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The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of nursing quality on Taiwan nursing homes, and differences of efficiency among different management types of nursing homes.

This study employs data envelopment analysis (DEA) to investigate the efficiency of nursing homes with and without quality variable. The impacts of nursing quality on the efficiency of nursing homes were studied. Finally, Tobit regression is used to explore the factors influencing efficiency in nursing homes.

The analysis shows that nursing quality has significant impacts on operating efficiency of nursing homes. When quality variables are included, all efficiencies were significantly improved, except scale efficiency of government-expense nursing homes (GEH); return of scale status of GEH decrease substantially; the licensed nursing staff can always improve efficiency; higher occupancy rate increase efficiency; private-operated veteran homes performs better than government-operated homes.

Nursing quality has a significant effect on the efficiency measures. Thus, the nursing quality cannot be ignored in assessing the performance of nursing homes. Otherwise, it may result in biased results. The efficiencies of private-operated nursing homes are better than the government operation. Government-operated nursing homes should take private nursing homes as the benchmark.

The paper demonstrates the nursing quality is an important factor in the efficiency measure of nursing homes. It also shows that privatized operation has higher efficiency than the government operation.

The aim is to investigate the effects of the first financial restructuring (FFR) on productivity growth, technical progress and efficiency change, using data from 42 commercial banks in Taiwan from 2001 to 2004.

Data envelopment analysis is applied to compute the Malmquist index of productivity change.

It is found that Taiwan commercial banks on average experienced a 117.39 percent increase in productivity growth, of which is 2.11 percent is due to efficiency change and 115.28 percent to technical progress over the four year period. In addition, during the four year period, a 1 percent reduction in the nonperforming loan ratio resulted in 1.85 percent growth in productivity; a 1 percent increase in the capital adequacy ratio led to 2.15 percent growth in productivity.

It can be concluded that after the FFR, the productivity growth, technical progress, and efficiency change all improve, with the lower nonperforming loan ratio contributing to this improved performance.

The study provides evidence of the productivity change of the banking industry in Taiwan in response to the FFR. It also contributes additional empirical evidence on the impact of a reform on bank productivity in a developing country.