This study proposes a "Flexible Cost Model" (FCM) for settings in which firms may be unable or unwilling to optimally manage their cost structures. FCM, which nests a wide range of more restrictive models, allows for a flexible specification not only of the technology but also of firm-level...

In this paper we demonstrate that the measures of scale and scope economies may be elusive if failing to consider quality variation among universities and endogeneity of congestion in students learning and living facility utilization. Empirical results show that the private and highly congested...

Our paper deals with empirical and technical problems to derive (conventional) cost functions in banks and other financial institutions. One main reason is based on the still ongoing discussion on inputs and outputs of financial intermediaries. A second obstacle is due to the fact that most of...