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on Efficiency and Productivity |
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Issue of 2015‒05‒16
28 papers chosen by |
| By: | Nguyen, Huy |
| Abstract: | This study examines economic performance and household behaviour in multiple crop farming in Vietnam by measuring scale and scope economies, technical efficiency, and elasticities of substitution between inputs. The farming system in Vietnam is being transformed by integration between a set of cash crops and main food cropping operations. This transformation into diversified farming systems, where smallholders have a production base in rice, can affect the economies of scope, technical efficiency, and performance of farms. By using the approach of the input distance function, evidence is found of both scale and scope economies. These findings have important economic performance implications. Substantial technical inefficiency exists in multiple crop farming, which implies that by eliminating technical inefficiency crop, outputs could, in principle, be expanded by 20 per cent. Enhancing education and further land reforms are the main technical efficiency shifters. Evidence is also found for complementary between family labour and other inputs, except hired labour. The findings show further that the more adverse the farm production conditions, the more efficiently resources are allocated. |
| Keywords: | crop diversification, input distance function, elasticity of substitution, stochastic frontier, technical efficiency, economies of scope, and economies of scale, Crop Production/Industries, International Development, O12, O13, O33, |
| Date: | 2015–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aesc15:204224&r=eff |
| By: | Apatov, Eyal; Fabling, Richard; Jaffe, Adam; Morris, Michele; Thirkettle, Matt |
| Keywords: | Agribusiness, Productivity Analysis, |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aare15:202516&r=eff |
| By: | Lopez-Garcia, P. ; di Mauro, F. ; the CompNet Task Force (Research Department, NBB) |
| Abstract: | Drawing from confidential firm-level balance sheets for 17 European countries (13 Euro-Area), the paper documents the newly expanded database of cross-country comparable competitivenessrelated indicators built by the Competitiveness Research Network (CompNet). The new database provides information on the distribution of labour productivity, TFP, ULC or size of firms in detailed 2-digit industries but also within broad macro-sectors or considering the full economy. Most importantly, the expanded database includes detailed information on critical determinants of competitiveness such as the financial position of the firm, its exporting intensity, employment creation or price-cost margins. Both the distribution of all those variables, within each industry, but also their joint analysis with the productivity of the firm provides critical insights to both policymakers and researchers regarding aggregate trends dynamics. The current database comprises 17 EU countries, with information for 56 industries, including both manufacturing and services, over the period 1995-2012. The paper aims at analysing the structure and characteristics of this novel database, pointing out a number of results that are relevant to study productivity developments and its drivers. For instance, by using covariances between productivity and employment the paper shows that the drop in employment which occurred during the recent crisis appears to have had “cleansing effects” on EU economies, as it seems to have accelerated resource reallocation towards the most productive firms, particularly in economies under stress. Lastly, this paper will be complemented by four forthcoming papers, each providing an in-depth description and methodological overview of each of the main groups of CompNet indicators (financial, trade-related, product and labour market). |
| Keywords: | cross country analysis, firm-level data, competitiveness, productivity and size distribution, total factor productivity, allocative efficiency. |
| JEL: | L11 L25 D24 O4 O57 |
| Date: | 2015–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbb:reswpp:201504-279&r=eff |
| By: | David J. Mayston |
| Abstract: | While Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) has many attractions as a technique for analysing the efficiency of educational organisations, such as schools and universities, its efficiency estimates are based upon the assumption that the output possibility set is convex. If this assumption does not hold, DEA may overstate the scope for improvements in technical efficiency through proportional increases in all educational outputs and understate the importance of improvements in allocative efficiency from changing the educational output mix. The paper therefore examines conditions under which such convexity may not hold, particularly when the performance and efficiency evaluation includes measures related to the assessed quality of the educational outputs, and the position of the school or university in national league tables. Under such conditions, there is a need to deploy other educational efficiency assessment tools, including an alternative non-parametric output-orientated technique and a more explicit valuation function for educational outputs. |
