SABIIA - Sistema Aberto e Integrado de Informação em Agricultura (Sabiia)

Nadolnyak, Denis A.; Fletcher, Stanley M.; Revoredo-Giha, Cesar.

In the paper, alternative contractual arrangements between crop producers and processors are evaluated with a view of addressing the major issues present in peanut markets in the U.S., the major EU supplier of high quality peanuts. The issues are the thinness of the spot markets and the absence of quality premiums, both of which impair market efficiency. Results indicate that introducing contracts with a system of quality differentials creates incentives for producer self-selection to participate in the post harvest cash market. Moreover, in the presence of sufficiently high common production risk, tournament contracts are more efficient and preferred by the producers than the standard fixed premium schedules.

Applying regression quantiles to farm efficiency estimation

Palavras-chave: Contracts; Tournaments; Efficiency; Spot markets; Peanuts; Marketing.

Ano: 2005

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/24703

Kaditi, Eleni A.; Nitsi, Elisavet I..

This article is concerned with the methodological question of frontier production functions estimation for agriculture, and the appropriateness of regression quantiles, as a useful semi-parametric approach. Better insights are reached using the proposed methodology that provides robust farm efficiency scores estimates. Using the 2007 Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) data for Greece, analysis shows that the distribution of efficiency scores is closer to normality when employing regression quantiles, while underestimation of efficiency obtained by other parametric or deterministic methods based on the conditional mean can be avoided. The results further suggest that government support aimed at enhancing farms viability should be directed towards payments...

Are Hospitals Seasonally Inefficient? Evidence from Washington State Hospitals

Palavras-chave: Efficiency; Quantile Regression; Agriculture; Agricultural and Food Policy; Productivity Analysis; Research Methods/ Statistical Methods; C14; D24; Q18.

Ano: 2010

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/61081

Friesner, Daniel L.; McPherson, Matthew Q.; Rosenman, Robert.

Efficiency measurement has been one of the most extensively explored areas of health services research over the past two decades. Despite this attention, few studies have examined whether a providers efficiency varies on a monthly, quarterly or other, sub-annual basis. This paper presents an empirical study that looks for evidence of seasonal inefficiency. Using a quarterly panel of general, acute-care hospitals from Washington State, we find that hospital efficiency does vary over time; however, the nature of this dynamic inefficiency depends on the type of efficiency being measured. Our results suggest that technical and cost efficiency vary by quarter. Allocative and scale efficiency also vary on a quarterly basis, but only if the data are jointly...

A magyarországi máktermelésről

Palavras-chave: Seasonality; Efficiency; Hospitals; Data envelopment analysis; Health Economics and Policy.

Ano: 2006

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/12957

Efficiency Analysis of Rural Hospitals: Parametric and Semi-parametric Approaches

Karacsony, Peter; Toth, Kalman; Pinek, Gyula; Pal, Robert.

Hazánkban az utóbbi években egyre nagyobb területeken folyik alkaloida és étkezési mák termelése. Megállapítható, hogy nem igazolódtak be azok a várakozások, melyek az uniós csatlakozástól a máktermelés csökkenését várták, annak ellenére, hogy az unió korlátozta egyes hazai, magasabb alkaloidatartalmú fajták termelését. Vizsgálataink alapján megállapítható, hogy a máktermelés magas hektáronkénti termelési költsége ellenére jövedelmező. Ha a hazai máktermelést az 1960-as évek szintjére emelnék, akkor az hozzájárulhatna a napjainkban fennmaradásukért és mindennapi megélhetésükért küzdő – elsősorban a szegényebb kelet-magyarországi régiókban – gazdálkodók megélhetéséhez. ------------------------------------- The area used for growing poppy seed for human...

Tipo: Article

Palavras-chave: Mák; Alkaloida; Étkezési mák; Eredményesség; Poppy seed; Alkaloid; Poppy seed for human consumption; Efficiency; Production Economics; Productivity Analysis.

Ano: 2011

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/119932

Nedelea, I. Cristian; Fannin, James Matthew.

This paper examined cost efficiency differences between rural hospitals participating in the Critical Access Hospital (CAH) Program and a group of non-converting, prospectively paid rural hospitals using both a two-stage semi-parametric approach as well as stochastic frontier analysis (SFA). CAHs receive Medicare cost-based reimbursement, in contrast with the rest of the hospitals reimbursed under Medicare prospective payment system (PPS). However, cost-based reimbursement has been associated with inefficiency in hospital operations and, consequently, concerns have been raised about the efficiency of CAHs. Results showed a positive and significant effect of CAH status on cost inefficiency under both model specifications suggesting that CAHs were less...

Tipo: Presentation

Palavras-chave: Rural hospitals; Efficiency; SFA; Two-stage approach; Community/Rural/Urban Development; Health Economics and Policy; Production Economics; Productivity Analysis; Public Economics; Research Methods/ Statistical Methods; I18.

Ano: 2012

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/119725

Eficiencia tecnica en pesquerias multiespecie: una aproximacion primal

Orea, Luis; Pinilla, Antonio Alvarez.

RESUMEN: El objetivo de este trabajo es estudiar, desde el punto de vista primal, la eficiencia técnica de una muestra de barcos dedicados a la pesca de merluza en Asturias. Un rasgo característico de esta actividad es la importancia que tienen las capturas de otras especies distintas de la merluza. La naturaleza multiproducto de esta actividad plantea distintas alternativas de modelización. En este trabajo se comparan los resultados obtenidos a partir de la estimación de una función de producción agregada, una función de producción multiproducto y una función de distancia. Los tres modelos se estiman utilizando el estimador intragrupos. En una segunda etapa, los índices de eficiencia se calculan a partir de los efectos individuales una vez eliminada la...

Tipo: Journal Article

Palavras-chave: Efficiency; Distance function; Multiproduct; Fisheries; Resource /Energy Economics and Policy; Q22; P11.

Ano: 2002

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/28758

Policies, Natural Resource Governance and Local Development

Massuanganhe, Israel Jacob.

The role that agriculture should play in economic development has been recognised for years. In recent years, concern has been expressed over rising agricultural and food prices. The world market prices for major food commodities have risen sharply to historic highs of more than 60 percent above levels just two years ago. Many factors have contributed to the rise in food commodity prices. Some factors reflect trends of slower growth in production and more rapid growth in demand that have contributed to a tightening of world balances of grains and oilseeds over the last decade. Other factors that have added to global food commodity price inflation include the declining value of the US dollar, rising energy prices, increasing agricultural costs of...

Tipo: Thesis or Dissertation

Palavras-chave: Data envelopment analysis; Efficiency; Decentralisation; Natural resource management; Land reform; Agricultural development; Governance; Participation; Local development; Agricultural and Food Policy; Community/Rural/Urban Development; Institutional and Behavioral Economics; International Development; Political Economy; Resource /Energy Economics and Policy.

Ano: 2008

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/53061

The Economics of Efficient Phosphorus Abatement in a Watershed

Ancev, Tihomir; Stoecker, Arthur L.; Storm, Daniel E.; White, Michael J..

This study presents a method to determine efficient environmental targets at a watershed level. Efficient targets are devised by estimating abatement cost and cost of environmental damages and minimizing their sum. The method was applied to a case study of phosphorus pollution in a watershed in Oklahoma. Several cumulative scenarios with alternative abatement options were simulated and efficient targets were determined. As the number of abatement options at disposal to agricultural sources increased, their optimal abatement expanded relative to the abatement at the point source. Efficient targets were found to be dependent on the choice of policy that stimulates abatement.

Tipo: Journal Article

Palavras-chave: Efficiency; Environmental targets; Phosphorus pollution; Watershed; Resource /Energy Economics and Policy.

Ano: 2006

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/8635

DEA-Based Incentive Regimes in Health-Care Provision

Agrell, Per J.; Bogetoft, Peter.

A major challenge to legislators, insurance providers and municipalities will be how to manage the reimbursement of health-care on partially open markets under increasing fiscal pressure and an aging population. Although efficiency theoretically can be obtained by private solutions using fixed-payment schemes, the informational rents and production distortions may limit their implementation. The healthcare agency problem is characterized by (i) a complex multi-input multi-output technology, (ii) information uncertainty and asymmetry, and (iii) fuzzy social preferences. First, the technology, inherently nonlinear and with externalities between factors, yield parametric estimation difficult. However, the flexible production structure in Data Envelopment...

ACHIEVING EFFICIENCY AND EQUITY IN IRRIGATION MANAGEMENT: AN OPTIMIZATION MODEL OF THE EL ANGEL WATERSHED, CARCHI, ECUADOR

Palavras-chave: Data Envelopment Analysis; Regulation; Health care systems; Efficiency; Health Economics and Policy.

Ano: 2001

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/24182

Evans, Elizabeth M.; Lee, David R.; Boisvert, Richard N..

