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,...

With declining Irish potato production trends in Kenya this paper identifies and analyses factors that influence the economic efficiency of smallholder Irish potato producers in Kenya by drawing on data from random sample of 130 smallholder farmers from Nyandarua North district. A dual...

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...

This paper analyzes efficiency and total factor productivity (TFP) change of large agriculturalenterprises during their transition to a market economy in Ukraine. In this case the efficiencyis calculated by data envelopment analysis and the productivity change is measured by theMalmquist...

To reduce national oil dependency, ethanol has been given a center stage of U.S. energy sources. The Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program was launched to increase the volume of renewable gasoline from 9 billion gallons in 2008 to 36 billion gallons by 2012, among which 15 billion are corn-based...

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...

COMPETITIVE ABILITY OF EAST GERMAN AGRICULTURE Â AN EFFICIENCY ANALYSIS OF FARMS IN SAXONY-ANHALT AND THE CZECH REPUBLIC The main focus of this Discussion Paper the analysis of the efficiency of agricultural enterprises in Sachsen-Anhalt and the Czech Republic. Using the Data Envelopment...

The objective of this paper is to propose an alternative measure of irrigation water efficiency based on the concept of input- specific technical efficiency, which contracts with measures previously used in the literature. The proposed methodology is applied to a randomly selected sample of 144...

In the past three decades, Chinese electricity industry has experienced a series of regulatory reforms serving different purposes at different stages. In 2002, the former vertically integrated electricity utility - the State Power Corporation (SPC) – was divested and the generation sector was...