This paper investigates economies of scope in the US insurance industry over the period 1993-2006. We test the conglomeration hypothesis, which holds that firms can optimize by operating a diversity of businesses, versus the strategic focus hypothesis, which holds that firms can best add value...

This paper proposes a complete convolutional formulation for 2D multimodal pairwise image registration problems based on free-form deformations. We have reformulated in terms of discrete 1D convolutions the evaluation of spatial transformations, the regularization term, and their gradients for...

The main objective of the research is to measure the economic efficiency of sheep rearers in Al-Hasakah Governorate using the data envelopment analysis method. The sample size was 313 rearers, who were selected by random sampling method from the administrative regions of Al-Hasaka Governorate....

In this paper, we investigate the differential impact of ESG activities on banks’ technical efficiency for conventional and Islamic banks. We employ a Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) technique to determine the efficiency scores of the banks. Based on a sample of 14 conventional and 11 Islamic...

In this paper, we develop a computational procedure for the hyperbolic distance function (HDF) within the nonparametric framework of data envelopment analysis. We convert the nonlinear HDF model under variable returns to scale into an equivalent conic optimization problem with linear constraints...

Advocates for education reforms frequently call for policies to increase school efficiency performance. The Greek educational system has undergone several reforms while the recent financial crisis alters significantly. Using a unique dataset this study attempts to shed light on 643 Greek...

We develop a new spatial inefficiency stochastic frontier model. Our spatial inefficiency stochastic frontier model meets the following conditions: (a) It can detect not only positive, but also negative spatial autocorrelation of inefficiency; (b)The inefficiency follows a truncated normal...

The Bologna Process (BP) promoted a series of wide-ranging reforms of higher education (HE) systems in order to improve the quality of teaching activities across Europe. This paper evaluates the effect of these reforms on the teaching efficiency of Italian universities during the period...

Objectives: This paper investigates empirically whether the institutional features of the contracting authority as well as the level of ‘environmental’ corruption in the area where the work is localised affect the efficient execution of public contracts for healthcare...