Bootstrap confidence intervals on fixed-effects efficiency estimates in micro panels exhibit low coverage probabilities. We propose an alternative efficiency measure involving the mean of the firm effects. With the same estimated efficiency ranks as the traditional measure, its corresponding...

This paper shows how stochastic frontier panel techniques can be used by economic regulators to benchmark regulated firms against international best practice. We utilise a unique, panel dataset of European rail infrastructure managers (1996–2006). A time-varying inefficiency model, with...