| Keywords: | Data envelopment analysis, quality, education, efficiency analysis, allocative efficiency |
| JEL: | C61 D61 H52 I20 I23 |
| Date: | 2015–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:yor:yorken:15/08&r=eff |
| By: | Sapovadia, Vrajlal |
| Abstract: | India’s series of economic reforms since 1991 have accelerated economic growth but not productivity. India’s productivity remained low compared to global but peers as well. High productivity is good for business, consumers and economy. Higher the productivity, higher the profit, lower the price. Productivity in manufacturing sector in the last two decades remains stagnant, but nobody sincerely has bothered to measure and improve. India’s various global indices, ranking and score relevant to measure productivity, including manufacturing productivity remains poor. India is ranked 71 on Global Competitive Index (GCI), while Management Score is 2.60 against 3.38 of China. India trails on most of the global indexes. This paper investigate reasons for low competitiveness and productivity of Indian manufacturing sector around 12 pillars determined by GCI. |
| Keywords: | Indian manufacturing sector, competitiveness, productivity |
| JEL: | A19 |
| Date: | 2015–05–07 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:pra:mprapa:64208&r=eff |
| By: | Edquist , Charles (CIRCLE, Lund University); Zabala-Iturriagagoitia , Jon Mikel (Deusto Business School, Deusto University) |
| Abstract: | According to the Innovation Union Scoreboard, published by the European Commission every year, Sweden has been, and still is, an innovation leader within the EU and one of the most innovative countries in Europe. In the Innovation Union Scoreboard 2014 (European Union, 2014: 5), Sweden has the top position (ranked number 1) of all EU28 Member States in what is called “EU Member States’ Innovation Performance”. In the ranking there are 10 countries between Sweden and the EU average. This analysis is based on the ranking provided by one single composite indicator (SII or Summary Innovation Index), based on 25 separate indicators. <p> In this paper we argue that the SII provided by the Innovation Union Scoreboard is highly misleading. The data (the 25 separate indicators) that constitute this composite innovation indicator need to be analyzed much more in depth in order to reach a correct measure of the performance of an innovation system. We argue that input and output indicators need to be considered separately and measured individually and as two groups of indicators. Thereafter we compare the input and output indicators with one another (as is normally done in productivity and efficiency measurements). The outcome of this is a relevant and better measure of innovation performance. <p> In this paper, the performance of the Swedish national innovation system is analyzed by using exactly the same data as is used by the Innovation Union Scoreboard 2014. We analyze the relative position of Sweden regarding both input and output indicators, concluding that Sweden’s position as an innovation leader within the EU must be reconsidered. A theoretical background and reasons for selecting the indicators used is given and a new position regarding Sweden’s innovation performance compared to the other countries is calculated. <p> Our findings show, that Sweden remains in a high position for the innovation input indicators, ranked number 1. However, with regard to innovation output, Sweden is ranked number 10. In other words, about a third of all European Union 28 Member States have a higher innovation output than Sweden. To estimate the efficiency or productivity of the Swedish innovation system, inputs and outputs must be related to each other. When doing so, we reach the conclusion that Sweden is ranked number 24 of EU28 Member States. This finding is then discussed and we also discuss which countries would be relevant for Sweden to compare (benchmark) its innovation system with. <p> The conclusion is that Sweden, based on our calculations, can certainly not be seen as an innovation leader in Europe. This means that the Innovation Union Scoreboard is flawed and may therefore mislead researchers, policy-makers, politicians as well as the general public – since it is widely reported in the media. |
| Keywords: | Innovation system; innovation policy; innovation performance; Sweden; indicators; input; output |
| JEL: | O30 O38 O49 O52 |
| Date: | 2015–04–29 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:hhs:lucirc:2015_016&r=eff |
| By: | François Rycx; Yves Saks; Ilan Tojerow |
