Law and Order Efficiency Measurement – A Literature Review

This paper surveys the recent literature on law and order efficiency measurement. Law and order services include the services provided by the police, by the prison system and also by the judicial system (“the courts”). Key concepts prevalent in the efficiency measurement literature are presented. Decision making units most often found in the efficiency evaluation literature on law and order are charcterized. Inputs used by these units, and output measurement are examined and control and environment variables that explain or condition efficiency are dealt with. Methods of efficiency measurement are shortly presented. A synthesis of the main results and a short description of two important international databases on law and order are included.efficiency measurement; law and economics; government expenditures.

Cross-country efficiency of secondary education provision: a semi-parametric analysis with non-discretionary inputs

We address the efficiency of expenditure in education provision by comparing the output (PISA results) from the educational system of 25, mostly OECD, countries with resources employed (teachers per student, time spent at school). We estimate a semi-parametric model of the education production process using a two-stage procedure. By regressing data envelopment analysis output scores on nondiscretionary variables, both using Tobit and a single and double bootstrap procedure, we show that inefficiency is strongly related to GDP per head and adult educational attainment. JEL Classification: C14, C61, H52, I21Bootstrap, DEA, Education, semi-parametric, technical efficiency

Cross-country Efficiency of Secondary Education Provision: a Semi-parametric Analysis with Nondiscretionary Inputs

We address the efficiency of expenditure in education provision by comparing the output (PISA results) from the educational system of 25, mostly OECD, countries with resources employed (teachers per student, time spent at school). We estimate a semi-parametric model of the education production process using a two-stage procedure. By regressing data envelopment analysis output scores on nondiscretionary variables, both using Tobit and a single and double bootstrap procedure, we show that inefficiency is strongly related to GDP per head and adult educational attainment.education; technical efficiency; DEA; bootstrap; semi-parametric

Public and Private Inputs in Aggregate Production and Growth: A Cross-country Efficiency Approach

In a cross section of OECD countries we replace the macroeconomic production function by a production possibility frontier, TFP being the composite effect of efficiency scores and possibility frontier changes. We consider, for the periods 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, one output: GDP per worker; three inputs: human capital, public physical capital per worker and private physical capital per worker. We use a semiparametric analysis, computing Malmquist productivity indexes, and we also resort to stochastic frontier analysis. Results show that private capital is important for growth, although public and human capital also contribute positively. A governance indicator, a non-discretionary input, explains inefficiency. Better governance helps countries to achieve a better performance. Non-parametric and parametric results coincide rather closely on the countries movements vis-à-vis the possibility frontier, and on their relative distances to the frontier.economic growth; public spending; efficiency; Malmquist index.

Education, Neighbourhood Effects and Growth: An Agent Based Model Approach

Endogenous, ideas-led, growth theory and agent based modelling with neighbourhood effects literature are crossed. In an economic overlapping generations framework, it is shown how social interactions and neighbourhood effects are of vital importance in the endogenous determination of the long run number of skilled workers and therefore of the growth prospects of an economy. Neighbourhood effects interact with the initial distribution of educated agents across space and play a key role in the long run stabilisation of the number of educated individuals. Our model implies a tendency towards segregation, with a possibly positive influence on growth, if team effects operate. The long run growth rate is also shown to depend on the rate of time preference. Initial circumstances are of vital importance for long run outcomes. A poor initial education endowment will imply a long run reduced number of skilled workers and a mediocre growth rate, so there no economic convergence tendency. On the contrary, poor societies will grow less, or will even fall into a poverty trap, and will diverge continuously from richer ones.agent modelling; economic growth; education; human capital; neighbourhood effects; poverty trap.

Non-parametric Approaches to Education and Health Expenditure Efficiency in OECD Countries

We address the efficiency of expenditure in education and health sectors for a sample of OECD countries by applying two alternative non-parametric methodologies: FDH and DEA. Those are two areas where public expenditure is of great importance so that findings have strong implications in what concerns public sector efficiency. When estimating the efficiency frontier we use both measures of expenditure and quantity inputs. We believe this approach to be advantageous since a country may well be efficient from a technical point of view but appear as inefficient if the inputs it uses are expensive. Efficient outcomes across sectors and analytical methods seem to cluster around a small number of core countries, even if for different reasons: Finland, Japan, Korea and Sweden.expenditure and education; expenditure and health; expenditure efficiency; production possibility frontier; FDH; DEA

Law and Order Efficiency Measurement - A Literature Review

This paper surveys the recent literature on law and order efficiency measurement. Law and order services include the services provided by the police, by the prison system and also by the judicial system ("the courts"). Key concepts prevalent in the efficiency measurement literature are presented. Decision making units most often found in the efficiency evaluation literature on law and order are charcterized. Inputs used by these units, and output measurement are examined and control and environment variables that explain or condition efficiency are dealt with. Methods of efficiency measurement are shortly presented. A synthesis of the main results and a short description of two important international databases on law and order are included

Non-parametric approaches to education and health efficiency in OECD countries

We address the efficiency in education and health sectors for a sample of OECD countries by applying two alternative non-parametric methodologies: FDH and DEA. Those are two areas where public expenditure is of great importance so that findings have strong implications in what concerns public sector efficiency. When estimating the efficiency frontier we focus on measures of quantity inputs. We believe this approach to be advantageous since a country may well be efficient from a technical point of view but appear as inefficient if the inputs it uses are expensive. Efficient outcomes across sectors and analytical methods seem to cluster around a small number of core countries, even if for different reasons: Japan, Korea and Sweden.education, health, expenditure efficiency, production possibility frontier, FDH, DEA

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.

What Level of Education Matters Most for Growth? Evidence from Portugal

We decompose an annual average years of schooling series for Portugal into different schooling levels series. By estimating a number of vector autoregressions, we provide measures of aggregate and disaggregate economic growth impacts of different education levels. Increasing education at all levels except tertiary have a significant effect on growth. Investment in education does not significantly crowd out physical investment and average years of schooling semi-elasticities have comparable magnitude across primary and secondary levels.Economic growth; education; human capital; Portugal.