Average Technical Efficiency Score Research Articles

Evaluation of performance and impacts of maternal and child health hospital services using Data Envelopment Analysis in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China: a comparison study among poverty and non-poverty county level hospitals.

BackgroundAs the core of the county-level Maternal and Child Health Hospitals (MCHH) in rural areas of China, the service efficiency affects the fairness and availability of healthcare services. This study aims to identify the determinants of hospital efficiency and explore how to improve the performance of MCHH in terms of productivity and efficiency.MethodsData was collected from a sample of 32 county-level MCHHs of Guangxi in 2014. Firstly, we specified and measured the indicators of the inputs and outputs which represent hospital resources expended and its profiles respectively. Then we estimated the efficiency scores using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) for each hospital. Efficiency scores were decomposed into technical, scale and congestion components, and the potential output increases and/or input reductions were also estimated in this model, which would make relatively inefficient hospitals more efficient. In the second stage, the estimated efficiency scores are regressed against hospital external and internal environment factors using a Tobit model. We used DEAP (V2.1) and R for data analysis.ResultsThe average scores of technical efficiency, net technical efficiency (managerial efficiency) and scale efficiency of the hospitals were 0.875, 0.922 and 0.945, respectively. Half of the hospitals were efficient, and 9.4 % and 40.6 % were weakly efficient and inefficient, respectively. Among the low-productiveness hospitals, 61.1 % came from poor counties (Poor counties in this article are in the list of key poverty-stricken counties at the national level, published by The State Council Leading Group Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development, 2012). The total input indicated that redundant medical resources in poverty areas were significantly higher than those in non-poverty areas. The Tobit regression model showed that the technical efficiency was proportional to the total annual incomes, the number of discharge patients, and the number of outpatient and emergency visits, while it was inversely proportional to total expenditure and the actual number of open beds. Technical efficiency was not associated with number of health care workers.ConclusionThe overall operational efficiency of the county-level MCHHs in Guangxi was low and needs to be improved. Regional economic differences affect the performances of hospitals. Health administrations should adjust and optimize the resource investments for the different areas. For the hospitals in poverty areas, policy-makers should not only consider the hardware facilities investment, but also the introduction of advanced techniques and high-level medical personnel to improve their technical efficiency.

Evaluation on the efficiencies of county-level Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in China: results from a national survey.

The Chinese government has greatly increased funding for disease control and prevention since the 2003 Severe Acute Respiration Syndrome crisis, but it is also concerned whether these increased resources have been used efficiently to improve public health services. We aimed to assess the efficiency of county-level Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCs) of China and to identify strategies for optimising their performance. A total of 446 county-level CDCs were selected based on systematic sampling throughout China. The data envelopment analysis framework was used to calculate the efficiency score of sampled CDCs in 2010. The Charnes, Cooper and Rhodes (CCR) model was applied to calculate the overall and scale efficiency, and the Banker, Charnes and Cooper (BCC) model was used to assess technical efficiency. Models included three inputs and seven outputs. A projection analysis was conducted to identify the difference between projection value and actual value for inputs and outputs. The average overall efficiency score of CDCs was 0.317, and the average technical efficiency score was 0.442 and 88.3% with decreasing returns to scale. Projection analysis indicated that all seven categories of outputs were underproduced. CDCs in the eastern region tended to perform better than CDCs in the middle and the western region. Most county-level CDCs in China were operated inefficiently. Emphasis should be put on increasing staff and general operating expenses through current governmental funding, upgrading healthcare providers' competencies and enhancing the standardisation of operational management, so that CDCs could utilise their resources more efficiently.