| Abstract: | The labour market situation of low-educated people is particularly critical in most advanced economies, especially among youngsters and women. Policies aiming to increase their employability either try to foster their productivity and/or to decrease their wage cost. Yet, the evidence on the misalignment between education-induced productivity gains and corresponding wage cost differentials is surprisingly thin, inconclusive and subject to various econometric biases. We estimate the impact of education on productivity, wage costs and productivity-wage gaps (i.e. profits) using rich Belgian linked employer-employee panel data. Findings, based on the generalised method of moments (GMM) and Levinsohn and Petrin (2003) estimators, show a significant upward-sloping profile between education and wage costs, on the one hand, and education and productivity, on the other. They also systematically highlight that educational credentials have a stronger impact on productivity than on wage costs. This ‘wage compression effect’, robust across industries, is found to disappear among older cohorts of workers and to be more pronounced among women than men. Overall, findings suggest that particular attention should be devoted to the productivity to wage cost ratio of low-educated workers, especially when they are young and female, but also to policies favouring gender equality in terms of remuneration and career advancement. |
| Keywords: | Education; labour costs; productivity; linked panel data |
| JEL: | C33 I21 J24 J31 |
| Date: | 2015–05–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sol:wpaper:2013/199356&r=eff |
| By: | X. Yu; G. Dosi; M. Grazzi; J. Lei |
| Abstract: | This article explores the dynamics of market selection by investigating of the relationships linking productivity, profitability, investment and growth, based on China's manufacturing firm-level dataset over the period 1998-2007. First, we find that productivity variations, rather than relative levels, are the dominant productivity-related determinant of firm growth, and account for 15%-20% of the variance in firms' growth rates. The direct relation between profitability and firm growth is much weaker as it contributes for less than 5% to explain the different patterns of firm growth. On the other hand, the profitability-growth relationship is mediated via investment. Firm's contemporaneous and lagged profitabilities display positive and significant effect on the probability to report an investment spike, and, in turn, investment activity is related to higher firm growth. |
| JEL: | D22 L10 L20 L60 O30 |
| Date: | 2015–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bol:bodewp:wp1006&r=eff |
| By: | Nordblom, Thomas L.; Hutchings, Timothy R.; Hayes, Richard C.; Li, Guangdi D. |
| Keywords: | Productivity Analysis, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aare15:202581&r=eff |
| By: | Ugur, Mehmet; Solomon, Edna; Guidi, Francesco; Trushin, Eshref |
| Abstract: | Effects of R&D investment on frim/industry productivity have been investigated widely thanks to pioneering contributions by Zvi Griliches and others in late 1970s and early 1980s. We aim to establish where the balance of the evidence lies and what factors may explain the variation in the research findings. Using 1,258 estimates from 65 primary studies and hierarchical meta-regression models, we report that the average elasticity and rate-of-return estimates are both positive, but smaller than those reported in prior narrative reviews and meta-analysis studies. We discuss the likely sources of upward bias in prior reviews, investigate the sources of heterogeneity in the evidence base, and discuss the implications for future research. Overall, this study contributes to existing knowledge by placing the elasticity and rate-of-return estimates under a critical spot light and providing empirically-verifiable explanations for the variation in the evidence base. |
| Keywords: | R&D,knowledge capital,productivity,meta-analysis |
| JEL: | D24 O30 O32 C49 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:zbw:esprep:109962&r=eff |
| By: | Reader, Mark A; Revoredo-Giha, Cesar; Lawrence, Rachel J.; Lang, Ben GA |
| Abstract: | AIM: Crop variable inputs (CVI's) are critical to successful crops. So we here ask: "What are the marginal returns to crop variable inputs?" And explore whether observed CVI levels maximise economic returns to farmers. We compare results to national aggregates in India. DATA: Analysed Farm Business Survey 2004-2012, where crop gross margins and input spending are available, for conventional winter wheat and oilseed in England and Wales. RESULTS: Marginal spending on variable inputs (e.g. seed, fertiliser, crop protection) returns in economic product significantly less than GBP£1 per marginal pound spent. Therefore, expenditure allocation on those inputs could be quite far from economic optima. However marginal physical products (yields) are positive, but small, and significantly different from zero. These conclusions hold across a wide range of alternative economic models and subsets of the data. The same conclusions are observed, in estimations for Indian grain production, and for maize in China where lower national rates of fertiliser application appear optimal. DISCUSSION: Unknowns, including yield, quality and price, make it difficult to optimise ex ante input levels. Tied advice could reduce the efficiency in the farm sector - owing to possible perverse incentives. And the preferences of farmers, may be to avoid risk, or to maximise yields. Farmers may also be biased - relative to full information and perfect competition. All of which might distort prices from the neoclassical equilibria with perfect information and perfect competition. Thus, one could ask "How useful are the prices seen in practice, for allocation in the context of the farmer behaviour reported here?" |
| Keywords: | Marginal Products, Marginal Profit, (Efficiency Ratios, Factor Coefficients, Factor Elasticities), Farm Variable Inputs, Fertiliser Use, Agricultural Productivity, Farm Enterprise Management, Farm Firms, Wheat, Oilseed Rape, England and Wales, Agribusiness, Crop Production/Industries, Farm Management, Q12, Q120, |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aesc15:204236&r=eff |
| By: | Hyunbae CHUN; MIYAGAWA Tsutomu; Hak Kil PYO; TONOGI Konomi |
| Abstract: | Using the Japan Industrial Productivity (JIP) and the Korea Industrial Productivity (KIP) databases and other primary statistics in Japan and Korea, we estimate intangible investment in Japan and Korea at the industry-level. Comparing our estimates from two-country data, we find that the growth in intangible investment in Korea has exceeded that in Japan in the past 30 years. Intangible investment/gross value added (GVA) ratios in the machinery industries in Japan are higher than in Korea, because Japanese machinery industries are research and development (R&D) intensive. On the other hand, ratios in some service industries in Korea are higher than in Japan, because Korean service industries are information and communications technology (ICT)-intensive. When we conduct growth accounting analysis with intangibles, we find that the contribution of intangible investment to economic growth after 1995 in Japan decreased significantly. In addition, the contribution of intangibles to productivity growth in Japan after 1995 is lower than not only Korea but also the European Union (EU) countries and the United States. The lack of synergy effects between ICT and intangibles in Japan may be the cause of low productivity growth in the 2000s. |
| Date: | 2015–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:eti:dpaper:15055&r=eff |
| By: | François Rycx (Université libre de Bruxelles, SBS-EM (CEB and DULBEA), and IZA); Yves Saks (National Bank of Belgium, Research Department); Ilan Tojerow (Université libre de Bruxelles, SBS-EM (CEB and DULBEA), and IZA) |
| Abstract: | The labour market situation of low-educated people is particularly critical in most advanced economies, especially among youngsters and women. Policies aiming to increase their employability either try to foster their productivity and/or to decrease their wage cost. Yet, the evidence on the misalignment between education-induced productivity gains and corresponding wage cost differentials is surprisingly thin, inconclusive and subject to various econometric biases. We investigate this issue using rich Belgian linked employer-employee panel data for the period 1999-2010. Moreover, we provide first evidence on the moderating roles of age, gender and industry in the relationship between education, productivity and wage costs. Controlling for simultaneity issues, time-invariant workplace characteristics and dynamics in the adjustment process of dependent variables, findings support the existence of a ‘wage-compression effect’, i.e. a situation in which the distribution of wage costs is more compressed than the education-productivity profile. This effect, robust across industries, is found to disappear among older cohorts of workers and to be more pronounced among women than men. Overall, findings suggest that particular attention should be devoted to the productivity to wage cost ratio of low-educated workers, especially when they are young and female, but also to policies favouring gender equality in terms of remuneration and career advancement. |
| Keywords: | Education, labour costs, productivity, linked panel data |
| JEL: | C33 I21 J24 J31 |
| Date: | 2015–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:nbb:reswpp:201504-281&r=eff |
| By: | Kilcline, Kevin; O'Donoghue, Cathal; Hennessy, Thia; Hynes, Stephen |
| Abstract: | This paper investigates the structure and characteristics of the full distribution of sheep farms achieving various levels of financial and technical performance. Analysing data from the Irish panel dataset, the Teagasc National Farm Survey (NFS) shows Irish sheep farms exhibit relatively low level of technical performance and that on-farm technical advances have been stagnant over the past 20 years. NFS data files not previously manipulated for research purposes are used to capture monthly animal data flows for the full sample of NFS sheep farms for the 3 year period 2008 – 2010. Utilising this data we identify and analyse key flock performance indicators including reproduction, mortality rates. These “Livestock Demographic” variables are important indicators for estimating and modelling flock dynamics and production, combining two drivers of flock performance: the biological characteristics of the stock on the farm and the farmers’ flock management practices. Results indicate the potential impacts on farm output and gross margins of improved animal performance which is achievable through specific technology adoptions. |
