Simar and Wilson (J. Econometrics, 2007) provided a statistical model that can rationalize two-stage estimation of technical efficiency in nonparametric settings. Two-stage estimation has been widely used, but requires a strong assumption: the second-stage environmental variables cannot affect...

Applying an outlier robust extension of the data envelopment analysis (DEA) followed by a geoadditive regression analysis, this study identifies and decomposes the efficiency of 439 German regions in using infrastructure and human capital. The findings show that the regions' efficiency is driven...

Nonparametric methods have been widely used for assessing the performance of organizations in the private and public sector. The most popular ones are based on envelopment estimators, like the FDH or DEA estimators, that estimate the attainable sets and its efficient boundary by enveloping the...