Technical efficiency of Organic Fertilizer in small farms of Nicaragua: 1998-2005

This article applies frontier production function analysis to small farms in Nicaragua during 1998-2005 (Battese and Coelli, 1988). The objective of this study is to estimate an average function that will provide a picture of the shape of the organic fertilizer technology of an average firm (in our case, agricultural production units). Furthermore I present a best-practice of organic fertilizer against which the efficiency of the firms within the primary sector can be measured (Coelli, T: 1995). The results show an average of technical efficiency acceptable which the makers of public policy in Nicaragua must considerer for the future. It is imperative if we consider an economy activity indexes that have increased during this period.Technical Efficiency, LSMS, Organic Fertilizer, Small Farm, Panel Data, Agribusiness, Production Economics, Productivity Analysis,

Labour Contracts and Performance of Cameroonian Firms

The aim of this study is to evaluate employees' productivity in relation to their contract status. This study uses (a) survey data collected among manufacturing sector firms, having more than 15 employees, in Cameroon between April and May 2006 and (b) information issued by the National Institute of Statistics. Information collected concerned 45 firms spanning the period 2003 to 2005. This study uses the stochastic production frontier, distinguishing employees holding fixed-term contract (FTC) from employees that do not have fixed-term contracts (indefinite-term contract (ITC)). Results are estimated in 2 stages. First, we evaluate the determinants of the utilisation of FTC workers and second, we estimate the level of efficiency and productivity of two types of workers. Empirical results indicate that employees holding FTC are twice more productive than those holding ITC. Likewise, parameters indicating returns to scale are 1.3. This parameter, though not significant, is greater than one indicating constant returns to scale in the firm production function.labour contract, fixed-term contract, indefinite-term contract, production frontier

Productivity Drivers in Japanese Seaports

This paper analyses efficiency drivers of a representative sample of Japanese seaports by means of the two-stage procedure proposed by Simar and Wilson (2007). In the first stage, the technical efficiency of seaports is estimated using several models of data envelopment analysis (DEA) that might be employed in order to establish which of them are most efficient. In the second stage, the Simar and Wilson (2007) procedure is used to bootstrap the DEA scores with a truncated bootstrapped regression to identify efficiency drivers. The policy implications of our findings are considered.Seaports; Japan; Data Envelopment Analysis; Truncated Bootstrapped Regression.

Technical Efficiency of Pakistan s Manufacturing Sector: A Stochastic Frontier and Data Envelopment Analysis

This paper examines the efficiency of the large-scale manufacturing sector of Pakistan using parametric as well as non-parametric frontier techniques. Production frontiers are estimated for two periods-1995-96 and 2000-01-for 101 industries at the 5-digit PSIC. The results show that there has been some improvement in the efficiency of the large-scale manufacturing sector, though the magnitude of improvement remains small. The results are mixed at the disaggregated level: whereas a majority of industrial groups have gained in terms of technical efficiency, some industries have shown deterioration in their efficiency levels. The results from both the approaches are consistent, and in line with similar studies.Manufacturing Industries, Technical Efficiency, Stochastic Frontier Analysis, Data Envelopment Analysis

TECHNICAL EFFICIENCY OF CHINESE GRAIN PRODUCTION: A STOCHASTIC PRODUCTION FRONTIER APPROACH

This article examines technical efficiency of the Chinese grain sector using the framework of stochastic production frontier. The results reveal that: the marginal products of labor and fertilizer are much smaller than that of land; human capital and farm-level specialization have positive effect on efficiency, land fragmentation is detrimental to efficiency, and elder farmers are as efficient as younger farmers. We also examine the effects of size, mechanization and geographic location. Simulation results show that significant output gains can be obtained by eliminating land fragmentation, improving rural education and promoting specialization and mechanization.Crop Production/Industries, Productivity Analysis,

Risk Aversion as Effort Incentive: A Correction and Prima Facie Test of the Moral Hazard Theory of Share Tenancity

We show that Stiglitz's (1974) classic principal-agency theory of share tenancy does not imply, as alleged, that the optimal tenant share is less than one for risk-averse tenants nor that the share decreases monotonically with the tenant's inherent risk aversion. Tenants may self insure by working harder--increasingly so for higher levels of risk aversion--with the result that the more risk averse work for higher instead of lower shares. When the model is parameterized based on previous studies of Philippine agriculture, it predicts a U-shaped relationship between optimal tenant's share and inherent risk aversion. Landlords choose rent contracts for both high and low levels of risk aversion. For intermediate levels, the optimal sharing rates are 80% and above. In contrast, actual sharing rates in the study area ranged from 50-60%, with most farmers contracted on a 50:50 basis. We conclude that the risk-aversion versus moral hazard theory of tenure choice is incomplete. Rent contracts must have additional disadvantages and/or share tenancy additional benefits that are not accounted for in the static principal-agency theory.

Risk aversion as effort incentive: A correction and prima facie test of the moral hazard theory of share tenancy

We show that Stiglitz's (1974) principal-agency theory of share tenancy does not imply, as alleged, that the optimal tenant share is less than one for risk-averse tenants nor that the share decreases monotonically with tenant risk aversion. Tenants may self insure by working harder increasingly so for higher levels of risk aversion with the result that the more risk averse work for higher shares. When the model is parameterized based on previous studies of Philippine agriculture, it predicts a U-shaped relationship between optimal tenant''s share and risk aversion. Landlords choose rent contracts for both high and low levels of risk aversion and shares from 80-99% for intermediate levels. In contrast, actual shares in the study area ranged from 50-60%, with most farmers contracted on a 50:50 basis. We conclude that rent contracts must have additional disadvantages and/or share tenancy additional benefits that are not accounted for in the static principal-agency theory.agricultural contracts

A new comparative approach to macroeconomic modeling and policy analysis

In the aftermath of the global financial crisis, the state of macroeconomic modeling and the use of macroeconomic models in policy analysis has come under heavy criticism. Macroeconomists in academia and policy institutions have been blamed for relying too much on a particular class of macroeconomic models. This paper proposes a comparative approach to macroeconomic policy analysis that is open to competing modeling paradigms. Macroeconomic model comparison projects have helped produce some very influential insights such as the Taylor rule. However, they have been infrequent and costly, because they require the input of many teams of researchers and multiple meetings to obtain a limited set of comparative findings. This paper provides a new approach that enables individual researchers to conduct model comparisons easily, frequently, at low cost and on a large scale. Using this approach a model archive is built that includes many well-known empirically estimated models that may be used for quantitative analysis of monetary and fiscal stabilization policies. A computational platform is created that allows straightforward comparisons of models’ implications. Its application is illustrated by comparing different monetary and fiscal policies across selected models. Researchers can easily include new models in the data base and compare the effects of novel extensions to established benchmarks thereby fostering a comparative instead of insular approach to model development

Comparing Macroeconomic Returns on human and Public Capital: An Empirical Analysis of the Portuguese Case (1960-2001)

The impact of human and public capital on growth is a major issue in economic theory and in policy evaluation. Using a cointegrated VAR, we estimate a Cobb-Douglas production function for Portugal with public and human capital. Return rates are then computed with and without dynamic feedbacks. Without these, human capital yields a return comparable to private investment, and smaller than public investment. Considering dynamic feedbacks, private capital responds positively to a shock in public capital, but negatively to a shock in human capital. Consequently, the dynamic feedbacks return on human capital is much lower than on public capital.Human capital; public capital; economic growth; Portugal.

Factors influencing the economic performance of a panel of commerical milk producers from East Griqualand, KwaZulu-Natal and Alexandria, Eastern Cape, South Africa: 2007-2014.

Master of Science in Agricultural Economics. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg 2018.The South African dairy industry has been characterized, in recent years, by an observed movement towards fewer, larger producers, implying a more competitive milk market in which efficiency measures are likely to become increasingly important determinants of farm financial success and survival. Due to the imperfect nature of efficiency estimates, a more integrated approach is adopted in this study in which economic performance is defined as an unobservable variable for which there exist many imperfect indicators, including various measures of efficiency. This study presents a two-stage approach to analyse economic performance, and its key determinants, for a panel of commercial milk producers in East Griqualand (EG) and Alexandria, South Africa, over the period 2007-2014. Stochastic frontier analysis was used to estimate technical efficiency (TE) from a translogarithmic production function, selected ex-post from several specified models with different functional forms and distribution assumptions. Parametric scale efficiency (SE) was then estimated from the resulting scale elasticities and parameter estimates. Results indicate that sampled producers are, on average, highly technically efficient, generally operating close to the efficient frontier, and are relatively homogenous in production. The general decline of mean TE scores over the study period indicates that farms on the best practice frontier became more efficient over time, while the average farm has become less efficient in relation to the advancing frontier. High mean SE scores confirm that most farms do not experience a substantial loss in output due to scale efficiency problems, but rather to inefficiencies in production (TE). Analysis of SE scores reveals that most farms operated at suboptimal scale, with increasing returns to scale, and could improve output by expanding towards the optimal scale. Latent economic performance was modelled in a Multiple-Indicators, Multiple-Causes (MIMIC) model framework, with estimated TE and SE serving as imperfect indicators. Three latent indices were constructed to represent managerial quality regarding the breeding, feeding and labour programme, and were included in the structural equation, in conjunction with traditional explanatory variables, as latent causes of economic performance. Evaluation of model fit for several specified models led to the selection of the most simplistic specification, in which the latent managerial constructs were not included. Results suggest efficiency, milk yield per cow, and level of specialization in dairying all have a significant effect on the economic performance of the sampled farms. It should be noted that the sign of latent economic performance was not in line with expectations, and requires further research