Total Factor Productivity in the Turkish Insurance Industry

Abstract

This paper employs the Malmquist total factor productivity (TFP) index to examine the total factor productivity change in the life and non‐life branches of the Turkish insurance sector for the period 2000–2005. The Malmquist productivity index is decomposed into two components: the efficiency change component and the technical change component. The results indicate a decrease of 19.4 % in total factor productivity in the life insurance sector and an increase of 6.1% in the non‐life insurance sector during the sample period. Significant TFP growth in the non‐life insurance sector has occurred during 2003–2005. This growth is seen to be mainly due to the change in production technology. The firms are then split into two groups, domestic and foreign firms, according to their ownership composition. The results indicate a decline in total factor productivity for both groups in the life insurance sector whereas in the non‐life insurance sector, an increase in the total factor productivity of domestic firms is observed.