The objective of this paper is to address the problems of inefficiency and inequity in water allocation in the El Angel watershed, located in Ecuador's Sierra region. Water is captured in a high-altitude region of the watershed and distributed downstream to producers in four elevation-defined zones via a system of canals. Upstream and downstream producers face radically different conditions with respect to climate and terrain. A mathematical programming model was created to study the consequences of addressing chronic water scarcity problems in the watershed by shifting water resources between the four zones. The model captures the nature of water use by humans, crops and dual purpose cattle. Its objective function maximizes producer welfare as...

Allocative and Technical Efficiency of Corporate Farms in Russia

Palavras-chave: Mathematical programming; Water allocation; Efficiency; Equity; Resource /Energy Economics and Policy.

Ano: 2002

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/19742

Grazhdaninova, Margarita; Lerman, Zvi.

This study is aimed to analyze Russian corporate farms technical efficiency using DEA and allocative efficiency basing upon VMP calculations. The estimations are carried out on three aggregation levels: total farm, sectors (livestock and crops production) and selected commodities (grain, sunflower, beef, milk and pork), using survey data. The results of analyses suggest that there is no substantial misallocation of resources given current input and output prices. High technical efficiency scores speak for production technologies being homogeneous and mean that simple extension of "best practice" production will not eliminate the large productivity gap between Russia and the developed market economies.

SHADOW PRICES OF SULFUR DIOXIDE ALLOWANCE IN PHASE I ELECTRIC UTILITIES

Palavras-chave: Transition economies; Productivity; Efficiency; Production function; Data Envelopment Analysis; Agribusiness; D610; P230; Q180.

Ano: 2005

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/24756

Rezek, Jon P..

The divergence of SO2 allowance price from initial estimates has spawned substantial interest since emission trading began. This paper uses non-parametric DEA to calculate technical, output revenue and allocative efficiency measures of Phase I electric plants. The allocative efficiency measure is then used to determine if allowance prices actually reflect opportunity costs.

Agricultural Economics Education in Ukrainian Agricultural Universities: An Efficiency Analysis Using Data Envelopment Analysis

Palavras-chave: Sulfur Dioxide; Efficiency; Shadow prices; Demand and Price Analysis; Environmental Economics and Policy.

Ano: 1999

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/21638

Lissitsa, Alexej; Coelli, Tim J.; Rao, D.S. Prasada.

Ukraine's transition from a centrally-planned to a market economy has had a profound effect upon its agricultural sector and agricultural universities. A substantial reduction in state financing has forced universities to adopt a range of survival strategies, with varying degrees of success. In this paper we use data envelopment analysis to examine the technical efficiency of 44 agricultural economics programs from 19 Ukrainian universities during the 2002/03 academic year. Our empirical results indicate wide disparities in performance, ranging from 36% to 100% technical efficiency. A second-stage analysis suggests that factors such as student demand, commercial activities and staff quality help explain a portion of this variation.

Efficiency and Productivity in the Spanish Food Distribution Sector

Palavras-chave: Higher education; Ukraine; Efficiency; Data envelopment analysis; Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession; I21; C14; Q16.

Ano: 2005

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/24482

Palomares, Rafaela Dios.

This study investigated the efficiency and productivity change of a sample of food distribution units (MERCAs) in Spain over the 1.997-1.999 period, applying non-parametric frontier methodology in a sales efficiency framework. We specified a mean sales model composed of two blocks of variables, the production block, and the marketing management block. Then we applied output oriented DEA methodology to perform the efficiency analysis, also taking into account the overall efficiency decomposition into pure and scale efficiency. The Malmquist index was calculated in order to analyse the components of the productivity change. The mean pure sales efficiency index was high, around 0.8, the mean scale index being 0,9. As appears from the results, six food...

Animal Efficiency in an Intensive Beef Production System

Palavras-chave: Efficiency; Productivity; DEA method; Malmquist index; Food Distribution Unit; Productivity Analysis.

Ano: 2002

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/24828

Fleming, Euan M.; Fleming, Pauline; Rodgers, Heidi; Griffith, Garry R.; Johnston, David.

A stochastic input distance function is estimated to analyse the efficiency with which physical characteristics of individual lot-fed beef cattle in Australia are combined with conventional inputs to produce a final product possessing defined quality attributes. High mean technical efficiency estimates are reported for all animals and by breed. All partial output elasticities with respect to inputs are of expected sign. Of four outputs included in the analysis, carcass weight and moisture retention in meat after cooking have highly significant coefficients of expected sign, but two meat quality variables have coefficients of unexpected sign indicating that they decline as inputs increase. Some evidence is detected of scope economies between moisture...

Pfadabhängigkeit als Forschungsprogramm für die Agrarökonomie

Palavras-chave: Efficiency; Intensive agriculture; Scope economies; Livestock Production/Industries; Q12; C51.

