Efficient Ranking Research Articles

The Informativeness of Stochastic Frontier and Programming Frontier Efficiency Scores: Cost Efficiency and Other Measures of Bank Holding Company Performance

This paper examines the properties of the X-inefficiencies in U.S. bank holding companies derived from both stochastic and linear programming frontiers. This examination allows the robustness of results across methods to be compared. While we find that calculated programming inefficiency scores are two to three times larger than those estimated using a stochastic frontier, the patterns of the scores across banks and time are similar, and there is a relatively high correlation of the rankings of banks' efficiencies under the two methods. However, when we examine the "informativeness" of the efficiency measured by the two different techniques, we find some large differences. We find evidence that the stochastic frontier scores are more closely related to risk-taking behavior, managerial competence, and bank stock returns. Based on these findings, we conclude that while both methods produce informative efficiency scores, for this data set decision makers should put more weight on the stochastic frontier efficiency estimates.

Modelling Technical Efficiency in Cross Sectionally Dependent Stochastic Frontier Panels

SummaryThis paper proposes a unified framework for accommodating both time and cross‐sectional dependence in modelling technical efficiency in stochastic frontier models by combining the exogenously driven factor‐based approach and an endogenous threshold efficiency regime selection mechanism. This approach is able to deal with both weak and strong cross‐sectional dependence in a flexible manner. Using a dataset of 26 OECD countries over 1970–2010, we provide satisfactory estimation results for the production technology parameters and the associated efficiency ranking of individual countries. We find a positive spillover effect on efficiency, supporting the hypothesis that knowledge spillover is more likely to be induced by technological proximity. Furthermore, our approach enables us to identify efficiency clubs endogenously. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Can rasch analysis enhance the abstract ranking process in scientific conferences? Issues of interrater variability and abstract rating burden.

Abstract ranking processes for scientific conferences are essential but controversial. This study examined the validity of a structured abstract rating instrument, evaluated interrater variability, and modeled the impact of interrater variability on abstract ranking decisions. Additionally, we examined whether a more efficient rating process (abstracts rated by two rather than three raters) supported valid abstract rankings. Data were 4016 sets of abstract ratings from the 2011 and 2013 national scientific conferences for a health discipline. Many-faceted Rasch analysis procedures were used to examine validity of the abstract rating instrument and to identify and adjust for the presence of interrater variability. The two-rater simulation was created by the deletion of one set of ratings for each abstract in the 2013 data set. The abstract rating instrument demonstrated sound measurement properties. Although each rater applied the rating criteria consistently (intrarater reliability), there was significant variability between raters. Adjusting for interrater variability changed the final presentation format for approximately 10-20% of abstracts. The two-rater simulation demonstrated that abstract rankings derived through this process were valid, although the impact of interrater variability was more substantial. Interrater variability exerts a small but important influence on overall abstract acceptance outcome. The use of many-faceted Rasch analysis allows for this variability to be adjusted for. Additionally, Rasch processes allow for more efficient abstract ranking by reducing the need for multiple raters.

Does the Estimation Technique Matter for Efficiency Measures?: Comparative Efficiency Analysis of Public Universities with Parametric and Non-Parametric Methods

Estimating efficiencies of higher education institutions (HEIs) has become a central area of research in efficiency analysis literature, particularly during the last two decades. Although the number of efficiency analysis researches in higher education has risen, comparative research estimating the efficiencies of HEIs employing both parametric and non-parametric techniques is rather scarce in this particular area. This paper, which estimates economic efficiencies for 53 Turkish public HEIs between 2005 and 2010, belongs to the pioneering stream of researches conducting a comprehensive efficiency analysis on public sector organisations employing both parametric and non-parametric estimation techniques. It employs Stochastic Frontier Analysis (SFA) and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) simultaneously for the same case, concluding that efficiency estimation conducted by parametric and non-parametric approaches is diverging apparently in terms of not only mean efficiency values but also the efficiency rankings of universities. Moreover, to accommodate two different methodologies, the primary aim is that the results yielded from the parametric technique can be compared and contrasted with the results achieved using the non-parametric technique for further policy-making projections.

