A global cost Malmquist productivity index using data envelopment analysis

This paper proposes a global cost Malmquist productivity index, new cost Malmquist productivity index, that is circular and that gives a single measure of productivity change. The index is inspired by the global Malmquist productivity index as extended to productivity measurement. Decomposition of the proposed cost Malmquist productivity index is presented. Numerical results are presented for an example taken from the literature to illustrate the proposed algorithm.     

A cost Malmquist productivity index

This paper develops a productivity index applicable when producers are cost minimisers and input prices are known. The index is inspired by the Malmquist index as extended to productivity measurement. The index developed here is defined in terms of input cost rather than input quantity distance functions. Hence, productivity change is decomposed into overall efficiency and cost technical change. Furthermore, overall efficiency change is decomposed into technical and allocative efficiency change and cost technical change into a part capturing shifts of input quantities and shifts of relative input prices. These decompositions provide a clearer picture of the root sources of productivity change. They are illustrated here in a sample of hospitals; results are computed using non-parametric mathematical programming.     

Measuring sectoral productivity across time and across countries

This paper examines the problem of measuring the evolution of productivity changes over time and across the 14 countries included in the OECD's International Sectoral Data Base of two sectors considered essential to the economic growth of any nation, namely manufacturing and services. The basic units of analysis are generalized Malmquist productivity indices. These in turn can be decomposed into several components, associated to the various sources of productivity change. Included here are productivity fluctuations due to economies of scale, being constant or variable, to technical change and technical efficiency change. The computational procedure is based upon the concept of distance function, computed through the use of variations of data envelopment analysis.     

Nonparametric estimation of education productivity incorporating nondiscretionary inputs with an application to Dutch schools

In this paper we develop a Malmquist productivity index for public sector production characterized by the influence of environmental variables. We extend Johnson and Ruggiero (2011) to the more general case of variable returns to scale to further decompose the Malmquist productivity index into technical, efficiency, scale and environmental change. We apply our model to analyze productivity of Dutch schools using 2002–2007 data. The results indicate that the environment influences the productivity index as well as the technical, efficiency, scale and environmental change components. We see that schools with a moderate classification of environment have the highest productivity numbers. In line with expectations, schools with the worst environment also perform worse and would perform better with an improved environment.     

Multi-period efficiency and Malmquist productivity index in two-stage production systems

Conventional two-stage data envelopment analysis (DEA) models measure the overall performance of a production system composed of two stages (processes) in a specified period of time, where variations in different periods are ignored. This paper takes the operations of individual periods into account to develop a multi-period two-stage DEA model, which is able to measure the overall and period efficiencies at the same time, with the former expressed as a weighted average of the latter. Since the efficiency of a two-stage system in a period is the product of the two process efficiencies, the overall efficiency of a decision making unit (DMU) in the specified period of time can be decomposed into the process efficiency of each period. Based on this decomposition, the sources of inefficiency in a DMU can be identified. The efficiencies measured from the model can also be used to calculate a common-weight global Malmquist productivity index (MPI) between two periods, in that the overall MPI is the product of the two process MPIs. The non-life insurance industry in Taiwan is used to verify the proposed model, and to explain why some companies performed unsatisfactorily in the specified period of time.     

Chinese regional energy efficiency change and its determinants analysis: Malmquist index and Tobit model

China becomes the largest energy consumer in 2010 but its energy productivity is well below the world average. To meet China’s fast growing energy using, energy efficiency should be especially emphasized under China’s energy policy. This paper focuses on the regional level of energy efficiency change in China. And we analyze total factor energy efficiency for 30 Chinese provinces over the period 1998–2009 using Malmquist index method and Tobit analysis. The Malmquist estimation results suggest there is a dropping change trend of energy productivity growth. Chinese energy efficiency still faces with huge regional disparity, but the energy technical efficiency reflects convergence in the nationwide and west region. As a result of Tobit regression, we find that industrial structure, energy consumption structure and institutional factor have different influences on energy efficiency.     

Productivity change in the water industry in England and Wales: application of the meta-Malmquist index

This paper uses a meta-Malmquist index for measuring productivity change of the water industry in England and Wales and compares this to the traditional Malmquist index. The meta-Malmquist index computes productivity change with reference to a meta-frontier, it is computationally simpler and it is circular. The analysis covers all 22 UK water companies in existence in 2007, using data over the period 1993–2007. We focus on operating expenditure in line with assessments in this field, which treat operating and capital expenditure as lacking substitutability. We find important improvements in productivity between 1993 and 2005, most of which were due to frontier shifts rather than catch up to the frontier by companies. After 2005, the productivity shows a declining trend. We further use the meta-Malmquist index to compare the productivities of companies at the same and at different points in time. This shows some interesting results relating to the productivity of each company relative to that of other companies over time, and also how the performance of each company relative to itself over 1993–2007 has evolved. The paper is grounded in the broad theory of methods for measuring productivity change, and more specifically on the use of circular Malmquist indices for that purpose. In this context, the contribution of the paper is methodological and applied. From the methodology perspective, the paper demonstrates the use of circular meta-Malmquist indices in a comparative context not only across companies but also within company across time. This type of within-company assessment using Malmquist indices has not been applied extensively and to the authors’ knowledge not to the UK water industry. From the application perspective, the paper throws light on the performance of UK water companies and assesses the potential impact of regulation on their performance. In this context, it updates the relevant literature using more recent data.     

