2014–12–31 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:ratioi:0241&r=eff |
| By: | Niebel, Thomas |
| Abstract: | This paper analyzes the impact of information and communication technologies (ICT) on economic growth in developing, emerging and developed countries. It is based on a sample of 59 countries for the period 1995 to 2010. Various panel data regressions confirm the positive relationship between ICT capital and GDP growth. The regressions for the subsamples of developing, emerging and developed countries do not reveal statistically significant differences of the output elasticity of ICT between these three country groups. |
| Keywords: | ICT,Economic Growth |
| JEL: | E22 J24 O47 |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:zewdip:14117&r=eff |
| By: | Jan, Pierrick; Calabrese, Chiara; Lips, Markus |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the determinants of nitrogen surplus and of its two components – nitrogen intensity and nitrogen-inefficiency – at farm level in Swiss agriculture. Our analysis is based on a cross-section of 210 farms from the year 2010. The nitrogen balance of each farm is estimated according to the OECD soil-surface approach. The determinants are analysed by means of a three-equation regression model estimated using a robust SUR approach. Farm size, part-time farming, organic farming, arable cropping and farmer’s age are found to negatively affect nitrogen surplus, whilst dairy, pig and poultry farming are associated with a higher nitrogen surplus. |
| Keywords: | environmental performance, nitrogen surplus, farming, Environmental Economics and Policy, |
| Date: | 2014–08 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:eaae14:182930&r=eff |
| By: | Sangeeta Pratap (Hunter College and CUNY Graduate Center); Carlos Urrutia (ITAM); Felipe Meza (Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México) |
| Abstract: | We study the relation between misallocation of resources, TFP and credit conditions using sectoral data from Mexican manufacturing industries between 2003 and 2010. We use a theory-based framework to account for TFP changes in the Mexican manufacturing sector due to changes in distortions in the use of capital, labor and intermediates arising from financial frictions. We show that these distortions account for a large fraction of aggregate TFP changes in the period. We also find empirically that changes in distortions in the data are driven by changes in the availability and the cost of credit. |
| Date: | 2014 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:red:sed014:701&r=eff |
| By: | Mark, Tyler; Whitacre, Brian; Griffin, Terry |
| Abstract: | Researchers and practitioners of precision agricultural technology have worked to overcome adoption, cost, and environmental obstacles since its introduction. The next gap in the adoption continuum of profitable precision agricultural technologies is data and data use, the so-called Big Data. Broadband connectivity could be the next hurdle affecting the precision agricultural technology chain and the employment of ‘big data’ and telematics services. Without adequate connectivity the transferring of ‘big data’ from machine-to-machine or to the cloud, inefficiencies are created. These inefficiencies come in the forms of machine downtime, increased human error, and lack of real-time information. We have addressed this issue in a conceptual framework by proposing a non-parametric data envelopment analysis. Simulation and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) are utilized to evaluate differing levels of data utilization made possible by broadband internet connectivity. The DEA methodology is useful to estimate the foregone societal value and farm-level profitability due to lack of broadband connectivity. In addition to constraining the profitability of agricultural firms; lack of broadband connectivity limits the adoption of precision agricultural technologies that make use of or relies upon near real time connectivity. The expected results are that producers that have adequate connectivity to employ ‘big data’ and telematics will be more efficient than producers without. Thus, the importance of adequate connectivity can be evaluated. |
| Keywords: | broadband, big data, telematics, data transfer, wireless, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management, Production Economics, Q10 D85, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:saea15:196816&r=eff |