EMR: A Scalable Graph-Based Ranking Model for Content-Based Image Retrieval

Graph-based ranking models have been widely applied in information retrieval area. In this paper, we focus on a well known graph-based model - the Ranking on Data Manifold model, or Manifold Ranking (MR). Particularly, it has been successfully applied to content-based image retrieval, because of its outstanding ability to discover underlying geometrical structure of the given image database. However, manifold ranking is computationally very expensive, which significantly limits its applicability to large databases especially for the cases that the queries are out of the database (new samples). We propose a novel scalable graph-based ranking model called Efficient Manifold Ranking (EMR), trying to address the shortcomings of MR from two main perspectives: scalable graph construction and efficient ranking computation. Specifically, we build an anchor graph on the database instead of a traditional <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$k$ </tex-math></inline-formula> -nearest neighbor graph, and design a new form of adjacency matrix utilized to speed up the ranking. An approximate method is adopted for efficient out-of-sample retrieval. Experimental results on some large scale image databases demonstrate that EMR is a promising method for real world retrieval applications.

Bank Ownership and Cost Efficiency in Russia, Revisited

This paper adds to the literature on banking in transition with regard to the comparative efficiency of public, private and foreign banks. We perform stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) of Russian bank-level quarterly data from 2005 to 2013. The method of computation of comparative cost efficiency is amended to control for the effect of the revaluations of foreign currency items in bank balance sheets. All public banks are split into the core and other state-controlled banks. We employ the generalized method of moments to estimate a set of distance functions measuring the observed differences in the SFA scores of banks and bank clusters, depending on the heterogeneity in risk preference and asset structure. These distance functions explain the changes in bank efficiency rankings. Our results on comparative bank efficiency are qualitatively different from those in mainstream papers. The efficiency scores of Russian banks are higher and less volatile, and spreads between the scores of different bank types are narrower than hitherto believed. Foreign banks appear as the least cost-efficient type of market participants, while the core state banks are, on average, nearly as efficient as domestic private banks. We suggest that foreign banks are capable of being more cost efficient than others if they increase loans-to-assets ratios above the sample median level. Core state banks, conversely, lead in terms of cost efficiency if their loans-to-assets ratio falls below the sample median level. Our approach is potentially applicable to the analysis of bank efficiency in other dollarized emerging markets

Measuring efficiency of the Greek flourmill firms using data envelopment analysis

The objective of this paper is to measure the efficiency of Greek flourmills firms, using the DEA methodology. The CRS and the VRS technical efficiency is measured as well as a return to scale estimation, the context dependent DEA is calculated and finally, the evolution of the Malmquist productivity index, the efficiency change and the frontier shift was computed for a five-year period. This implementation provided helpful information regarding the efficiency ranking of the firms operating in it. Proofs that inefficient firms are over-invested and over-exposed to high risk operation practices provide suggestions for future reparative actions in order for efficiency to be improved. This goal does not require radical effort from firms to achieve intermediate targets. Finally, stagnated mean efficiency change does not denote stagnated efficiency change for individual firms, but it is the outcome of a large variance of efficiency change scores being achieved by flour mills firms from period to period. This is the first attempt to assess the level of competitiveness and benchmark the firms operating in the Greek flourmill industry.

Efficiency in microfinance: financial and social performance of agricultural credit cooperatives in Bulgaria

Efficiency in microfinance requires accounting for a specific ambiguous production goal. Beyond financial performance, microfinance institutions are to be assessed with regard to their social impact. Based on a comprehensive data collection campaign on 15 Bulgarian agricultural credit cooperatives (ACCs), we compiled a database uniting financial (perennial data from 2000 to 2009) and social performance indicators (2009). The social performance assessment follows an internationally renowned methodology of social auditing. It provides the database for the construction of a social output, which, apart from outreach, evaluates social network quality, client benefits (protection from over-indebtedness) and other items that have not been assessed in efficiency analysis before. We develop a new analytical model for Data Envelopment Analysis and gain meaningful results for the sample of ACCs. Interestingly, the efficiency rankings revealed that only ACCs with sound financial performance can achieve a higher ranking in the specification including the social output.