Radial and non-radial decompositions of profit change: With an application to Indian banking

Grifell-Tatje and Lovell [Grifell-Tatje, E., Lovell, C.A.K., 1999. Profits and productivity. Management Science 45, 1177–1193] made significant contributions to the literature on the extended radial DEA framework by decomposing profit change into six mutually exclusive components. Their approach, however, poses two basic problems. First, the radial estimates on these components might give conflicting signals about the direction of profit change after the full radial efficiencies are achieved when slacks are present. Second, evaluations of these components, using base-period prices as weights, can be potentially misleading. To address these concerns, we first introduce non-radial DEA models, and then, provide a few strong theoretical arguments in favor of using as weights either current-period prices or an average price covering both periods to value the contributions of each of these components. The Indian banking sector is taken as a case study to illustrate the radial and non-radial decompositions of profit change so as to empirically examine the role of competition on profit change and its drivers. Our broad empirical results are as follows: first, radial and non-radial models yield diametrically opposite results on the contributions of various components. Second, the increasing efficiency change trends in all ownership groups after 2002 indicate that the Government reform process instituted on the banking industry has had a favorable effect on the performance of the Indian banking sector. Third, despite the fact that nationalized banks are the oldest banks, their output and resource allocation behaviors do not reflect their learning experience.     

Malmquist生产率指数评析结果——技术变动的新诠释

为了判断创新活动是否有利于技术进步,预测技术变动的发展趋势,将Malmquist生产率指数评价结果进一步分解,挖掘技术变动的深层次知识,并将之应用于我国电子行业的技术创新活动分析。研究表明,运用经济学中的等产量曲线的分析原理,能够获取Malmquist生产率测算结果中技术变动指数各个构成部分所包含的管理信息,并可以判断决策单元的技术变动方向是否有利,最后对我国电子行业技术创新活动的实证研究发现我国电子行业创新活动总体上朝着有利于技术进步的方向发展。     

基于灰色Malmquist-DEA的中国粮食生产效率分析

选取全国各省粮食生产指标面板数据,对数据进行灰色拟合处理,采用数据包络分析(DEA)法,测算各区域的粮食生产效率,得到投入产出体系的要素冗余值;同时测算了各区域的全要素生产率,并对Malmquist指数进行分解,分析各区域的效率变化和技术变化趋势.结果显示:东、西部地区粮食生产投入要素大量冗余,要素配置效率不高,中部地区要素利用率较高,要素配置趋于合理;效率变化对全要素生产率的作用不明显,而技术进步是全要素生产率增长的关键驱动因素.     

基于两阶段DEA方法的中国商业银行效率评价

本文考虑商业银行吸收存款和发放贷款的两阶段特点,引入“顾客满意度”这一产出指标,应用两阶段DEA模型计算了我国15家商业银行在2008年和2011年的服务质量效率和盈利效率,结果显示我国商业银行的盈利效率显著高于服务质量效率。进而综合考虑服务和盈利指标,分析了各银行的综合效率,并通过计算各银行Malmquist指数研究我国商业银行2008年到2011年间的效率变化。结果表明:各商业银行从2008年到2011年的效率整体呈上升趋势,各商业银行的技术效率以及整个银行业的效率都有一定的提高。最后,应用Tobit模型分析了影响银行效率的因素,结果显示银行的贷存比、资产利润率和不良贷款率对效率影响显著。     

基于定向技术距离函数的投入产出型Malmquist指数

本在分析了基于产出距离函数的Malmquist指数的局限性后，定义了在t时期上的定向技术距离函数，提出了修正的Malmquist指数(简称ARD，AGL)，并用线性规划给出了求解方法。同时运用修正后的Malmquist指数对技术进步、技术效率变化和规模效率三方面进行了分解，并辅以经济解释。     

基于生态学视角的科技人才效能发展程度和产出效率研究——来自我国30个省市的数据

基于生态学视角构建了科技人才效能评价指标体系,通过运用生态位模型和Malmquist指数分析了我国30个省市的科技人才效能的发展程度和产出效率,结果表明,第一,我国东部和中西部地区之间的科技人才效能呈现较为明显的区域性差异;第二,技术进步效率对我国30个省市科技人才效能全要素生产率具有较明显的影响,应该引起重视;第三,从分区域全要素生产率指数的变动情况来看,全要素生产率最高的为中部地区,其次为东部地区和东北地区,最低为西部地区.     

Efficiency and total quality management in health care organizations: A dynamic frontier approach

This paper analyses hospital performance using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and the Malmquist productivity index. We follow two approaches to quantify movements in productivity: (1) the traditional approach that only considers output and input variables; and (2) a more comprehensive approach that incorporates movements in quality and restricts some achievements, if quality is reduced. On the premise that the indicator for quality (nosocomial infections) is equivalent to a bad output, we explore the characteristics of, and compare the results of, the different technological ways to incorporate quality (good or bad attributes, strong or weak disposability technological assumptions). After discussing the virtues and limitations of the existing possibilities, the paper presents a better formulation that allows the preservation of TQM postulates. The decomposition in the Malmquist productivity index shows an improvement in productivity and a positive technical change, especially when quality is introduced. This paper forms part of a more extensive research work, financed by the Spanish Science and Technology Ministry (ref. SEC2003-047707).     

