A non-neutral stochastic distance function model is used to examine whether output specialization has an impact on the economic performance of vegetable producers in Benin. Specialization is assumed to have an effect on the production frontier and on the distance to the production frontier...

Dutch greenhouse horticultural firms are energy-intensive and major emitters of greenhouse gases. This paper develops a theoretically consistent model that is able to describe the greenhouse firms` behaviour regarding energy use and investments in energy technology. The behaviour of the firm is...

This paper analyzes technical efficiency and the value of the marginal product of productive inputs vis-a-vis pesticide use to measure allocative efficiency of pesticide use along productive inputs. We employ the data envelopment analysis framework and marginal cost techniques to estimate...

The efficiency measurement literature has been almost exclusively based on a static view of the firm. In this static context the optimality of decisions is measured against the best practice frontier in a period-by-period basis and without any connection along time. This dissertation departs...

The main objective of this paper is to generate measures of TFP change for the food, beverages, and tobacco industry in the EU. Explicitly taking into account the fact that some of the inputs used in the industry are fixed in the short run, the generated measures of TFP change reflects the...

This paper provides an assessment of the protein content of U.S. trade in dairy products and their potential impact on U.S. milk prices. The protein in imports of MPC, Casein & Albumins accounted for 5-6 percent of protein in total U.S. consumption during the period 1997-2002.

Subsidies on production have long been criticized for protecting producers from competition, and thus removing an incentive for efficient use of the resources. This study undertakes the examination of the impact of partially decoupled subsidies on the technical efficiency scores of cotton...

Horticultural firms are dependent on energy to produce, while policy makers focus on reducingthe use of energy and investment in energy-saving technologies. The paper aimed to assesDutch greenhouse farmers‘ responses to policies that would affect prices of different energyinputs. The...