We use the stochastic frontier approach to estimate the impact of firm characteristics on investment decisions of Indian firms during the 1997-2006 period. The use of the stochastic frontier approach allows us to define the (unobserved) optimum investment that is consistent with a firm's...

In this study we estimate technical efficiency of Indian commercial banks from 1989 to 2009, using a multiple-output generalized stochastic production frontier and analyze the effects of financial reforms on estimated efficiency.The generalized method estimates technical efficiency in the...

We use newly-available Indian panel data to estimate how the returns to planting-stage investments vary by rainfall realizations. We show that the forecasts significantly affect farmer investment decisions and that these responses account for a substantial fraction of the inter-annual...

Do transgenic crops cause agrobiodiversity erosion? We hypothesize that they increase productivity and reduce production risk and may therefore reduce farmer demand for on-farm varietal diversity, especially when only a few transgenic varieties are available. We also hypothesize that varietal...

This paper addresses the apparent paradox between widespread support of cattle farming by agricultural policy interventions and negative returns to cattle as stressed in recent works. Using a representative panel dataset for Andhra Pradesh, a state in the south of India, we examine average and...

We use newly-available Indian panel data to estimate how the returns to planting-stage investments vary by rainfall realizations. We show that the forecasts significantly affect farmer investment decisions and that these responses account for a substantial fraction of the inter-annual...

The study is an endeavor to test the validity of convergence hypothesis in Indian sugar Industry. For inferential purpose, data for 12 major sugar-producing states over the period 1974/75 to 2004/05 has been used. The technical efficiency and scale efficiency scores have been computed using the...

Exchange rate volatility has been identified as one of the drivers of export diversification. Previous studies have assumed a symmetric relationship between the two variables. However, because volatility could be positive or negative and economic agents react to these changes differently, recent...

The article analyzes the effect of failing to control for differences in land types (defined by position on a low scale toposequence) on estimates of farm technical efficiency for rice farms in eastern India. In contrast to previous research, we find that farms appear to be considerably more...

The article analyzes how controlling for differences in land types (defined by position on a low scale toposequence) affects estimates of farm technical efficiency for rice farms in eastern India. Contrasting previous research, we find that farms are considerably more technically efficient when...