In this paper we examine more closely the factors associated with production inefficiency in China's agriculture. The approach we take involves a two-stage process where output efficiency scores are first estimated using data envelopment analysis, and then in the second stage, variation in the...

In this paper we fit stochastic frontier production functions to data of Chinese farms grouped into each of four regions--North, Northeast, East, and Southwest--over 1995-1999. These frontier production functions are shown to have statistically different structures, and the elasticities provide...

This paper utilizes a unique county-level dataset to examine technical efficiency and technology gap in China's agriculture. We classify the counties into four regions with distinctive levels of economic development, and hence production technologies. A meta-frontier analysis is used. We find...