Banks’ Efficiency and Productivity Analysis Using the Hicks-Moorsteen Approach: A Case Study of Iran

This study is the first to use the Hicks-Moorsteen TFP index developed by O’Donnell (2008,2009, 2010c) to analyse efficiency and productivity changes in the banking system. The advantage of this approach over the popular Malmquist productivity index is that it is free from any assumptions concerning firm optimising behaviour, the structure of markets, or returns to scale. The effects of Iranian government regulations launched in 2005 on the Iranian banking industry are investigated through an analysis of performance over the period 2003-2008 assuming variable returns to scale. The results obtained show that although the Iranian banking industry has been inefficient over the entire period of the study, the industry’s technical efficiency level - which had improved over the period 2003-2006 - deteriorated considerably after the regulatory changes were introduced. The industry experienced its highest negative efficiency growth in 2006 which was 43% and became more mix inefficient after 2005, with a considerably negative productivity change after 2007. Overall, changes of production possibility set and scale efficiency changes exerted dominant effects on productivity changes.Regulation, Productivity, Banking, Data envelopment analysis, Malmquist index,Hicks-Moorsteen index

Reallocation, Firm Turnover, and Efficiency: Selection on Productivity or Profitability?

There is considerable evidence that producer-level churning contributes substantially to aggregate (industry) productivity growth, as more productive businesses displace less productive ones. However, this research has been limited by the fact that producer-level prices are typically unobserved; thus within-industry price differences are embodied in productivity measures. If prices reflect idiosyncratic demand or market power shifts, high "productivity" businesses may not be particularly efficient, and the literature's findings might be better interpreted as evidence of entering businesses displacing less profitable, but not necessarily less productive, exiting businesses. In this paper, we investigate the nature of selection and productivity growth using data from industries where we observe producer-level quantities and prices separately. We show there are important differences between revenue and physical productivity. A key dissimilarity is that physical productivity is inversely correlated with plant-level prices while revenue productivity is positively correlated with prices. This implies that previous work linking (revenue-based) productivity to survival has confounded the separate and opposing effects of technical efficiency and demand on survival, understating the true impacts of both. We further show that young producers charge lower prices than incumbents, and as such the literature understates the productivity advantage of new producers and the contribution of entry to aggregate productivity growth.

Gaming in a benchmarking environment. A non-parametric analysis of benchmarking in the water sector

This paper discusses the use of benchmarking in general and its application to the drinking water sector. It systematizes the various classifications on performance measurement, discusses some of the pitfalls of benchmark studies and provides some examples of benchmarking in the water sector. After presenting in detail the institutional framework of the water sector of the Belgian region of Flanders (without benchmarking experiences), Wallonia (recently started a public benchmark) and the Netherlands (introduced already in 1997 a public benchmark), we non-parametrically measure the productivity gains by the use of a dynamic Malmquist index. The three regions, each at a different stage of the benchmarking circle, exhibit different performance trends. The ‘carrot’ and the ‘stick’ of benchmarking seem to offer an effective incentive to trigger performance. In addition, the Malmquist decompositions provide some evidence on the ‘gaming’ of the stakeholders by the water utilities.Benchmarking; gaming; Malmquist decomposition; regulation; water sector

Disentangling the European airlines efficiency puzzle: a network data envelopment analysis approach

© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. In recent years the European airline industry has undergone critical restructuring. It has evolved from a highly regulated market predominantly operated by national airlines to a dynamic, liberalized industry where airline firms compete freely on prices, routes, and frequencies. Although several studies have analyzed performance issues for European airlines using a variety of efficiency measurement methods, virtually none of them has considered two-stage alternatives - not only in this particular European context but in the airline industry in general. We extend the aims of previous contributions by considering a network Data Envelopment Analysis (network DEA) approach which comprises two sub-technologies that can share part of the inputs. Results show that, in general, most of the inefficiencies are generated in the first stage of the analysis. However, when considering different types of carriers several differences emerge - most of the low-cost carriers' inefficiencies are confined to the first stage. Results also show a dynamic component, since performance differed across types of airlines during the decade 2000-2010

Deindustrialisation. Lessons from the StructuralOutcomes of Post-Communist Transition

Theoretical and empirical studies show that deindustrialisation, broadly observed in developed countries, is an inherent part of the economic development pattern. However, post-communist countries, while being only middle-income economies, have also experienced deindustrialisation. Building on the model developed by Rowthorn and Wells (1987) we explain this phenomenon and show that there is a strong negative relationship between the magnitude of deindustrialisation and the efficiency and consistency of market reforms. We also demonstrate that reforms of the agricultural sector play a significant role in placing a transition country on a development path that guarantees convergence to EU employment structures.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/39847/3/wp463.pd

The diffusion of externalities from foreign direct investment: theory ahead of measurement

