Non-parametric Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and parametric Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) have become very popular in the analysis of productive efficiency. This study undertakes a comparison of the SFA and the constant returns to scale (CRS) and variable returns to scale (VRS)...

In the present contribution we assess the total factor productivity (TFP) change in the period 1999- 2008 of Swiss dairy farms located in the mountain region using the Malmquist productivity index. We furthermore analyze the robustness of the results of this assessment to the effect of the type...

This paper aims to analyze the technical efficiency of farms in Brazil and its regions, based on the data from the 2006 Census of Agriculture. More specifically, it seeks to compare the technical efficiency of family farms in relation to business farms, considering the regional differences in...

This paper investigates the differences in technical efficiency and productivity change, and the technology gaps, between French and Hungarian farms in the dairy and cereal, oilseed and protein crops (COP) sectors during the period 2001–2007. The analyses were performed with national Farm...

Using a stochastic frontier production model proposed by Battese and Coelli (1995), the paper estimates the levels of technical efficiency of 233 smallholder maize farmers in Tanzania and provides an empirical analysis of the determinants of inefficiency with the aim of finding way to increase...

This paper investigates whether there is any relationship between farm size, technical efficiency and the use of agrochemicals which are potentially environmentally contaminating. These questions are pertinent in the context of current EU policy decisions. Using two models of stochastic frontier...

The investment decisions of small-scale farmers in developing countries are conditioned by their financial environment. Binding credit market constraints and incomplete insurance can reduce investment in activities with high expected profits. We conducted several experiments in northern Ghana in...

This study uses the stochastic production frontier to analyze technical efficiency of tea production in northeastern Vietnam. Our study estimated that the average technical efficiency of tea production is very low, only about 32%. Technical efficiency can be improved by having a training on sale...

Increasing food demand will most likely be met with agricultural intensification and land clearing, exacerbating environmental consequences associated with food supply. The mechanisms and trade-offs between agriculture and the environment are heterogeneous and not well understood, yet key to...

Increasing food demand will most likely be met with agricultural intensification and land clearing, exacerbating environmental consequences associated with food supply. The mechanisms and trade-offs between agriculture and the environment are heterogeneous and not well understood, yet key to...