| Keywords: | Sheep Production, Technical Performance, Gross Margin, Random Effects, Simulation., Agribusiness, Livestock Production/Industries, |
| Date: | 2015–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aesc15:204230&r=eff |
| By: | Claudia Curi (Faculty Economics and Management, Free University of Bolzano); Ana Lozano-Vivas (University of Malaga); Valentin Zelenyuk (School of Economics, The University of Queensland) |
| Abstract: | Diversified and focused business models may affect foreign bank efficiency differently. We investigate whether there is an optimal business model along three business dimensions—assets, funding and income—and which business model is optimal for foreign banks in a financial center. We apply recently developed non-parametric methods with bootstrap to estimate group efficiency, to test for differences across groups and finally to analyze the link between bank efficiency and diversification measures. Using Luxembourg bank data that include the financial crisis, we find that there is no unique business model. The most efficient business model appears to be a focused asset, funding and income strategy. Banks’ organizational forms play a role; branches may be preferable to subsidiaries prior to the financial crisis, whereas bank subsidiaries perform better than branches during the financial crisis. However, branches diversified in assets, funding and income exploit efficiency advantages during the financial crisis. |
| Keywords: | Foreign banks,Organizational form,Branch,Subsidiary,Asset,Funding and Income Diversification,Financial Crisis,DEA Group-Efficiency,Heterogeneous Bootstrap |
| JEL: | C14 F23 G21 G28 |
| Date: | 2015–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:qld:uqcepa:102&r=eff |
| By: | Mkwara, Lena; Marsh, Dan; Scarpa, Riccardo |
| Keywords: | Community/Rural/Urban Development, Consumer/Household Economics, Productivity Analysis, |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aare15:202532&r=eff |
| By: | Buckley, Cathal; Wall, David P.; Moran, Brian; O'Neill, Stephen; Murphy, Paul N.C. |
| Abstract: | This research estimates farm gate phosphorus balances and use efficiencies across 147 specialist dairy farms over a seven year period (2006-2012) using nationally representative data and the Republic of Ireland as a case study. This period coincides with the introduction of phosphorus controls in agricultural production under EU Nitrates Directive based regulations. Results indicate that P balances declined by 50 per cent over the study period from 11.9 in 2006 to 6.0 Kgs Ha-1 in 2012. This decline was driven by a reduction in chemical fertiliser imports of 6.5 Kgs Ha-1 and is equivalent to a reduction of 281 kgs of P across the average farm and 2,392 tonnes of P across the weighted sample. This represents a cost saving of €812 per annum across the average farm and €6.89 million for the weighted sample over the study period. Phosphorus use efficiency also improved over the period from 60 per cent in 2006 to 78 per cent in 2012, peaking in 2011 at 88.3 per cent. Results of a random effects panel data model indicate that P balance and use efficiency are significantly influenced by factors such as fertiliser prices, stocking rates, land use potential, contact with extension services and rainfall patterns. |
| Keywords: | Phosphorus, farm gate balance, phosphorus use efficiency, random effects panel data model., Agribusiness, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, |
| Date: | 2015–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aesc15:204207&r=eff |
| By: | Muge Adalet McGowan; Dan Andrews |
| Abstract: | This paper explores the link between skill and qualification mismatch and labour productivity using cross-country industry data for 19 OECD countries. Utilising mismatch indicators aggregated from micro-data sourced from the recent OECD Survey of Adult Skills (PIAAC), the main results suggest that higher skill and qualification mismatch is associated with lower labour productivity, with over-skilling and under-qualification accounting for most of these impacts. A novel result is that higher skill mismatch is associated with lower labour productivity through a less efficient allocation of resources, presumably because when the share of over-skilled workers is higher, more productive firms find it more difficult to attract skilled labour and gain market shares at the expense of less productive firms. At the same time, a higher share of under-qualified workers is associated with both lower allocative efficiency and within-firm productivity – i.e. a lower ratio of high productivity to low productivity firms. While differences in managerial quality can potentially account for the relationship between mismatch and within-firm productivity, the paper offers some preliminary insights into the policy factors that might explain the link between skill mismatch and resource allocation.