Assessing the Efficiency of Small-Scale and Bottom Trawler Vessels in Greece

This study explores the technical and scale efficiency of two types of Greek fishing vessels, small-scale vessels and bottom trawlers, using a bias-corrected input-oriented Data Envelopment Analysis model. Moreover, the associations between efficiency scores and vessel’s and skipper’s characteristics are also explored. The results indicate that small-scale vessels achieve a very low average technical efficiency score (0.42) but a much higher scale efficiency score (0.81). Conversely, bottom trawlers achieve lower scale but higher technical efficiency scores (0.68 and 0.73, respectively). One important finding of this study is that the technical efficiency of small-scale vessels, in contrast to trawlers, is positively associated with the experience of the skipper. In a looser context, it can be said that small-scale fisheries mainly rely on skill, whereas bottom trawlers rely more on technology. This study concludes that there is space for improvement in efficiency, mainly for small-scale vessels, which could allow the achievement of the same level of output by using reduced inputs.

Have U.S. power plants become less technically efficient? The impact of carbon emission regulation

We estimate directional distance functions to measure the impact of carbon emission regulation, the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) in particular, on U.S. power plants' technical efficiency. The model shows that the average technical efficiency scores for coal and natural gas plants are 88.70% and 83.14% respectively, indicating a very technically efficient industry. We find no evidence of technical efficiency changes due to the RGGI regime in the RGGI area. In the same area, relatively less efficient coal plants exited the market and slightly more efficient natural gas plants entered, compared to the incumbent plants. In addition, some evidence of a spillover effect is found. Using a counterfactual analysis, the RGGI regulation leads to a 1.48% decline in the average technical efficiency for coal plants within neighboring states of RGGI during 2009–2013.

Evaluating Sugarcane Productivity in China over Different Periods Using Data Envelopment Analysis and the Malmquist Index

Nonparametric methods of data envelopment analysis and the Malmquist Index (MI), both based on a time-series analysis, were applied to examine the production efficiency performance and trend of China’s sugar industry from 2004 to 2013 in the four main sugarcane-growing regions of Guangxi, Yunnan, Guangdong and Hainan provinces, which produce more than 90 % of the total sugarcane production in China. The data used in the analysis were from ‘All China Data Compilation of Costs and Returns of Main Agricultural Products (2005–2014)’ of the Price Department of the National Development and Reform Commission. Our analysis revealed that the comprehensive efficiency of sugarcane production in China was relatively low. The average scores of technical efficiency, pure technical efficiency and scale efficiency were 0.760, 0.954 and 0.792, respectively. These scores decreased yearly from 1.000, 1.000 and 1.000 in 2004 to 0.507, 0.978 and 0.518 in 2013, respectively, resulting in a negative impact on the development of the Chinese sugar industry. Additionally, the analysis based on the MI also demonstrated a decline in the trend of sugarcane productivity during 2004–2013 with the total factor productivity index score of 0.894, a slight increase in the technical generalization level with the technical efficiency change index score of 1.002 and a decrease in technological innovation with the technical change index score of 0.880. Our study clearly indicates that Chinese sugarcane productivity needs significant improvement.

An Economic Analysis of Sugar Mills in India-DEA Approach

This paper attempts to assess the performance and efficiency level of sugar mills in India. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) by using Constant returns to scale method has been applied on the input and output data for the period of 2009–2014. This paper revealed that the average technical efficiency of sugar mills in India was 59.50 percent Based on the average technical efficiency score that most of the mills were performing at the optimum level and some of the mills were underutilizing its labor input. The mills located in the southern regions are performing well when compared to the other counter parts of the region. The total factor productivity (TFP) was calculated by using the Malmquist DEA. TFP change could be increased or decreased based on the technical and technological change. Some of the mills got the TFP value of more than unity indicated that productivity gain of the mills.

