Agricultural policies in developing countries are mostly concerned with the means of increasing production levels, especially of food grains. The green revolution or new…
Abstract
Agricultural policies in developing countries are mostly concerned with the means of increasing production levels, especially of food grains. The green revolution or new technology has been recognised by decision makers as an important tool in this context. Consequently, the primary objective of any agricultural policy is to achieve high rates of adoption of new technology by farmers. The fact that the success of new technology depends on the efficient use of the technology receives less attention from the decision makers. How crucial this issue of the efficient use of technology is to increasing production levels is examined in this article. The empirical focus is the area with the highest rate of adoption of new technology in the Philippines. Using the stochastic production frontier, farm‐specific technical efficiency is empirically estimated for individual sample observations. The results show a wide variation in the level of technical efficiencies among the sample farmers; and an extension service has been identified as an important factor causing such variations.
Ammar Jreisat, Hassan Hassan and Sriram Shankar
This study aims to undertake the evaluation and examination of the productivity change of the Egyptian banking sector. Using a novel data set covering 14 banks operating in the…
Abstract
This study aims to undertake the evaluation and examination of the productivity change of the Egyptian banking sector. Using a novel data set covering 14 banks operating in the Egyptian market from 1997 to 2013. We use a nonparametric approach (based on data envelopment analysis (DEA)) to investigate the productivity change in the Egyptian banking sector. Input-oriented Malmquist indices of productivity change are estimated with DEA to measure total factor productivity (TFP) change. The TFP changes are decomposed into the product of technological change and technical efficiency change (catch-up). In the second stage, we study potential determinants of productivity change using a regression model. We find that the Egyptian banking sector as a whole shows a productivity regress of 0.9% per year, mainly due to the technological improvements. The estimated regression model identifies some variables that significantly influence the productivity of banks in Egypt. The banks with higher loan to deposit ratio and higher returns on equity have higher productivity growth reflecting on their strong strategic and managerial skills. The size of a bank seems to be associated with an increase in productivity. The maturity of a bank (measured by age) is associated with higher productivity. The NIM and NIETA variables do not seem to be affecting the productivity of banks. Surprisingly, our results reveal that the financial crisis was negatively and statistically insignificant, hence it had no effect on the Egyptian banks.
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R. Färe, S. Grosskopf, F.R. Forsund, K. Hayes and A. Heshmati
This paper seeks to model and compute productivity, including a measure of quality, of a service which does not have marketable outputs – namely public education at the micro…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper seeks to model and compute productivity, including a measure of quality, of a service which does not have marketable outputs – namely public education at the micro level. This application is a case study for Sweden public schools.
Design/methodology/approach
A Malmquist productivity index is employed which allows for multiple outputs or outcomes such as test results and promotions without requiring price data with which to aggregate these outputs. It also allows one to account for inputs such as teachers and facilities as well as proxies for quality of the inputs (e.g. experience of teachers) and outputs. This model generalizes the basic data envelopment analysis (DEA) models – used successfully to measure performance in many educational applications – to the intertemporal case. A way of computing quality and quantity components of overall productivity is employed.
Findings
The case study is an application to the Swedish primary and secondary school system over the 1992 to 1995 period. It was found that quality “matters”, i.e. productivity growth changes when one accounts for quantity.
Research limitations/implications
The data available implied that the specification is restricted to an intermediate production model, i.e. the output data only account for the intermediate outcomes of education like grades and promotions, but not the longer term outcomes related to success in the job market or higher education, which one proposed as a task for future research.
Originality/value
The indices which are computed at the micro level are of value for policy purposes (does investment in quality matter?) and in an evaluation context.
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Jerry M. Newman, Michael P. Lillis, Melissa L. Waite and Linda A. Krefting
In many colleges and universities, publication is a key factor in evaluating the academic productivity of faculty. Moreover, the pressure to publish may drive scholars to identify…
Abstract
In many colleges and universities, publication is a key factor in evaluating the academic productivity of faculty. Moreover, the pressure to publish may drive scholars to identify research questions that are believed to have a greater probability of being published rather than being driven by their interests in an important research question that will advance the field. A critical question then, is to what extent publication outlets reinforce a pattern of publications that are well-suited to the research enterprise − encouraging contributions that extend the frontiers of what is already known. Analysis of both accepted and rejected empirical manuscripts from two leading journals in organization science reveal that novel research is less likely to be published, but more likely to be cited. Results are used as a basis for making inferences about the publication process and for commentary related to the advancement of organization science as a field of study.
The hypothesis that the growth in total GNP can also be explainedby other factors than the growth in total inputs (capital and labour)and their respective productivities is…
Abstract
The hypothesis that the growth in total GNP can also be explained by other factors than the growth in total inputs (capital and labour) and their respective productivities is analysed by the use of 1960‐1985 OECD country data. The OLS estimations of the models of embodied and disembodied technical change in both capital services as measured by the R&D expenditures and labour productivity as measured by investment expenditures in education and health showed very significant results. However, despite the inclusion of these expenditures in the aggregate production function, GNP growth has not been fully exhausted in all OECD countries. Indeed, the unexplained residual which was computed for these countries turned out to be of non‐negligible magnitude and growth. The assumed non‐factor sources of growth containing the unexplained residual which may not be associated by the movement along a production function would include non‐quantifiable political, social and institutional forces which, in some cases, might interact to speed or adversely delay growth unless they remain stable or improved.
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Leigh Drake and Barry Howcroft
Outlines previous research on the efficiency of financial institutions and builds on an earlier study of the relative efficiency of 190 UK bank branches by the authors to…
Abstract
Outlines previous research on the efficiency of financial institutions and builds on an earlier study of the relative efficiency of 190 UK bank branches by the authors to determine their size efficiency relationship and their determinants of relative inefficiency. Explains the data envelopment (DEA) method used, the data set and the input/output configuration; and summarizes the results of the previous study. Shows that size is related to efficiency and suggests that the pattern is an asymmetric U‐shaped average cost curve, with an optimum branch size of ine staff and a lending range of £3.0‐£5.25 million. Analyses the sources of scale and technical inefficiency in an individual branch and across the sample to show that diversification reduces efficiency while use of technology and management control improves it. Concludes that DEA can provide the means to raise efficiency, reduce cost income ratios and increase profitability.
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Gives an overview of the Australian banking industry, reviews relevant research and analyses productivity changes 1995‐1999 in a panel of 17 banks to assess the effects of…
Abstract
Gives an overview of the Australian banking industry, reviews relevant research and analyses productivity changes 1995‐1999 in a panel of 17 banks to assess the effects of deregulation and the reforms introduced by the Wallis report (1997). Explains the methodology (Malmquist indices calculated by data envelopment analysis) and presents the results, which show a decline of 3.1 per cent in technical efficiency over the period and of 3.5 per cent in the total factor productivity index, although there was an annual productivity growth rate of 1.3 per cent. Discusses the underlying reasons for this, compares productivity changes in individual banks and finds that size makes no difference. Considers the implications for policy makers, describes the industry as having a “limit of deregulation” syndrome and believes that further productivity gains depend on advances in technology.