<P>Inadéquation entre l'offre et la demande sur le marché du travail : observations à partir de l'étude PIAAC<BR>Ce Document de travail analyse la relation entre inadéquation des compétences et des qualifications et productivité du travail, à l’aide de données sectorielles internationales pour 19 pays de l’OCDE. Calculés à l’aide d’indicateurs agrégés à partir de micro-données empruntées à l’enquête PIAAC (Programme de l’OCDE pour l'évaluation internationale des compétences des adultes), les principaux résultats donnent à penser qu’un plus haut niveau d’inadéquation des compétences et des qualifications va de pair avec une productivité plus faible du travail, la surqualification et la sous-qualification constituant l’essentiel des effets observés. La nouveauté dans ces résultats tient au fait qu’une plus forte inadéquation des compétences va de pair avec une plus faible productivité du travail par une moindre efficience allocative, peut-être parce que lorsque la proportion de travailleurs surqualifiés est plus élevée, les entreprises les plus productives éprouvent plus de difficultés à attirer des personnes qualifiées et gagner des parts de marché sur les entreprises moins productives. Parallèlement, une plus forte proportion de main-d’oeuvre sous-qualifiée va de pair avec une moindre efficience allocative, mais aussi une moindre productivité intra-entreprise (c’est-à-dire que le ratio entreprises très productives/entreprises peu productives diminue). Si des différences de qualité de gestion d’entreprise peuvent peut-être expliquer la relation entre inadéquation et productivité intra-entreprise, ce Document de travail présente une analyse préliminaire des facteurs de politique publique qui pourraient expliquer le lien entre inadéquation des compétences et allocation des ressources. |
| Keywords: | education, human capital, productivity, reallocation, qualification mismatch, allocation of talent, managerial quality, redéploiement, distribution des compétences, inadéquation des compétences, inadéquation des qualifications, productivité, éducation, capital humain |
| JEL: | I20 J20 J24 O40 |
| Date: | 2015–04–28 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:ecoaaa:1209-en&r=eff |
| By: | Nwaiwu, I.O.U.; Asiabaka, C.C.; Ohajianya, D.O. |
| Abstract: | The study was carried out in southeast Nigeria. It focused on green economic path and the severe implications of the alternative development pathways as typified by the devastating effects of climate change on agricultural productivity. Multi-stage sampling technique was used to select a sample of 312 cassava based food crop farmers. Data were collected with the aid of structured questionnaire. Total factor productivity was used as an index of agricultural productivity. The effects of climate change on productivity were determined using ordinary least square regression method. Results showed that the mean age, household size, annual household income and farm size of farmers in the study area were 51 years, 8 persons per home, ₦391,530.64 and 0.84 hectares respectively. It was also found that factors such as excessive heat (Eh), frequency of dry spell (Ds) and frequency or incidence of flooding and erosion (Fd) negatively affected agricultural productivity while volume of rainfall positively affected productivity. The study concluded that extreme poverty is a threat to the quest for green economy and safe environment. Hence the need for a synergy among nations towards poverty reduction, cleaner and more sustainable development strategies and enlightenment campaign on the need for low carbon technologies. |
| Keywords: | Agricultural Productivity, Climate, Green economy, Poverty, and Carbon, Agricultural and Food Policy, Environmental Economics and Policy, International Development, Q13, O1. O2, O3, 04, |
| Date: | 2015–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aesc15:204226&r=eff |
| By: | Ahodo, Kwadjo; Freckleton, Robert P.; Oglethorpe, David |
| Abstract: | The paper investigates the effect of variations in soil type, rainfall, N fertilizer amount and crop prices on the objectives of arable farms operating in Nitrogen Vulnerable Zones (NVZs) and receiving the Single Farm Payment (SFP). Sensitivity analysis was carried out using a mixed-integer programming (MIP) arable farm model (farmR). The farmR model estimates the arable farming objectives of interest: farm profit, crop complexity and risk minimization. Applying the 2014 SFP flat rate and the maximum N limits (N max) values (prescribed in the NVZ guidelines) to each crop, N max was varied under different soil types and rainfall interactions. Crop prices were also varied to illustrate the effectiveness of the SFP under a scenario of high crop prices. The results showed that even though applying N above N max increases farm productivity under all soil and rainfall interactions, doing so and forgoing the SFP reduces farm productivity and increases risk. The SFP thus acts as a payment for the opportunity cost to farms for not being able to apply N above N max. However under a scenario of crop price increases, applying above N max and forfeiting the SFP could generate higher productivity than at the N max level. |
| Keywords: | Single farm payment, sensitivity analysis, nitrogen vulnerable zones, arable farming, mixed integer programming., Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Farm Management, C61, Q18, |