Agrarian Crisis and Steps to Combat It: Evidence of GHG Emission (CO2) in Sesame Production in Jigawa State, Nigeria

Data for this research were elicited from 99 sesame farmers in Jigawa State, Nigeria via multi-stage sampling technique. Energy efficiency was studied and degrees of technical efficiency (TE), pure technical efficiency (PTE) and scale efficiency (SE) were determined using data envelopment analysis (DEA). Additionally, wasteful uses of energy by inefficient farms were assessed and energy saving of different sources was computed. Furthermore, the effect of energy optimization on greenhouse gas (GHG) emission was investigated and the total amount of actual and optimum GHG emission was compared. Results revealed that only 9.4 percent DMUs were technically efficient and the average TE score was 0.624; based on BCC model 34.4 percent DMUs were identified to be efficient and the mean PTE score was 0.79; while based on scale efficiency only 12.5 percent DMUs were efficient, and the mean SE score was 0.804. Furthermore it was observed that approximately 38.17 percent (1505.58MJhac') of overall input energies can be saved if performance of inefficient DMUs rose to a high level. Moreover, findings inferred that, by energy optimization, total GHG emission can be reduced to an estimated value of 21.87 KgCo2eq

Accounting for service quality to customers in the efficiency of water companies: evidence from England and Wales

This paper investigates the role of service quality to customers in the efficiency assessment of water companies in England and Wales. To achieve this, data envelopment analysis techniques are employed to compute the technical efficiency of the water companies following two approaches: (i) traditional assessment based on quantity variables (without the inclusion of service quality variables) and (ii) alternative assessment considering quantity and service quality variables as undesirable outputs. The analysis covers 22 water and sewerage companies and water only companies providing drinking water services. The results indicate that the traditional efficiency assessment reveals a high level of technical efficiency, suggesting that the English and Welsh water industry is mature and that one of the challenges it faces is improving service quality. When introducing service quality variables in the evaluation, the average scores of technical efficiency slightly decrease. This suggests that, on average, water companies do not necessarily provide high quality of service, meaning that the traditional efficiency assessment favours their performance. Quality of service supplied to customers within a water sector matters and should be taken into account during the benchmarking process as it could assist regulated companies and regulators to improve performance and incentives, respectively.

Innovation and technical efficiency in Malaysian family manufacturing industries

This study investigates the technical efficiency for each industry in the Malaysian manufacturing sector is estimated by using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA). In order to pursue a balance of innovation between long-term and short-term performance strategy, we integrate the Balance Scorecard (BSC) approach with DEA. Furthermore, this paper looks at the determinants of efficiency using the Tobit regression model. In measuring the level of firms’ efficiency and innovation, the wood and wood based products industry is emphasized due to its importance in the economic growth of manufacturing sector. In the wood and wood based products industry, the highest level of technical efficiency was achieved by two sub-sectors i.e. veneer sheets and plywood and laminboard, particle board and other panels board, with the mean value of technical efficiency of 1.081 and 1.097 respectively. Generally, the majority of the manufacturing firms are operating technical inefficiently. The distribution of DEA and DEA-BCS technical efficiency in Malaysian Manufacturing Industries show that most of the industries have the average technical efficiency scores greater than 1.05 with only 7 industries (13.21%) in DEA-BSC model operating at or near to the most optimal productions.

A Stochastic Frontier Analysis of Technical Efficiency of Maize Production Under Minimum Tillage in Zambia

<p>Minimum tillage and other conservation agriculture practices are not only associated with income gains but are also claimed to be the panacea to the declining agricultural productivity and soil degradation problems in Africa and across the world. The few studies on technical efficiency related to the agricultural sector performance in Zambia have not attempted to determine how technically efficient smallholder farmers that produce maize under minimum tillage are. This study used stochastic frontier analysis based on both the half-normal and exponential model distributions on 2008 cross-sectional nationally representative data of 160 smallholder maize farm households that adopted minimum tillage in Zambia. Results indicate that maize farmers face increasing returns to scale (1.074) implying that there were opportunities for them to improve their technical efficiency as they were operating in stage I of their production functions. The half-normal and exponential model distributions indicate average technical efficiency scores of 60 and 71.7 percent, respectively. Their respective lowest efficiency scores were 9.3 and 8.5 percent. The highest efficiency scores for the half-normal and exponential model distributions were 89.3 and 90.9 percent. Maximum likelihood estimation results show that marital status, level of education of household head, square of household size, off farm income, agro-ecological region III, distance to vehicular road and access to loans are statistically significant factors that affect technical efficiency of smallholder maize farmers that practice minimum tillage in Zambia. The study calls for increased infrastructural development through construction of improved road network, schools and colleges in remote areas as a means to increasing accesss to knowledge and other agricultural services in order to enhance their technical efficiency levels. It also recommends promotion of minimum tillage practices in recommended agro-ecological regions to improve their technical efficiency. The study further acclaims for increased access to loans by smallholder maize farmers that practice minimum tillage as this would in one way induce them to invest in improved varieties and equipment that would help enhance their technical efficiency in Zambia.</p>