The analysis of total factor efficiency in the public lignite mining organisations in Turkey

Intense competition in today's globalised system requires the countries' resources to be produced and utilised in the most economic manner, which is only possible through efficient introduction of these resources by the business units. In this study, the efficiencies of the eight establishments of the Turkish coal enterprises (TKI) are analysed between the years 2006 and 2009 by using data envelopment analysis (DEA) and super efficiency (SE) methodologies. For the analyses, two output oriented models are constructed and used, namely production efficiency and revenue efficiency models. As part of the analyses, first the production and revenue efficiencies of the establishments were analysed using constant return to scale (CRS) and variable return to scale (VRS) methodologies of DEA. Next, the efficiency rankings of the efficient establishments were determined among themselves by using SE methodology. Finally, the calculated efficiencies are assessed and recommendations are provided for each TKI establishment. [Received: January 28, 2014; Accepted: August 15, 2014]

A Comparative Analysis of Nanoparticle Adsorption as Fire-Protection Approach for Fabrics

The present paper critically analyzes the potential for commercially available nanoparticles for enhancing the flame-retardant properties of synthetic and natural fabrics and their corresponding blends. Each nanoparticle has been applied to the fabric through a finishing-like process (namely impregnation/exhausting or, more simply, nanoparticle adsorption) in aqueous media and the resulting properties of these fabrics have been assessed in terms of combustion behavior by use of a cone calorimeter under a heat flux of 35 kW/m2. The influence of these nanoparticles on the main combustion parameters of polyester, cotton, and some of their blends has been thoroughly discussed. As a result of this discussion, a flame-retardant efficiency ranking of the nanoparticles under review has been established.

An efficient approach for computing optimal low-rank regularized inverse matrices

Standard regularization methods that are used to compute solutions to ill-posed inverse problems require knowledge of the forward model. In many real-life applications, the forward model is not known, but training data is readily available. In this paper, we develop a new framework that uses training data, as a substitute for knowledge of the forward model, to compute an optimal low-rank regularized inverse matrix directly, allowing for very fast computation of a regularized solution. We consider a statistical framework based on Bayes and empirical Bayes risk minimization to analyze theoretical properties of the problem. We propose an efficient rank update approach for computing an optimal low-rank regularized inverse matrix for various error measures. Numerical experiments demonstrate the benefits and potential applications of our approach to problems in signal and image processing.

Structural breaks and the time-varying levels of weak-form efficiency in crude oil markets: Evidence from the Hurst exponent and Shannon entropy methods

This paper examines the time-varying levels of weak-form efficiency and the presence of structural breaks for two worldwide crude oil benchmarks over the period spanning from January 2, 1990, through September 18, 2012. We use two different econophysics approaches for comparison purposes. The Hurst exponent is provided by the scaled range R/S analysis to measure the degree of long-range dependency exhibited by the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and European Brent crude oil indices. The Shannon entropy approach, which is based on a symbolic time series analysis (STSA), allows a ranking of market-level efficiency. The empirical results show that the European Brent index is less inefficient than the WTI index for both methods. Moreover, we find that the Hurst exponent displays better performance than the Shannon entropy method. The Hurst exponent is also more effective than the Shannon entropy in detecting financial crashes and crises as well as extreme events, such as wars and terrorist attacks. These findings have several implications for commodity portfolio hedgers and risk managers.