| Date: | 2015–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aesc15:204231&r=eff |
| By: | Micha, Evgenia; Heanue, Kevin |
| Abstract: | Sustainable farming systems are those that are economically profitable, environmentally protective and socially efficient through time, therefor the importance of farm sustainable performance is highly acknowledged, and there are various methods for its measurement and assessment at different spatial levels. The aim of this study is to profile and classify Irish livestock farms according to their performance using farm-level data on profitability, environmental efficiency and social integration derived from the Teagasc National Farm Survey. In contrast to previous research that assesses Irish farms’ sustainable performance at farm level, this study is attempting to create a farm system typology based on farm performance and characteristics. Economic, social and environmental performance indicators are determined and aggregated to be used as the conceptual framework to identify and classify types of farms. A combination of multivariate analysis techniques is developed for the aggregation of indicators and for the creation of farm systems typologies. The results indicate the relation between economic, ecological and social performance of Irish farms and establish a typology of livestock farms that can prove useful for future policy design. |
| Keywords: | Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, |
| Date: | 2015–04 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aesc15:204216&r=eff |
| By: | Paris, Quirino |
| Abstract: | This paper contains a substantial revision of a previous paper with the same title. |
| Keywords: | positive mathematical programming, generalized risk, output supply elasticities, policy analysis, Demand and Price Analysis, Productivity Analysis, Risk and Uncertainty, C6, |
| Date: | 2015–04–25 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:ucdavw:202865&r=eff |
| By: | West, Steele Christian |
| Keywords: | Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Risk and Uncertainty, |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aare15:202588&r=eff |
| By: | DUYGU TUNALI (ANADOLU UNIVERSITY) |
| Abstract: | Banking has an important place in the financial sector in Turkey and so that low or high banking performance affects the financial system and hence the whole economy. The purpose of this study is to determine the factors affecting the performance of state-owned and privately-owned deposit banks in the Turkish banking sector between 2002-2011. Thus the affects of the bank-specific variables and macroeconomic variables on the return on assets and the return on equity and net interest margin of the banks are investigated by using panel data analysis. At the end of analysis; it is concluded that, the ratio of equity to total assets, the ratio of deposits to total assets and the ratio of non-interest expenses to total assets from the bank-specific variables have the significant impacts on the performance of the banks. It is also concluded that interest rate and the inflation rate from the macroeconomic variables have the significant impacts on the performance of the banks. As a result it was determined that the private banks' profitability performance was better than the state-owned banks. |
| Keywords: | bank performance, return on assets, return on equity, net interest margin, panel data analysis |
| JEL: | M21 G21 C23 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:sek:iacpro:1003483&r=eff |
| By: | Saunders, Anthony; Schmid, Markus; Walter, Ingo |
| Abstract: | The issue of optimum bank scope is central to many proposals for banking system reform. For example, a core component of the Dodd-Frank Act (2010) and regulatory proposals in the UK and the EU has been the concept of “ring-fencing” – i.e., restricting banks’ activities to their core retail and wholesale financial intermediation functions. One set of arguments holds that limiting the scope of bank activities reduces the likelihood of failure related to business lines that are highly risky. A second set of arguments holds that diversification of banks across traditional interest generating business and non-traditional businesses enhances bank profitability and reduces idiosyncratic risk. Based on a sample of 368,006 quarterly observations on 10,341 US banks during the period 2002-2013, we find that a higher ratio of non-interest income (derived from fees and non-core activities such as investment banking, venture capital and trading) to interest income (associated with deposit-taking and lending to retail and commercial clients) is associated with a higher profitability across the banking sector and under different market regimes. This finding is stronger during the crisis period than in either the pre- and post-crisis periods. Banks with a higher fraction of non-traditional income are also shown to have a lower insolvency risk as measured by the Z-score, and recovered faster after the 2007-09 crisis. Our results hold across bank size groups and are robust to the inclusion of bank fixed effects, bank size, and various measures of leverage and asset quality in the regressions. |