Zimbabwe commercials banks efficiency and productivity analysis through DEA Malmquist approach: 2002-2012

Majority of data envelopment analysis studies have been focused on developed economies and economies in Asia, and very few studies on developing economies particularly African economies. This research aims to determine bank efficiency and productivity change of Zimbabwean commercial banks. The DEA model was used to measure the efficiency of 10 commercial banks working in Zimbabwe. The intermediation approach was used to specify variables. The average scores of technical efficiency under the Constant Returns to Scale (CRS) and Variable Returns to Scale (VRS) assumptions for the commercial banking sector as a whole are 70.95% and 81.5% respectively. The average scale efficiency for commercial banks operating in Zimbabwe was found to be 73.7%.Through applying the Malmquist Productivity Index (MPI) method; it was found that the mean total factor productivity increase for Zimbabwean commercial banks from 2003 to 2012 is 13.8%. The results also showed that the total factor productivity index peaked in 2009 where it reached a value of 121.1% and reached the lowest point in 2005 were it went down to (-52%).

Efficiency of Macedonian Insurance Companies: A DEA Approach

The purpose of this paper is to estimate the efficiency of the insurance sector of Republic of Macedonia for the period 2009-2013. Technical, pure technical and scale efficiency of 11 Macedonian insurance companies have been measured using Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), both CCR and BCC output-oriented model. The results from the analysis indicate an increase of the average efficiency during the almost whole observed period. The scale efficiency follows the same trend. When estimating the BCC model, the number of efficient insurance companies and the average efficiency for the sector is higher than in the CCR case, implying that the main source of inefficiency is due to scale inefficiencies. The average technical efficiency score of Republic of Macedonia in 2013 of 0.84387 indicates relatively high efficiency of the insurance sector. The efficiency problem of each insurance company has been specified particularly

A new assessment approach of technical efficiency and productivity in European non-life insurance companies

This study intends to improve the recognised literature on insurance sector productivity based on the directional output distance function and Luenberger indicators. In addition to the estimation of efficiency scores and decomposition of productivity change, we have tried to detect the bias attributed to each production factor. We have used a sample of European non-life insurance companies to apply our model. The results show that the average technical efficiency score of European non-life insurance companies is 77.45%. The Luenberger indicators show that decline in productivity is principally owing to a significant drop in technological change rather than the progress in efficiency change. Finally, from the factor bias indicator we developed, we show a considerable improvement in technological change of input and desirable output. However, a strike deterioration is marked on undesirable output bias.

Determination of efficient and inefficient greenhouse cucumber producers using Data Envelopment Analysis approach, a case study: Jiroft city in Iran

Abstract The aims of this study were to determine energy use pattern, to investigate the energy use efficiency using DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) methodology to discriminate efficient farmers from inefficient ones and to identify wasteful uses of energy in order to optimize the energy inputs in greenhouse cucumber production in Jiroft city of Iran. Data were obtained from 60 greenhouse cucumber farmers using a face to face questionnaire method. The results indicated that greenhouse cucumber production consumed a total energy of 306,117.57 MJ ha −1 from which 58.5% was provided by diesel fuel. Energy use efficiency, energy productivity and net energy were found to be 0.51, 0.64 kg MJ −1 and −149317.57 MJ ha −1 , respectively. DEA models, indicated that 26.7% and 73.3% of farmers were found to be technically and pure technically efficient, respectively. The average technical, pure technical and scale efficiency scores of farmers were calculated as 0.87, 0.99 and 0.88, respectively. Optimum energy requirement was found to be 288,168.59 MJ ha −1 , indicating that 11% of total energy input could be saved if the recommendations of this study are followed. A possible suggestion that can be drawn from this study is that future agricultural policies could include measures to improve the capacity of producers to apply the available technology more efficiently. This can be implemented by improving the ease of access to extension services, or trying to raise the educational level of producers. The GHG emissions were indicated a high CO 2 output in diesel fuel consumption.

