Analysis of crop-rotation experiments, with application to the Iowa Carrington-Clyde rotation-fertility experiments

This report presents a model by which several crop rotations are compared, and optimal fertilization and rotation practices determined. The model is developed with specific applicability to the rotation- fertility experiments at the Carrington-Clyde Experimental Farm near Independence, Iowa. The substitutability of legume meadow and chemical nitrogen fertilizer and the effect of carry-over of applied nitrogen from crop to crop are incorporated into the analysis. The split-plot nature of the rotation- fertility trials is noted, and a transformation of the yield data is employed to create nearly uncorrelated observations. Response functions are estimated for each crop in each rotation. Optimal fertilizer rates and rotations Eire determined on the basis of average annual return. Variance of return arising from yield variability over years is estimated. Continuous corn yielded the largest net income for the prices considered in the study. The net income per acre decreased with the introduction of oats and an increasing number of years of meadow. Variability of annual net return, however, was largest with continuous corn and decreased as the number of years of meadow in the rotations increased

Effizienz und Wettbewerb im deutschen Bankensektor

In diesem Papier geben wir einen Überblick über den Wettbewerb und die Effizienz im deutschen Bankensektor. Wir nehmen dabei die Entwicklung in den letzten 15 Jahren in den Blick. Frühere Studien für Deutschland weisen darauf hin, dass das deutsche Bankensystem durch monopolistische Konkurrenz und durch moderat hohe Kosteneffizienz gekennzeichnet ist. Zudem scheinen Wettbewerb und Effizienz positiv miteinander verbunden. Des weiteren bestanden deutliche Unterschiede zwischen großen und kleinen Banken. Kleine Banken bevorzugten mehr das traditionelle Bankgeschäft, geringere Risiken und haben eher auf regional segmentierten Märk ten agiert. Die gegenwärtige Krise könnte zu tieferen Änderungen im Bankensystem führen, mit möglichen Folgen für Wettbewerb und Effizienz.In this paper we review the main findings on competition and efficiency for the German banking sector. Our aim is to give a bird view of the evolution during the past 15 years. Previous studies on Germany point to a banking system dominated by monopolistic competition and moderate cost efficiency. Competition and efficiency seem to be positively related. Furthermore significant differences existed between small and large banks. The business model of small banks was often more traditional, they preferred less risk and they acted on more segmented regional markets. The current crisis may lead to deep changes of the banking system, potentially with consequences for competition and efficiency

Adoption of rice cultivation technologies and its effect on technical efficiency in Sagnarigu District of Ghana

This study examined the adoption of rice cultivation technologies on farmers’ technical efficiency in Sagnarigu District. The stochastic frontier model was used to estimate the determinants of output and technical inefficiency while propensity score matching was also used to analyse the average treatment effect (ATE) and the average treatment effect on the treated (ATT). A total of 120 respondents comprising 60 adopters and 60 non-adopters were randomly selected from six communities in the District and interviewed using semi-structured questionnaires. Farm size, fertilizer, weedicides and household labour had positive and significant effect on rice output. Farmers who adopted the rice cultivation techniques were less technically inefficient than those who did not adopt. The ATT was 0.121 which implies that farmers who adopted the rice technologies increased their technical efficiency by about 12% and this was significant at 10% for the PSM with similar results obtained for the nearest neighbour matching. The ATE value of 0.102 which was also statistically significant at 10% means that farmers on the whole increased their technical efficiency by 10.2%. Moreover, the mean technical efficiency estimates for adopters and non-adopters were about 58% and 48% respectively under regression adjustment and inverse-probability weights. The existence of a technical efficiency gap of 10% between adopters and non-adopters of rice technologies emphasized the significant effect of technology adoption on farmer’s technical efficiency. The study recommends that more rice farmers should be encouraged to adopt the rice production technologies in order to improve their technical efficiency levels

The impact of deregulation and re-regulation on bank efficiency: evidence from Asia

Following the 1997 crisis, banking sector reforms in Asia have been characterised by the emphasis on prudential regulation, associated with increased financial liberalisation. Using a panel data set of commercial banks from eight major Asian economies over the period 2001-2010, this study explores how the coexistence of liberalisation and prudential regulation affects banks’ cost characteristics. Given the presence of heterogeneity of technologies across countries, we use a stochastic frontier approach followed by the estimation of a deterministic meta-frontier to provide ‘true’ estimates of bank cost efficiency measures. Our results show that the liberalization of bank interest rates and the increase in foreign banks' presence have had a positive and significant impact on technological progress and cost efficiency. On the other hand, we find that prudential regulation might adversely affect bank cost performance. When designing an optimal regulatory framework, policy makers should combine policies which aim to foster financial stability without hindering financial intermediation

Stochastic Frontier Models for Long Panel Data Sets: Measurement of the Underlying Energy Efficiency for the OECD Countries

In this paper we propose a general approach for estimating stochastic frontier mod- els, suitable when using long panel data sets. We measure efficiency as a linear combi- nation of a finite number of unobservable common factors, having coefficients that vary across firms, plus a time-invariant component. We adopt recently developed economet- ric techniques for large, cross sectionally correlated, non-stationary panel data models to estimate the frontier function. Given the long time span of the panel, we investigate whether the variables, including the unobservable common factors, are non-stationary, and, if so, whether they are cointegrated. To empirically illustrate our approach, we estimate a stochastic frontier model for energy demand, and compute the level of the “underlying energy efficiency” for 24 OECD countries over the period 1980 to 2008. In our specification, we control for variables such as Gross Domestic Product, energy price, climate and technological progress, that are known to impact on energy consumption. We also allow for hetero- geneity across countries in the impact of these factors on energy demand. Our panel unit root tests suggest that energy demand and its key determinants are integrated and that they exhibit a long-run relation. The estimation of efficiency scores points at European countries as the more efficient in consuming energy