A bootstrapped Malmquist index applied to Swedish district courts

Pontus Mattsson,Christian Andersson,Jonas Månsson,Fredrik Bonander

doi:10.1007/s10657-018-9582-y

Pontus Mattsson, Christian Andersson + Show 2 more

https://doi.org/10.1007/s10657-018-9582-y

Copy DOI

Abstract

This study measures the total factor productivity (TFP) of the Swedish district courts by applying data envelopment analysis to calculate the Malmquist productivity index (MPI) of 48 Swedish district courts from 2012 to 2015. In contrast to the limited international literature on court productivity, this study uses a fully decomposed MPI. A bootstrapping approach is further applied to compute confidence intervals for each decomposed factor of TFP. The findings show a 1.7% average decline of TFP, annually. However, a substantial variation between years can be observed in the number of statistically significant courts below and above unity. The averages of the components show that the negative impact is mainly driven by negative technical change. Large variations are also observed over time where the small courts have the largest volatility. Two recommendations are: (1) that district courts with negative TFP growth could learn from those with positive TFP growth; and (2) that the back-up labour force could be developed to enhance flexibility.

Highlights

Efficiency and productivity in the public sector are major concerns for most parliaments and governments
This paper aimed to investigate the development of total factor productivity (TFP) from 2012 to 2015
The differences in comparison with previous research are: (1) more detailed data are used, which allow the outputs to be weighted based on the hearing time; and (2) TFP is decomposed into four components, in contrast to a maximum of three in the earlier literature

Summary

Introduction

Efficiency and productivity in the public sector are major concerns for most parliaments and governments. It is explicitly stated in the Swedish Budget Act (SFS 2011:203), that all state services should be provided with a high level of efficiency. For instance, be found for higher education (Andersson et al 2017a), employment offices (Andersson et al 2014), day care (Bjurek et al 1992), elderly care, and primary and secondary education (Arnek et al 2016). Economic development is concluded to benefit from an efficient judicial system, internationally (Feld and Voigt 2003; Messick 1999). The share of solved suspicious declined from 2004 to 2014, according to Norden (2015)

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion