Efflciency and capital structure in portuguese SMEs

This paper aims to analyse the bi-directional relationship between technical efficiency, as measure of companies' performance, and capital structure, under the agency cost theory as well as the pecking order and trade-off theory to explain the capital structure decisions. The technical efficiency was estimated by the DEA method and corrected by using a suitable bootstrap to obtain statistical inferences. To test the agency cost hypothesis, asymmetric information hypothesis, risk-efficiency hypothesis and franchise value hypothesis (under pecking order and trade off theories framework) two models were performed using some determinants of capital structure such as size, profitability, tangibility, liquidity as control and explanatory variables through a truncated regression with bootstrapping. From an initial sample of 1024 small and medium sized companies from the interior of Portugal, for the period 2006-2009, it was selected a subsample of 210 SMEs from secondary and tertiary sectors. The results suggest that medium sized companies have higher average bias-corrected efficiency than small companies; short-term leverage is positively related to efficiency and the companies in the sample follow pecking-order theory.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

ÜNİVERSİTELERİN TOPLAM FAKTÖR VERİMLİLİĞİNİN HICKS-MOORSTEEN VE FÄRE-PRIMONT ENDEKSLERİ İLE KARŞILAŞTIRILMASI

Amaç: Bu çalışmanın amacı, Türkiye'de 2007 yılında kurulan devlet üniversitelerinin etkinliğini Färe-Primont ve Hicks-Moorsteen Endeksleri ile değerlendirmektir. Yöntem: Çalışmada, Girdi Odaklı Teknik Etkinlik (ITE), Karma Etkinlik (IME) ve Kalan Girdi Odaklı Ölçek Etkinliğinden (RISE) faydalanılarak Toplam Faktör Verimliliğinin Etkinliği (TFPE) bulunmuştur. Üniversitelere ilişkin girdi ve çıktı değişkenlerinden oluşan veri seti Färe-Primont ve Hicks-Moorsteen endekslerinde analiz edilmiştir. Bulgular: Yapılan analizler sonucunda Färe-Primont endeksi içerisinde IME’nin TFPE içerisinde belirleyici rol üstlendiği tespit edilmiştir. Hicks-Moorsteen endeksinde ise TFPE’nin en fazla RISE’den etkilendiği belirlenmiştir. Üniversitelerin geneli değerlendirildiğinde kalan girdi odaklı ölçek etkinliğinin 2018-2019 yılları arasındaki düşüşü 2019-2020 yıllarında yükselişe dönüşmüş olduğu görülmüştür. Färe-Primont ve Hicks-Moorsteen TFP endeksleri ile gerçekleştirilen analiz sonuçlarının birbirleriyle örtüşmediği tespit edilmiştir. Elde edilen sonuçlar incelendiğinde yalnızca ITE’nin Färe-Primont ve Hicks-Moorsteen endeksinde aynı değerlere sahip olduğu görülmektedir. Özgünlük: Üniversitelerin etkinliklerinin karşılaştırılması amacıyla gerçekleştirilen birçok çalışma mevcuttur. Bu çalışma kullandığı veri seti ve analiz yöntemleri itibarıyla mevcut çalışmalardan ayrışmakta olup özgün değere sahiptir