An Efficient Framework for Minimizing Project Complexity using Periodic Software Project Standard based Linear Ranking

Application knowledge, skills, and procedure related to software tools have to be examined in a regular basis to identify the complexity related to project management. An Integrated Framework for Risk Response Planning (IF-RRP) was developed for providing support in decision making during project response risk planning. The method, IF-RRP used sequential forward selection greedy algorithm and genetic algorithm and analyzed risk propagation behavior. However, IF-RRP using Structure Matrix though constructed the representative project risk but did not considered the project management on multiple related projects. Speculative Analysis Technique using Awareness Tools (SAT-AT) diagnosed important types of conflicts and risks in the early stage using a tool, Crystal between collaborating team members and classified the risks for maintaining software. Even though, SAT-AT failed in analyzing the complexity of the project in an earlier stage. To reduce the software project complexity on multiple related projects, Periodic Software Project Standard measure based Linear Ranking (PSPS-LR) framework is proposed in this work. Software project on each module is checked to detect the complexity of the software project at an earlier stage. Initially, Periodic Software Project Standard is measured based on the standard matrix and assigning the weight value to the standard matrix. A Deterministic Periodic Quantitative Model based on weighted mean is developed in PSPS-LR framework for the efficient ranking of software project module periodically. Secondly, PSPS-LR framework performs the effective ranking of software project using linear ranking. Linear ranking is performed using Linear algebra PS-LR framework to assess larger software project with varying module size and therefore to easily measure the complexity ratio. The periodic weight value of the standard matrix together with linear transformation easily computes the project complexity of multiple related projects. Experiment is conducted on factors such as project complexity measure ratio, computational complexity and ranking effectiveness based on the project management level.

The troika of business cycle, efficiency and volatility. An East Asian perspective

The EMH has been the subject of much debate over the past few decades, with a recent surge in interest in Asian markets. Asian markets which traditionally comprise of many emerging markets are more volatile and speculative in nature. The heart of our study focuses on the East Asian economies, which have experienced massive capital inflows. This begs the question of whether or not the stock markets are efficient enough for further investment and development. Our paper differs from existing literature as it focuses on deriving weak form efficiency rankings during different business cycle phases. We endeavour further to assess the volatility and business cycle phases. Taking Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and South Korea owing to their economic and financial development, we use MF-DFA to derive efficiency rankings and find firstly, the overall efficiency has improved over the past two decades and secondly, markets are more efficient in growth phases in comparison to its preceding decline. Similarly, employing wavelet decomposition in conjunction with EGARCH, we obtain volatility of stock markets in two distinct time horizons, i.e. short term and long term. We find the markets to be more stable during economic boom than its preceding bust. Our results confer with mainstream literature.

Aplicação da análise envoltória de dados (AED) na avaliação da eficiência operacional relativa entre usinas de cana-de-açúcar no território brasileiro

Este estudo tem por objetivo analisar o impacto das variáveis tamanho e localização na eficiência operacional de usinas de cana-de-açúcar no Brasil na safra 2008/2009. Para tanto, realizou-se um estudo de eficiência operacional, por meio da aplicação da Análise Envoltória de Dados (AED), na qual foi possível identificar as usinas mais eficientes dentre um universo de 355 e classificá-las por tamanho e localização. A análise quantitativa sugere que existe maior concentração de usinas classificadas como eficientes e de tamanho grande, localizadas no estado de São Paulo. Objetivando uma análise em profundidade, foi realizado um estudo de múltiplos casos em um grupo de usinas. Conclui-se que a eficiência operacional de usinas de cana-de-açúcar depende da variável tamanho, na medida em que as usinas de maior porte tendem a investir mais em tecnologias que proporcionam maior ganho de eficiência operacional. A eficiência também depende da variável localização, na medida em que o estado de São Paulo apresenta condições edafoclimáticas mais favoráveis à extração de uma cana-de-açúcar com maior teor de sacarose, que, consequentemente, pode influenciar na eficiência operacional de usinas de cana-de-açúcar.