| Keywords: | Bank Size, Financial Crisis, Profitability, Core-banking Activity |
| JEL: | G01 G21 |
| Date: | 2014–10 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:usg:sfwpfi:2014:17&r=eff |
| By: | Tommaso Agasisti; Pablo Zoido |
| Abstract: | As governments around the world struggle with doing more with less, efficiency analysis climbs to the top of the policy agenda. This paper derives efficiency measures for more than 8,600 schools in 30 countries, using PISA 2012 data and a bootstrap version of Data Envelopment Analysis as a method. We estimate that given current levels of inputs it would be possible to increase achievement by as much as 27% if schools improved the way they use these resources and realised efficiency gains. We find that efficiency scores vary considerably both between and within countries. Subsequently, through a second-stage regression, a number of school-level factors are found to be correlated with efficiency scores, and indicate potential directions for improving educational results. We find that many efficiency-enhancing factors vary across countries, but our analysis suggests that targeting the proportion of students below low proficiency levels and putting attention to students’ good attitudes (for instance, lower truancy), as well as having better quality of resources (i.e. teachers and educational facilities), foster better results in most contexts.<BR>Alors que les gouvernements du monde entier tentent de faire toujours plus avec moins, l’analyse de l’efficience occupe le haut de l’agenda politique. Ce document s’appuie sur des mesures d’efficience effectuées dans plus de 8600 écoles dans 30 pays, en utilisant les données PISA de 2012 et une version bootstrap d’une méthode d’analyse par enveloppement de données. Nous estimons qu’au regard des niveaux actuels des contributions, il serait possible d’augmenter les performances de 27% si les écoles amélioraient la façon dont elles utilisent les ressources en réalisant des gains d’efficience. Nous constatons que les scores d’efficience varient de manière considérable entre les pays et au sein des pays. En conséquence, par le biais d’une régression de deuxième étape, il se trouve qu’un certain nombre de facteurs scolaires sont corrélés aux scores d’efficience et indiquent de possibles orientations visant à améliorer les résultats en matière éducative. Nous constatons que de nombreux facteurs favorisant l’efficience varient d’un pays à l’autre, mais notre analyse indique que l’on obtient de meilleurs résultats dans la plupart des domaines en se concentrant sur les étudiants dont les compétences sont faibles et en mettant l’accent sur les bonnes attitudes (réduire l’absentéisme par exemple) tout en ayant des ressources de meilleure qualité (professeurs et établissements scolaires). |
| Keywords: | efficiency, equity, international comparisons |
| JEL: | C14 I21 I24 I28 |
| Date: | 2015–05–05 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:oec:eduaab:117-en&r=eff |
| By: | Pruitt, J. Ross; Anderson, David P. |
| Keywords: | Demand and Price Analysis, Livestock Production/Industries, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, |
| Date: | 2015–02 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:ags:aare15:202572&r=eff |
| By: | Alain Carpentier; Alexandre Gohin |
| Abstract: | Crop rotations are known to have two main kinds of economic effects: direct effects on potential yields and on the productivity of different inputs, and indirect effects on economically optimal input levels, especially pesticides and fertilizers. The main objective of this article is to uncover the mechanisms through which crop rotation effects affect the acreage choices of forward-looking farmers, in a dynamic programming framework. Whereas most models considering acreage choices with crop rotation effects are based on discrete choice models at the plot level, our model considers a farm level strategy. This implies that our theoretical modeling framework is closely related to the models commonly used for empirically investigating farmers’ acreage choices, either in the multicrop econometric literature or in the mathematical programming literature. We provide original results aimed at characterizing the properties of optimal acreage choices accounting for crop rotation effects and constraints in an uncertain context. Using a stochastic programming approach together with a Lagrangian approach we show that optimal dynamic acreage choices can be formally characterized as static acreage choices with contingent renting/lending markets for acreages with specific preceding crops. The crop rotation constraint Lagrange multipliers provide the renting/lending prices of acreages with specific crop histories. The results presented in the article are mainly theoretical. Our modeling framework can easily be implemented in practice since it mainly considers quadratic programming problems and their solution functions. |
| Keywords: | crop rotation, constrained optimization, dynamic programming, stochastic programming, dynamic acreage choice model |
| JEL: | C61 D21 D24 D92 Q12 |
| Date: | 2015 |
| URL: | http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:rae:wpaper:201504&r=eff |