Agricultural Productivity in Space

openQuesta tesi ha l’obiettivo di misurare la produttività totale dei fattori in agricoltura in Italia nel periodo 2008-2014 e di capirne i caratteri salienti. Attraverso l’utilizzo di micro dati delle aziende agricole commerciali campionate dalla RICA (Rete di Informazione Contabile Agricola) e dei numeri indice, si derivano indici di produttività a livello nazionale, regionale, provinciale, e a livello di specializzazione produttiva e di dimensione economica. Gli indici di produttività sono generati attraverso la procedura del minimum spanning tree (Hill, 1999; Hill 2004) e sono quindi comparabili tra le varie unità nel tempo. I risultati mostrano una performance decrescente nell’arco dei sette anni considerati. Sia a livello nazionale che a livello di specializzazione produttiva e di dimensione economica, gli indici mostrano un andamento decrescente. A livello di dimensione si registra una relazione positiva tra produttività e dimensione economica delle aziende con ampi differenziali tra le classi dimensionali esaminate. Per quanto riguarda le specializzazioni produttive, livelli maggiori di produttività si registrano per quelle specializzazioni che possono essere considerate di carattere maggiormente professionale. In particolare i bovini da latte, l’ortofloricoltura, la frutticoltura e la viticoltura sono le specializzazioni produttive a più alta performance. I granivori, gli erbivori, la cerealicoltura, i seminativi e le aziende miste mostrano invece una performance inferiore rispetto alle prime. A livello regionale si evidenziano due cluster di regioni ad alta produttività. Uno è composto da Emilia-Romagna, Lombardia, Trentino, Alto Adige, Veneto e Friuli Venezia Giulia e l’altro al Sud è composto da Calabria e Basilicata. La produttività sembra essere legata alla composizione delle singole agricolture regionali in termini di tipologia di produzione e di dimensione economica. Ulteriori analisi saranno comunque necessarie al fine di stabilire una relazione tra la composizione agricola regionale e la performance economic. Nella seconda parte della ricerca gli indici a livello provinciale vengono utilizzati per capire i differenziali di produttività tenendo in considerazione il più possibile la variabilità territoriale italiana. La TFP a livello provinciale mostra una lieve tendenza alla clusterizzazione spaziale. Il grado di dipendenza spaziale viene quantificato in un modello lineare che assume dipendenza spaziale, dipendenza temporale e la presenza di una serie di variabili esogene. Il modello viene stimato con lo stimatore BCLSDV (Bias Corrected Least Squares Dummy Variable). Le stime mostrano un basso grado di dipendenza temporale e un alto grado di dipendenza spaziale assumendo però una struttura di correlazione spaziale limitata a 50-70 chilometri. I risultati delle stime vengono utilizzati per quantificare gli effetti di diffusione a seguito di uno shock esogeno di produttività nelle varie province. Ciò che emerge è che, data la struttura di correlazione spaziale assunta e data la bassa dipendenza temporale, gli effetti di uno shock di produttività sono limitati nel tempo e nello spazio. Questi si estendono anche a province lontane dall’epicentro dello shock ma con caratteri diversi rispetto a quelle vicine. In particolare, l’effetto spillover di lungo periodo è maggiore nelle regioni limitrofe allo shock e viene raggiunto in un tempo decisamente inferiore rispetto alle province più lontane. Questi risultati vengono interpretati come evidenza dello stretto legame tra territorio e produzione agricola. Questo legame è in grado di influenzare i caratteri e lo sviluppo delle agricolture locali.The research aims at measuring agricultural total factor productivity in Italy over the period 2008-2014 and at understanding its main features. It leverages farm-level information from the FADN (Farm Accountancy Data Network) database e the index number methodology to derive indexes at either geographical level and at the level of farm types. At geographical level, indexes are derived at national level, at the level of FADN regions and at NUTS3 level. Then, indexes are derived at the level of farm typology and of economic size. Indexes are derived using the minimum spanning tree method and are comparable across spatial units over time. Results point to a decline in aggregate productivity over time. Indexes at national level, at the level of economic size and at the level of farm typologies all exhibit general downward trends. A positive relationship between TFP and economic size is found with large productivity differentials across size classes. Large differentials are also found across types of farms. The types associated to a more entrepreneurial nature, such as dairy, horticulture, fruit production and grapes and wine production, are all associated with higher productive performance with respect to the others. At the level of FADN regions, there seem to be two clusters of highly productive regions. One is in the North and is composed of Emilia-Romagna, Lombardia, Veneto, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Trentino and Alto Adige. The other is in the South and is composed of Calabria and Basilicata. TFP seems to be linked to the structure of the regional agricultures in terms of types of farming and size of farms. However, further analyses would be required to establish a relationship between productivity and agricultural composition of geographical regions. In the second part of the research, measurements at NUTS3 level are used to inspect productivity differentials considering the spatial variability of the Italian territory. A limited degree of productivity clustering is found at NUTS3 level. Spatial dependence is quantified in a linear model that assumes also temporal dependence of TFP and controls for covariates. The model is estimated with the BCLSDV (Bias Corrected Least Squares Dummy Variable) estimator. Assuming a narrow spatial correlation structure, estimates show a limited degree of temporal dependence and a high degree of spatial dependence. Coefficient estimates are then used to model the diffusion process of a productivity shock hitting specific NUTS3. Evidences from the exercise show that, due to the narrow spatial correlation structure assumed and the limited temporal dependence, the effects of a shock are limited in space and over time. Effects of a shock differ depending on the distance of NUTS3 from the epicenter of the shock. Neighboring NUTS3 receive, in a shorter time frame, a larger long-run spillover effect with respect to NUTS3 that are further away. This results is an evidence of the site-specificity of agricultural production. The close link that exists between locations and agriculture influence production practices and their development.ECONOMIA POLITICA Baldoni, EdoardoBaldoni, Edoard