A Production Approach to Performance of Banks with Microfinance Operations

Banking institutions, nowadays, serve as intermediaries of funds to a variety of clients, including the micro enterprisers. This study analyzes and measures the performance of rural and thrift banks with microfinance operations in the Philippines, using combined measures of data envelopment analysis and traditional financial performance indicators. Data envelopment analysis (DEA) method is employed to measure the productive efficiency of these banks under the production approach. The variable returns to scale is also used, with the assumption that not all banks are operating at optimal scale over the long-run period. DEA findings reveal that sample banks performed below the production frontier. The average technical efficiency score of these banks is 66.09% and additional 33.91% is needed to reach the production frontier. Overall, thrift banks are found to be more productively efficient than rural banks as depository banks. The authors have also found a strong relationship between financial performance measures and bank's productive efficiency. For thrift banks, sustainability, ROE and ROA measures showed a statistically significant positive correlation to the banks' productive efficiency while a negative relationship was observed in rural banks. Lastly, the authors can suggest that both DEA's productive efficiency and financial performance measures are consistently and strongly correlated when evaluating the overall performance of banks with microfinance operations.

Technical efficiency determinants within a dual banking system: a DEA-bootstrap approach

The purpose of this study is to provide a comparative analysis of the efficiency of Islamic and conventional banks in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. In this study, we explain inefficiencies obtained by introducing firm-specific as well as macroeconomic variables. Our findings indicate that during the eight years of study, conventional banks largely outperform Islamic banks with an average technical efficiency score of 81% compared to 95.57%. However, it is clear that since 2008, efficiency of conventional banks was in a downward trend while the efficiency of their Islamic counterparts was in an upward trend since 2009. This indicates that Islamic banks have succeeded to maintain a level of efficiency during the subprime crisis period. Finally, for the whole sample, the analysis demonstrates the strong link of macroeconomic indicators with efficiency for GCC banks. Surprisingly, we have not found any significant relationship in the case of Islamic banks.

Frontier analysis of the Philippine manufacturing efficiency

This research investigates the efficiency of 100 firms from ten selected manufacturing industries in the Philippines over the period 1995–2004, using the two frontier models. The aim of this research is to evaluate and measure the technical efficiency of selected firms by applying the data envelopment analysis (DEA) and stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) approaches. A total of 1,000 pooled data are analysed using both DEA and SFA methods. New findings reveal that the average technical efficiency scores of DEA and SFA are 57.4% and 82.63, respectively, but no statistically significant correlation found. New results also suggest that older firms tend to be more technically inefficient than younger firms while larger firms tend to be more technically efficient than smaller firms. Significantly, this research has also found that an imposition of higher tariff rates can make firms to be technically inefficient. Overall, this research provides significant evidences on the usefulness of two frontier methods for evaluating manufacturing efficiency as alternative tools of performance measurement for managerial decision making.

The efficiency of the public dental services (PDS) in Cyprus and selected determinants