Analysing the effect of technical change on individual outputs using modified quasi-Malmquist indexes

Malmquist indexes can be used to estimate technical change over time. The index generally represents the average effect of technical change on all outputs in a multi-output firm. However, changes in technology do not necessarily affect all outputs involved in the analysis equally. In this paper, a method for estimating the effect of technical change on each of the different outputs is proposed. This estimation is done by a modification of quasi-Malmquist indexes. An artificial data set has been used to validate the method proposed in this paper.     

Unit commitment in electricity pool markets

We consider an electricity generator making offers of energy into an electricity pool market over a horizon of several trading periods (typically a single trading day). The generator runs a set of generating units with given start-up costs, shut-down costs and operating ranges. At the start of each trading period the generator must submit to the pool system operator a new supply curve defining quantities of offered energy and the prices at which it wants these dispatched. The amount of dispatch depends on the supply curve offered along with the offers of the other generators and market demand, both of which are random, but do not change in response to the actions of the generator we consider. After dispatch the generator determines which units to run in the current trading period to meet the dispatch. The generator seeks a supply function that maximizes its expected profit. We describe an optimization procedure based on dynamic programming that can be used to construct optimal offers in successive time periods over a fixed planning horizon.     

Productivity change and innovation in Norwegian electricity distribution companies

Regulators of electricity distribution networks have typically applied Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to cross-section data for benchmarking purposes. However, the use of panel data to analyse the impact of regulatory policies on productivity change over time is less frequent. The main purpose of this paper is to construct a Malmquist productivity index to examine the recent productivity change experienced by Norwegian distribution companies between 2004 and 2007. The Malmquist index is decomposed in order to explore the sources of productivity change, and to identify the innovator companies that pushed the frontier forward each year. The input and output variables considered are those used by the Norwegian regulator. In order to reflect appropriately the exogenous conditions where the companies operate, the efficiency model used in this paper incorporates geography variables as outputs of the DEA model. Unlike the model used by the regulator, we included virtual weight restrictions in the DEA formulation to correct the biases in the DEA results that may be associated to a judicious choice of weights by some of the companies.     

基于SFA和Malmquist方法的公共部门效率区域差异及其决定因素分析

利用测量Malmquist生产率指数的SFA方法和BC(1995)模型,分析了中国省级地方政府公共部门效率区域差异及其决定因素,结果显示,省级公共部门技术效率随时间变化存在持续改进趋势,同时也发现居民受教育水平、城镇居民家庭可支配收入、每一公职人员服务人数和政府支出规模对公共部门技术效率有显著正影响,而人口密度和人均行政管理费支出对公共部门技术效率有显著负影响.     

环境约束下中国地区物流业全要素生产率重估及收敛性研究

利用基于方向距离函数的Malmquist-Luenberger(ML)生产率指数方法对环境约束下中国1997-2009年30个省级地区物流业全要素生产率增长及其成分进行了重新估算,并通过技术创新者研究,分析了推动生产可能性边界外移的地区.研究发现:忽视非期望产出的传统Malmquist指数方法会低估物流业技术效率水平、高估物流业技术进步指数和全要素生产率指数.环境约束下我国物流业ML生产率指数年均增长率呈现下降趋势,下降的原因一方面是由于技术效率偏低阻碍了生产率的增长,另一方面是我国物流业技术进步的动力不足所致,物流环境技术创新主要集中于东部和西部地区个别省份,中部地区技术创新水平较低.收敛性检验表明,研究样本期内,全国以及三大地区物流业全要素生产率均存在显著的收敛趋势.     

Productivity breakdown of the information and computing technology industries across countries

In this paper, we measure productivity growth of the information and computing technology (ICT) industries in 14 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries over the 13-year period of 1978–1990. The ICT industries are the providers of essential information technology (IT) capital goods. This macro-level analysis seeks to find out how productively such IT capital goods are provided. The basic unit of analysis employed is the Malmquist Total Factor Productivity (TFP) index. The Malmquist TFP index is then decomposed into three constituent elements accounting for different sources of productivity growth: technological progress, efficiency change, and change in economies of scale. The approach of measurement is based on the concept of distance functions and employs the non-parametric frontier method of data envelopment analysis. Our results indicate that each country's ICT industry manifests its own particular patterns in various performance measures. Among the 14 countries examined, 10 had witnessed productivity growth in their ICT industries. Overall, these ICT industries are found more productive than other industries when compared with previous research. Further analyses reveal that (1) most of the productivity growth measured is due to technological progress; (2) efficiency change exerts a relatively small positive effect on productivity growth; and (3) the change in scale economies unfavourably affects productivity for most countries. Finally, practical implications for formulating IT policy are drawn from our results, and topics are identified for future research.