The economic efficiency of apple production in terms of post‑harvest technology

This study analyses how the level of postharvest technology’s development influences the economic efficiency of apple production with the help of a deterministic simulation model based on primary data gathering in producer undertakings. To accomplish our objectives and to support our hypotheses three processing plant types are included in the model: firstly apple production with no postharvest and prompt sale after the harvest, secondly parallel production and storage combined with an extended selling period and thirdly production and entire postharvest infrastructure (storage, sorting-ranking, packing) with the highest level of goods production and continuous sales. Based on our results it can be stated that the parallel production (plantation) and cold storage, so the second case is proved to be totally inefficient, considering that the establishment of a cold storage carries enormously high costs with resulting a relative low plus profit compared to the first type of processing plant. The reason for this is that this type is selling bulk goods without sorting-grading or packaging; storage itself – as a means of continuously servicing the market – is not covered properly by the consumers. Absolute efficiency ranking cannot be established regarding the other two processing plants: plantation without post-harvest infrastructure resulting lower NPV, but a more favourable IRR, DPP and PI as developing a plantation and a whole post-harvest infrastructure.

The Asynchronous Phenomenon and Relative Efficiency of Tourism Resources in China Based on Panel Data for 31 Provinces from 2001 to 2009

Abstract: We used panel data for 31 Chinese provinces from 2001 to 2009 and entropy methods to evaluate regional tourism resources endowment. Combined with regional tourism revenue, we constructed an asynchronous index and quantitatively evaluated every area's asynchronous phenomenon regarding tourism resources. We found that Chinese mainland tourism resources have asynchronous phenomenon: tourism is positively asynchronous in the east (Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta and Beijing-Tianjin region) and negatively asynchronous in central and western China. The total efficiency of tourism resources in eastern China is mainly driven by pure technology efficiency and by scale efficiency in western China. In addition to some provinces, the ranking of provincial total efficiency and the asynchronous index has a strong positive correlation. We conclude with several suggestions for the development of tourism resources across China.

Marginal costs estimation and market power of German airports

From a theoretical prospective, marginal costs are one of the main determinants of pricing policy. However, their complexity and to some extend the artificiality of marginal costs makes the concept very unpopular among practitioners, also in the aviation industry. Nevertheless, in this paper we aim to estimate cost functions for German airports and derive marginal costs for different types of aircraft using them. This allows us to make efficiency comparison for aeronautical activities. Moreover, using the results of Morrison (1982), we are also able to estimate the “k” coefficients of the Ramsey-pricing formula and then use it as a proxy for market power of these airports. As the result we obtain two rankings from the sample: the first is the cost efficiency ranking of airports, and the second ranking is with respect to market power.

The Analysis of Undesirable Output to Countries’ Productivity: The Example of the Asian Countries

This article selects 35 Asian countries during the period 2001 to 2005 and uses Seiford and Zhu’s (2002) data envelopment analysis to calculate and analyze those 35 countries’ productivity efficiency based on fossil-fuel carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, studying the effects of the undesirable output to productivity efficiency ranking. The input variables are the population and the amount of government investment. The output variances are gross domestic product and the amount of fossil-fuel CO2 emissions during the period 2001 to 2005. The undesirable output is fossil-fuel CO2 emissions.The result shows that most of the middle Asian countries have the best efficiency productivity ranking in 2001 to 2005. The number of the best efficiency countries does not imply a big difference, but the countries’ ranking variance is obviously diverse. Small countries have the best productivity efficiency, while advanced countries can offer the best productivity without CO2 emissions.

Dynamic VoIP codec selection on smartphones

Voice over IP (VoIP) applications can choose a plethora of different speech codecs, which differ in bandwidth, listening speech quality, and resilience to quality degradation under packet loss. However, VoIP Codecs also exhibit differences in facets such as computational complexity or traffic generated that impact on the energy consumption of smartphones due to the use of processor. In this work deals with the study of energy consumption differences among VoIP codecs. We compare the execution time required to encode/decode reference conversations. Our results show that computational complexity has a significant impact on battery consumption (a factor of up to 10 was found between different codecs). Based on our results, we provide a ranking of energy efficiency. We also propose a simple algorithm for codec dynamic selection considering the dimensions of quality, energy and bandwidth. Our algorithm reacts to network conditions choosing the codec that provides less battery consumption constrained to user-defined targets for minimum quality and maximum codec bitrate.