BackgroundCurrently there is a dual system of oral healthcare delivery in Cyprus: the public dental system (PDS) run by the Government and the private system provided by private dental practitioners. Although 83% of the population is entitled to free treatment by the PDS only 10% of the population make use of them. As Cyprus faces now the challenges of the introduction of a new health care system and rising healthcare costs in general, surveys that examine, among other things, the efficiency of the PDS become very important as tools to make important cost savings. The aims of this study are to assess trends regarding the number of visits and the age distribution of patients using PDS from 2004 to 2007, to measure the technical efficiency of the PDS and to investigate various factors that may affect it.MethodsNon-parametric Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) was employed to assess technical efficiency. Two separate cases were examined. Efficiency was calculated, firstly using as inputs the wages and the working hours of the personnel, and secondly the working hours of the personnel and the cost of the materials. As outputs, in both cases, the treatment offered (divided into primary, secondary and tertiary care) and the numbers of visits were used. In the second stage Tobit analysis was used to explore various predictors of efficiency (time per patient, location, age of dentists, age of patients and age of assistants).ResultsThe study showed that whilst there was an increase in the number of patients using the PDS from 2004 to 2007, only a small proportion of the population (10%) make use of them. Women, middle and older aged patients, make more use of the PDS. Regarding efficiency, there were large differences between the units. The average Technical Efficiency score was 68% in the first model and 81% in the second. Urban areas and low time per patient are predictors of increased efficiency.ConclusionThe results suggest that many of the rural PDS are underperforming. Given that the option of shutting them down is undesirable, measures should be taken to reduce inputs (e.g. by reducing the personnel’s working hours) and to increase outputs (remove barriers, make PDS more accessible and increase the number of patients).

Technical efficiency of public district hospitals in Madhya Pradesh, India: a data envelopment analysis

BackgroundScarcity of resources for healthcare is a well-acknowledged problem. In this context, efficient utilization of existing financial and human resources becomes crucial for strengthening the healthcare delivery. The assessment of efficiency of health facilities can guide decision makers in ensuring the optimum utilization of available resources.ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to evaluate the technical efficiency (TE) of the public district hospitals in Madhya Pradesh, India, with special emphasis on maternal healthcare services, using data envelopment analysis (DEA).MethodsData from 40 district hospitals from January to December 2010 were collected from the health management information system and other records of the department of health and family welfare of the state. DEA was performed with input orientation and variable returns to scale assumption.ResultsTE and scale efficiency scores of the district hospitals were 0.90 (SD=0.14) and 0.88 (SD=0.15), respectively. Of the total district hospitals in the study, 20 (50%) were technically efficient constituting the ‘best practice frontier’. The other half were technically inefficient, with an average TE score of 0.79 (SD=0.12) meaning that these hospitals could produce the same outputs by using 21% less inputs from current input levels. Twenty-six (65%) district hospitals were found to be scale inefficient, manifesting a mean score of 0.81 (SD=0.16).ConclusionsHalf of the district hospitals in the study were operating inefficiently. Decision makers and administrators in the state should identify the causes of the observed inefficiencies and take appropriate measures to increase efficiency of these hospitals.

Efficiency of resettled farmers in Mashonaland Central Province of Zimbabwe in crop production: A DEA approach

The main aim of the paper is to determine the technical, allocative and economic efficiency of the resettled farmers in Zimbabwe in the production of field crops. Data were collected from 245 land reform beneficiaries using a structured questionnaire during the 2010/2011 agricultural production season. To empirically calculate efficiency, Data Envelop Analysis (DEA) was adopted mainly because of its capability of handling multiple inputs and outputs. Results obtained from DEA showed that commercial land reform beneficiaries (A2 farmers) had a higher average technical efficiency score of 0.839 than subsistence (small land size) land reform beneficiaries (A1 and the old resettled farmers) who had average technical efficiency scores of 61.7 and 65.9%, respectively. Small land holders were also on average less cost-efficient than large land holders (A2). The decomposition of cost-efficiency into technical and allocative efficiency suggests that cost inefficiency for A2 farmers was mostly due to the use of ‘wrong’ inputs at the prevailing input prices, rather than waste of inputs. Small land holders’ cost inefficiency was mostly due to both the use of ‘wrong’ inputs at the prevailing input prices and waste of inputs. Efficiency in field crop production in Zimbabwe could be improved through improving the ability of the resettled farmers to choose optimum input levels for given factor prices and saving inputs through correct usage. Key words: Allocative efficiency, cost efficiency, data envelop analysis (DEA), land reform, technical efficiency.