In this paper a structural estimation framework is developed to assess whether inward foreign direct investment (FDI) generates technological externalities. The econometric model is implemented in an empirical investigation with data from Colombia’s Manufacturing Census. So far, evidence of new technological opportunities for host-country firms arising from the operations of multinational corporations (MNCs) has been rather scarce. This is due to serious limitations in the way in which spillovers have been measured. In particular, empirical research has focused almost exclusively on intra-industry externalities while no allowance has been made for inter-industry technological externalities. But, in theory, the optimal location and organizational strategies by a MNC are chosen to minimize the risk of losing profits due to the leakage of technical information to potential competitors. Therefore, the host-country firms within the MNC subsidiary’s sector will tend to experience limited technological gains ensuing FDI, whereas producers in other sectors may benefit, especially if the MNC outsources to local upstream suppliers. While FDI may substitute investment by domestic plants within the MNC subsidiary’s sector, it can complement investment in other sectors. Hence, spillovers from FDI should be primarily inter-industry and not intra-industry. This conjecture is corroborated by testing of the mutisectoral model of FDI spillover diffusion on Colombian manufacturing data. Furthermore, both generic knowhow spillovers and linkage externalities are sizable Keywords; generic technology, inter-industry spillovers, absorptive capacity JEL codes: F21, F23, F43, O41, O34

Emissions Trends and Labour Productivity Dynamics Sector Analyses of De-coupling/Recoupling on a 1990-2005 Namea

This paper provides new empirical evidence on Environmental Kuznets Curves (EKC) for greenhouse gases (GHGs) and air pollutants at sector level. A panel dataset based on the Italian NAMEA over 1990-2005 is analysed, focusing on both emission efficiency (EKC model) and total emissions (IPAT model). Results show that looking at sector evidence, both decoupling and also eventually re-coupling trends could emerge along the path of economic development. CH4 is moderately decreasing in recent years, but being a minor gas compared to CO2, the overall performance on GHGs is not compliant with Kyoto targets, which do not appear to have generated a structural break in the dynamics at least for GHGs. SOx and NOx show decreasing patterns, though the shape is affected by some outlier sectors with regard to joint emission-productivity dynamics, and for SOx exogenous innovation and policy related factors may be the main driving force behind observed reductions. Services tend to present stronger delinking patterns across emissions. Trade expansion validates the pollution haven in some cases, but also show negative signs when only EU15 trade is considered: this may due to technology spillovers and a positive ‘race to the top’ rather than the bottom among EU15 trade partners (Italy and Germany as the main exporters and trade partner in the EU). Finally, general R&D expenditure show weak correlation with emissions efficiency. EKC and IPAT derived models provide similar conclusions overall; the emission-labour elasticity estimated in the latter is generally different from 1, suggesting that in most cases, and for both services and industry, a scenario characterised by emissions saving technological dynamics. Further research should be directed towards deeper investigation of trade relationship at sector level, increased research into and efforts to produce specific sectoral data on ‘environmental innovations’, and to verifying the value of heterogeneous panel models capturing sector heterogeneity.Greenhouse Gases, Air Pollutants, NAMEA, Trade Openness, Labour Productivity, EKC, STIRPAT, Delinking

The effect of energy consumption on countries’ economic efficiency: a conditional robust non parametric approach

This paper investigates the effect of energy consumption on countries’ economic efficiency. By using a sample of 18 EU countries for three census years (1980, 1990 and 2000) the paper employs conditional and unconditional robust nonparametric frontiers in order to establish such a relationship. By using probabilistic approaches it conditions the effect of energy consumption on the obtained countries’ economic efficiencies. With the use of nonparametric regressions the paper calculates the effect of energy consumption. The results reveal that lower levels of energy consumption increase countries’ economic efficiencies to a point where the effect of energy consumption on countries’ economic efficiency is neutral.Energy consumption; economic growth; robust efficiency estimators; conditional nonparametric techniques

Decomposition of Total Factor Productivity Change in the U.S. Hog Industry

The U.S. hog industry has experienced dramatic structural changes and rapid increases in farm productivity. A stochastic frontier analysis is used to measure hog enterprise total factor productivity (TFP) growth between 1992 and 2004 and to decompose this growth into technical change and changes in technical efficiency, scale efficiency, and allocative efficiency. Productivity gains over the 12-year period are found to be explained almost entirely by technical progress and by improvements in scale efficiency. Differences in TFP growth rates in the Southeast and Heartland regions were found to be explained primarily by differences in farm size growth rates.hog production, scale efficiency, stochastic frontier, technical change, total factor productivity growth, Livestock Production/Industries, Production Economics, D24, Q12,

International R&D Spillovers Between U.S. and Japanese R&D Intensive Sectors

A great deal of empirical evidence shows that a country's production structure and productivity growth depend on its own R&D capital formation. With the growing role of international trade, foreign investment and international knowledge diffusion, domestic production and productivity also depend on the R&D activities of other countries. The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the bilateral link between the U.S. and Japanese economies in terms of how R&D capital formation in one country affects the production structure, physical and R&D capital accumulation, and productivity growth in the other country. We find that production processes become less labor intensive as international R&D spillovers grow. In the short-run, R&D intensity is complementary to the international spillover. This relationship persists in the long-run for the U.S., but the Japanese decrease their own R&D intensity. U.S. R&D capital accounts for 60% of Japanese total factor productivity growth, while Japanese R&D capital contributes 20% to U.S. productivity gains. International spillovers cause social rates of return to be about four times the private returns.