ESTIMATING EFFICIENCY MEASURES IN NORTH DAKOTA FARMS

Abstract

A normalized Quadratic Cost function is estimated using data from 1998-2003 to analyze the cost structure of North Dakota farms. Results indicate that there is overall evidence of increasing returns to scale. However, we do not find differences in efficiency across the different farm sizes. Marginal costs scale economies do not differ significantly across the different size categories, indicating that small and medium farms are just as efficient as the larger farms.normalized quadratic cost function, economies of scale, Productivity Analysis,