This paper focuses on the increase in slack costs due to municipality amalgamation, which is pushed forward in several countries to achieve economies of scale. Employing the stochastic frontier cost function to estimate the inefficiency of local public expenditure due to slack, this study...

In this paper we deal with the measurement of technical efficiency (or X-efficiency) of institutions whose operations might be significantly affected by macroeconomic, environmental and non-controllable factors. For this purpose we introduce a four-stage DEA methodology based on the approach...

This paper is aimed at exploring how X-efficiency or management quality is associated with one of the most vivid forms of international banking, that is, entering new markets by setting up foreign subsidiaries. The analysis focuses on the supposition that management quality ought to be one of...

It is well-known that socioeconomic outcomes and (dis)advantage over the life course can be transmitted from parent to child. It is increasingly suggested that these intergenerational effects also have a spatial dimension, although empirical research into this topic remains scarce. Previous...

Explanations of growth in health expenditures have restricted attention to the mean. We explain change throughout the distribution of expenditures, providing insight into how growth and its explanation differ along the distribution. We analyse Dutch data on actual health expenditures linked to...

Pension systems in European countries are under review due to demographic changes. As a solution to the graying population, second and third pillar pensions are advocated. However, it is important not to lose sight of the social consequences of encouraging these private pensions. In this master...

Why do some banks fail in financial crises while others survive? This article answers this question by analysing the effect of the Dutch financial crisis of the 1920s on 142 banks, of which 33 failed. We find that choices of balance sheet composition and product market strategy made in the...

This paper provides estimates for the base elasticities of Dutch taxes, paying particular attention to differences between short-and long-term elasticities, and allowing for asymmetric adjustment. Estimates are presented for five tax categories for the period 1970-2005, after making appropriate...

This article investigates the impact of the socioreligious segregation of Dutch society on the asset allocation choices of rural bankers and the withdrawal behavior of their depositors during the early 1920s. Results suggest that cooperatively-owned Raiffeisen banks for both Catholic and...