Ano: 2005

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/24673

EFICIÊNCIA DA PRODUÇÃO FAMILIAR DE LEITE EM PROJETOS DE ASSENTAMENTO DE REFORMA AGRÁRIA: ESTUDO MULTICASO

Theuvsen, Ludwig.

More than a decade ago, path dependence turned out to become a promising research program for agricultural economics. This article reviews important trends in path dependence research and highlights its role in the economics of technology, institutional economics, agricultural economics, and organization theory. Due to potential inefficiencies of path dependent processes, more and more researchers focus on path creation which has as yet not been understood very well. The implications of these recent developments for research questions and methodology of agricultural economics are sketched.

Tipo: Journal Article

Palavras-chave: Efficiency; Generating momentum; Mindful deviation; Path creation; Path dependence; Institutional and Behavioral Economics; Research Methods/ Statistical Methods.

Ano: 2004

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/97433

Pinheiro, Mauro Estenio Facanha; Altafin, Iara Guimaraes.

The milk market changes in Brazil, occured in the last few decades, have challenged the milk producers, especially the smaller ones in relation to milk quality improvement, the reduction of production costs, the adoption of modern practical management technologies and efficiency and productivity gain. The economic sustainability of the producers depends, in great measure, on their success in responding positively to these challenges. This work has aimed to evaluate the technical and economical efficiency of the family dairy production in settlement projects of agrarian reform in the city of Unaí-MG. Information on the production of sixteen producers were collected during an eleven-month period. For evaluating the efficiency, it was used Data Envelopment...

Tipo: Journal Article

Palavras-chave: Data envelopment analysis; Efficiency; Family dairy production..

Ano: 2007

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/43709

An application of the two-stage, semi-parametric approach with double bootstrap to analyze technical efficiency of Critical Access Hospitals

Nedelea, I. Cristian; Fannin, James Matthew.

This study examines technical efficiency of Critical Access Hospitals (CAH) using a two-stage approach and bootstrap procedures for making valid inference about the impact of environmental variables on CAH efficiency. In the first stage, a data envelopment analysis (DEA) efficiency estimator is used to estimate technical efficiency of each hospital in the sample. In the second stage, efficiency scores are regressed on environmental variables using a truncated regression with bootstrap. Alternatively, a double bootstrap procedure is used, where bias-corrected DEA efficiency scores, obtained by means of bootstrap in the first stage, are used in the second stage bootstrapped truncated regression. While both procedures provide valid inference in the second...

10 years of transition in Ukraine agriculture: An analysis of productivity and efficiency of enterprises

Palavras-chave: Critical Access Hospitals; Efficiency; Two-stage approach; Bootstrap; Health Economics and Policy.

Ano: 2011

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/103606

Lissitsa, Alexej; Odening, Martin; Babycheva, Tamara.

This paper analyzes efficiency and total factor productivity (TFP) change of large agricultural enterprises during their transition to a market economy in Ukraine. In this case the efficiency is calculated by data envelopment analysis and the productivity change is measured by the Malmquist Productivity Change Index in the period between 1990 and 1999. On average, TFP declined by 6% annually, dropping a total 42%. The main reason for the observed TFP decline is a decrease in technical efficiency, which is found to be remarkably significant. At the same time there is a high variation among individual enterprises: their distribution of efficiency scores widens, which indicates that the farms diverge with respect to their economic performance. The Tobit...

Palavras-chave: Эффективность; Общая продуктивность фактора; Анализ оболочки данных; Малмквист-индекс изменения общей продуктивности фактора; Переходный период; Украина; Effizienz; Totale Faktor Produktivität; Data Envelopment Analysis; Malmquist Productivity Change Index; Transition; Ukraine; Efficiency; Total Factor Productivity; Agribusiness; Community/Rural/Urban Development; Farm Management; Industrial Organization; Productivity Analysis; Q12; D25; O1; O4; P3.

Ano: 2003

URL: http://purl.umn.edu/92168

Environmental Economics

Stavins, Robert N..

This article, prepared for the forthcoming second edition of the New Palgrave Dictionary of Economics, provides an overview of the economics of environmental policy. Included are the setting of goals and targets, notably the Kaldor-Hicks criterion, and the related method of assessment known as benefit-cost analysis. Also reviewed are the means of environmental policy, that is, the choice of specific policy instruments, featuring an examination of potential criteria for assessing alternative instruments, with focus on cost-effectiveness. The theoretical foundations and experiential highlights of individual instruments are reviewed, including conventional command-and-control mechanisms and market-based instruments.