effects in the health care sector

Portugal has faced an economic and financial crisis that began circa FY2009 and whose effects are still ongoing. In FY2011, the Portuguese state and the European triumvirate – composed of the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund, and the European Central Bank – signed the Memoranda of Understanding. This troika agreement aimed to improve the operational efficiency of public services. This crisis had a considerable impact on the Portuguese citizens’ life and productivity, as well as on the public health care system. Cuts over public expenditures have been made to reduce the risk of noncompliance with budgetary targets, despite their potential impact on quality and access to health care services. We analyzed the main policies and measures undertaken by the Portuguese Ministry of Health with respect to the bailout program associated with the troika agreement. Then, we focused on the budgetary cuts–related risks over the social performance of the care system. Evidence suggests that structural reforms in the health care sector in the troika period had positive effects in terms of drugs administration and consumption, on the one hand, and secondary care expenditures reduction, on the other hand. Nonetheless, we observed some divestitures on infrastructures and the worsening of access to health care services.publishersversionpublishe

Public-private partnerships in health care services: Do they outperform public hospitals regarding quality and access? Evidence from Portugal

Public-private partnerships (PPPs) are widely spread long-term arrangements between governments and strategic private partner(s). One of their objectives is to reduce the financial pressure on the public treasury with regard to new investments. PPPs have been employed within the health care sector which, in turn, carries a huge social burden. In Portugal, for instance, PPPs in health care concern bundling hospital infrastructure and clinical services management. Notwithstanding the need to ensure sustainability and efficient use of hospital resources, it is clearly compulsory to guarantee that patients receive appropriate and timely care, with maximum security, and equitable manner. Still, little or even no attention has been paid in the literature to the clinical response capacity of PPP hospitals and to the populism arguing that these entities have a lower social performance than typical public hospitals. This study uses robust benchmarking methodologies alongside recent data about Portuguese hospitals (FY2012-FY2017) to demystify this idea and to demonstrate that, actually, PPP hospitals can deliver health care services with social performance levels at least as good as public hospitals.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Public-private partnerships in health care services: Do they outperform public hospitals regarding quality and access? Evidence from Portugal

Public-private partnerships (PPPs) are widely spread long-term arrangements between governments and strategic private partner(s). One of their objectives is to reduce the financial pressure on the public treasury with regard to new investments. PPPs have been employed within the health care sector which, in turn, carries a huge social burden. In Portugal, for instance, PPPs in health care concern bundling hospital infrastructure and clinical services management. Notwithstanding the need to ensure sustainability and efficient use of hospital resources, it is clearly compulsory to guarantee that patients receive appropriate and timely care, with maximum security, and equitable manner. Still, little or even no attention has been paid in the literature to the clinical response capacity of PPP hospitals and to the populism arguing that these entities have a lower social performance than typical public hospitals. This study uses robust benchmarking methodologies alongside recent data about Portuguese hospitals (FY2012-FY2017) to demystify this idea and to demonstrate that, actually, PPP hospitals can deliver health care services with social performance levels at least as good as public hospitals.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Using nonparametric frontiers for technical efficiency evaluation: the case of Portuguese public hospitals

Objetivo: Os hospitais públicos em Portugal apresentaram nos últimos anos uma melhoria dos seus resultados em termos de assistência. Porém, poucas têm sido as avaliações realizadas no âmbito do seu desempenho. Este estudo procura determinar a eficiência dos hospitais públicos em Portugal. Métodos: Este estudo considerou duas alternativas de modelos não paramétricos bidireccionais, baseados em Análise Envoltória de Dados e em Ordem-a. A utilização de ambos os modelos visa a validação da robustez dos resultados. Usaram-se quatro tipos de variáveis: custos totais, número de doentes atendidos ajustados ao risco, qualidade do serviço prestado, e o ambiente externo (demografia e epidemiologia). Com referência ao ano 2016, consideraram-se 27 hospitais e centros hospitalares públicos portugueses. Resultados: O nível de ineficiência médio, apenas para hospitais ineficientes, é aproximadamente 10%, correspondendo a cerca de €617 milhões desperdiçados. Conclusões: Os níveis de ineficiência variam conforme os modelos apresentados. A avaliação do desempenho deve considerar fatores como a presença de outliers, o número de variáveis, as condições externas desfavoráveis, bem como as características das fronteiras de eficiência. Um aspeto importante corresponde à convexidade da fronteira. Conclui-se que a melhor solução para avaliar o desempenho hospitalar é a abordagem por Ordem-a.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio