Tag: Efficiency

PRODUCTIVE EFFICIENCY OF PORTUGUESE VINEYARD REGIONS

Ana MARTA-COSTA

Corresponding author. Assistant Professor. University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD) and Centre for Transdisciplinary Development Studies (CETRAD), Portugal, www.utad.pt

amarta@utad.pt

Vítor MARTINHO

Coordinator Professor. Agricultura School, Polytechnic Institute of Viseu, Portugal

vdmartinho@esav.ipv.pt.

Micael SANTOS

Research fellow. University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro (UTAD) and Centre for Transdisciplinary Development Studies (CETRAD)

micaels@utad.pt

Abstract

The overall globalization in wine industry and the search for sustainability of the sector has increased competition which highlights the importance of productivity gains. The purpose of this paper is to analyse the productive efficiency of the viticulture sector for the Portuguese regions, over the period 1989 to 2007, with data from the EUFADN, using both a deterministic and stochastic approach. The results show an increase of Technical Efficiency (TE) when used the stochastic frontiers analysis (SFA) in all regions, while the data envelopment analysis (DEA) approach through the Malmquist index reveals a stabilization of TE.

Keywords: Efficiency, productivity, Portuguese regions, viticulture.

JEL classification: C6, Q1

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EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL REGULATIONS ON POLLUTION REDUCTION AND FIRM LOCATION

Kenichi SHIMAMOTO

Hirao School of Management, Konan University, Nishinomiya, Japan
kenichi@center.konan-u.ac.jp

Abstract

Urban pollution continues to be a crucial issue in cities across the globe, especially in developing countries. Examining the effect pollution tax has on a firm’s decision to locate closer/further to the urban centre will be worthy from an environmental preservation perspective. This paper analyses the relationship between pollution tax and the firm’s location when considering the firm’s efficiency of pollution abatement and its efficiency of production. The results find that a firm which has exhibited increasing returns to scale in pollution abatement performance in response to pollution tax increases its output level. It also shows that the firm’s location depends on the efficiency of pollution abatement and production efficiency. The changes to pollution level at the urban centre due to pollution tax depends on the changes to the firm’s output level, the firm’s location choice, and the firm’s pollution abatement performance.

Keywords: firm location, environmental regulations, pollution abatement, efficiency

JEL classification:
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Estimating Technical Inefficiency: An Empirical Approach to E.U. Industries

Aikaterini Kokkinou

Department of Economics, University of Glasgow

Abstract:
This paper estimates, incorporating a Transcendental Logarithmic Production Function, the technical efficiency level of different industries in selected E.U. countries. The paper considers panel data for inefficiency effects in stochastic production frontier based on Battese and Coelli (1995), providing translog effects, as well as industry effects. The empirical model accommodates not only heteroscedasticity but also allows the possibility that an industry may not always produce the maximum possible output, given the inputs. Unlike most studies, the paper estimates time – varying technical efficiencies (incorporating „learning – by doing‟ behaviour) as industry-specific fixed effects. Furthermore, the model decomposes total factor productivity (TFP) growth into two components: technological growth (essentially, a shift of production possibility frontier, set by best-practice enterprises) and inefficiency changes (i.e., deviations of actual output level from the production possibility frontier). read more

Key Words: Efficiency, Technical Inefficiency, Stochastic Frontier Model